Hidden gems in student evaluations of teaching– a treasure trove of opportunities to improve teaching outcomes in accounting

Abstract

Professors often overlook or even ignore the negative feedback in their Student Evaluations of Teachings (SETs) for many reasons. Most notably, negative feedback appears unimportant if the instructor is overtly amicable or teaches well. However, there is potential for teaching improvements through a detailed evaluation of students' negative feedback. In this study, we present empirical support that the negative feedback in SETs can be useful to understand how students perceive elements of classroom justice through the evaluation of negative comments by students. We qualitatively explore negative comments from multiple entry-level accounting courses at the post-secondary level to identify potential avenues for improvement in teaching, encourage all instructors to take negative comments seriously, and read them with a positive frame of mind. After presenting the themes derived from our analysis, we discuss teaching implications and potential for improvements in the classroom.