Abstract:

Using reflective statements in Higher Education, as a personal introspection made by students, has been proven to be useful but difficult [1], [2]. They belong to qualitative approahces [3] and relate to tecniques aiming at arousing feelings, ideas and attitudes [4] in an innovative way [4].

Students are considered consumers of Higher Education service that obtain value form their experiences. These experiences can be positive or negative, as examples of a preference, where a trade-off approach (benefits minus costs) is adopted, which is a well-known way of conceptualizing value in consumer behaviour [5].

At the Faculty of Economy of the University of Valencia, it is compulsory that students write reflective statements as part of the final degree project. These written documents are related to the learning outcomes in terms of: “the student has to provide and assessment of the Degree in terms of acheivements made in knowledge, indicating positive and perfectible aspects. This valuation must be done in a constructive way, avoinding any inapropiate or abusive language”.

This paper aims at exploring the usefulness of these personal reflective statements as a particular tool to be used for obtaining students’ positive and negative assessments about the degree undertaken. A content analysis was performed on reflective statements from over 100 students coming from Degree on International Business at Universidad de Valencia (Spain). Methodologically, the content analysis was performed through Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis (ATLAS-Ti software) where we look for “understanding complex phenomena by getting to know the behaviours or cognitions of persons” [6, p.1].

After a review on the use of reflective research in education, the approach to the content analysis is explained and the results of students’ positive and negative assessments are presented in terms of the many dimensions of value (positive: functional, emotional and social) but also negative (costs) of the experience. Thus, adopting a consumer behaviour approach [7], the expressions contained in the documents can be considered perceived values of the education experience.

References:
[1] Klenowski, V. and Lunt, I. (2008). Enhancing learning at doctoral level through the use of reflection? Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 33(2), pp. 203-217,
[2] Mitchell, E. (2013). Reflective course construction: An analysis of student feedback and its role in curricular design. Education for Information, 30(3-4), pp.149-166.
[3] Patton, M.Q. (2002). Qualitative Research Evaluation Methods. Third Edition. California: Sage Publications.
[4] Smith, S. (2016). (Re)Counting Meaningful Learning Experiences: Using Student-Created Reflective Videos to Make Invisible Learning Visible During PBL Experiences. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 10(1). Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.7771/1541-5015.1541
[5] Zeithaml, V.A. (1988). Consumer Perceptions of Price, Quality, and Value: A Means-end Model and Synthesis of Evidence. Journal of Marketing, 52(3), pp. 2-22.
[6] Gal, I. and Ograjenšek, I. (2010). Qualitative Research in the Service of Understanding Learners and Users of Statistics. International Statistical Review, 78(2), pp. 287-296.
[7] Holbrook, M.B. (1999). Introduction to Consumer Value” and “Conclusions,” in Consumer Value: A Framework For Analysis and Research, ed. Morris B. Holbrook, London, UK: Routledge, pp. 1-28 and 183-197.

Keywords:

Reflective statements, content analysis, consumer behavior, ATLAS.ti.