Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
BMC Med Educ. 2024 Oct 14;24(1):1135. doi: 10.1186/s12909-024-06126-2.
Formal evaluations are an integral part of a student's learning and encourage students to learn and help instructors identify students' weaknesses. Over the past few decades there have been growing concerns that instructors and evaluators are passing students who do not meet expectations. This phenomenon, in which instructors pass students who do not meet expectations, has been referred to as "failure-to-fail". In this study, we used Q-methodology to identify instructors' justifications for failure-to-fail.
A Q-methodology study was conducted to identify the major viewpoints of instructors at a Canadian university. A by-person factor analysis with principal component factor extraction and Varimax rotation was used. The analysis was conducted using the QFACTOR program in Stata. A Cohen's effect size of 0.80 was used to identify distinguishing statements.
Fifty seven instructors participated in this study. Through a by-person factor analysis, three factors representing three viewpoints emerged: Intrinsically Motivated, Extrinsically Motivated, and Administratively & Emotionally Deterred. The Intrinsically Motivated group perceived mental barriers that prevented them from failing students. They strongly disagreed that they experienced pressure from either students or their schools to pass students. The Extrinsically Motivated believed that their higher-ups and the university encouraged them to pass all students. They perceived discomfort associated with defending their reasons for failing students and were concerned that failing students would damage their own career advancements. The Administratively & Emotionally Deterred group believed that the process of failing a student was stressful and exhausting. They disagreed that a failed student is a result of the instructor's own inadequate guidance or mentorship.
This study identified three distinctive viewpoints that outline areas of consideration for addressing the failure-to-fail mechanism. More transparent discussions within schools, as well as identifying solutions, are required to create systems that ensure educational and professional standards are maintained. Further replication of this study in various disciplines may be used to determine whether these findings are consistent in different fields.
正式评估是学生学习的一个组成部分，它鼓励学生学习，并帮助教师发现学生的弱点。在过去的几十年里，人们越来越担心教师和评估者会放过那些不符合期望的学生。这种现象，即教师放过那些不符合期望的学生，被称为“未能失败”。在这项研究中，我们使用 Q 方法学来确定教师未能失败的理由。
进行了一项 Q 方法学研究，以确定加拿大一所大学教师的主要观点。采用个人因素分析，采用主成分因子提取和 Varimax 旋转。分析使用 Stata 中的 QFACTOR 程序进行。使用 Cohen 的 0.80 效应量来识别区分性陈述。
57 名教师参加了这项研究。通过个人因素分析，出现了三个代表三个观点的因素：内在动机、外在动机和行政与情感上的阻碍。内在动机组感知到阻止他们让学生失败的心理障碍。他们强烈不同意他们受到学生或学校的压力，要求他们让学生通过。外在动机组认为他们的上级和大学鼓励他们让所有学生通过。他们感到不舒服，因为他们为不让学生通过而辩护，并担心让学生失败会损害自己的职业发展。行政与情感上受阻的组认为让学生失败的过程是有压力和疲惫的。他们不同意一个失败的学生是教师自己指导或指导不足的结果。
这项研究确定了三个独特的观点，这些观点概述了处理未能失败机制的考虑因素。需要在学校内部进行更透明的讨论，并确定解决方案，以建立确保教育和专业标准得到维护的系统。在不同学科中进一步复制这项研究，可能有助于确定这些发现是否在不同领域一致。
