A snapshot of the student experience: exploring student satisfaction through the use of photographic elicitation

Abstract

Student satisfaction is both an important, yet controversial issue within the Higher Education sector, which is typically measured through policy-driven metrics such as the National Student Survey (NSS). However, less is understood about the qualities of a satisfying student experience "as lived" from the perspective of the student, thus questioning the adequacy of such measures. In response to this, the current study used student-driven photographicelicitation as a means of more adequately capturing the holistic student experience. This entailed nine final year undergraduate psychology students who each gathered a series of photos, which formed the basis for discussion in an interview. Thematic analysis of the narratives of the interview discussions revealed several main themes surrounding their experiences. These were: "Learning Environment", "Work-Life Balance", and "Wider University Community". Findings are discussed with reference to the implications of student satisfaction, and national metrics used for measuring it, for institutional policies of recruitment and retention.

“Beyond words”: a researcher’s guide to using photo elicitation in psychology

“…Indeed, our own ongoing research which uses photo-elicitation to explore university students' experiences highlights the utility of this method, particularly for providing a "studentcentred" approach to understand student satisfaction (Bates, Kaye and McCann, 2017). That is, whilst it is typical for the phenomenon of student satisfaction to be largely understood by Nationally-derived metrics such as the National Student Survey (NSS) within UK Higher Education, we question the extent to which this captures all aspects of students' experiences which are important to their satisfaction at university.…”

Investigating Determinants of Student Satisfaction in the First Year of College in a Public University in the State of Qatar

“…Douglas et al [28] assessed student experiences as being satisfying or dissatisfying from handwritten narratives by first-year and senior students that focused on the teaching and learning and the support service environment, from which a number of new overall quality determinants were identified: motivation, reward, social engagement, usefulness, value for money, and fellow student behavior. Bates et al [29] explored student satisfaction using photographic elicitation, with the thematic analysis of the student interviews revealing that the themes related to students' satisfaction were the learning environment, work-life balance, and the wider university community.…”

I am engaged, therefore my students are satisfied! Unleashing the role of teachers' interaction and sensitivity based on self-determination perspective

“…Despite the importance of examining student satisfaction in the college cadre, this concept is mostly examined in university settings (Bates et al , 2019; Grag, 2020; Joo et al , 2011; Richardson et al , 2017; Zhai et al , 2017). Keeping in view the concept of “students as customers” in the contemporary educational sector (Carter and Yeo, 2016; Calma and Deane, 2020; Thien and Jamil, 2020), and lack of research on this construct in the Pakistani college sector, investigating precursors of student satisfaction becomes an important call.…”