Thank you Manuela. The idea of power shift is interesting. I wonder, though, if the teacher's reaction to the feedback and discussion with the class would help make the process far more effective. So the feedback is not intended to make the teacher do what the students want - but to at least bring students into the conversation and to start a discussion. Otherwise, teacher are working blindly. In much of my own research, for sample, teacher's attitude and ratings of the overall impact of technology is always much higher than those of students. And of course teaching should not be about power ;-)

I know that some teachers get such feedback. But it may not be 'institutionalised'. It may happen occasionally. For example, in elementary education, whenever an innovative approach, or a pilot study is implemented, learners would express opinion, which would be analysed. This might be such feedback, but it is occasional. Could it be age issue?

My experience in the area of SLA (particularly, Ukrainian) has been that teachers are so concerned with creating a curriculum which unfortunately is, at best, disparate, that they become possessive of their materials and methods, so much so, that student feedback is threatening, because therein lies potential for having to rethink and revise, incorporate the views of others (learners), be open to collaborative, constructionist approaches. This scenario grows less likely where such teachers have been exposed to professional learning opportunities where feedback of various kinds is embedded in the process. Ongoing and diverse feedback is at the core of learning across disciplines and across life. We would do teaching and learning a tremendous service to focus precisely on this in education. In the spirit of the "community of learning" I rather like Vanderbuilt's Small Group Analysis Method, which can be adapted to any grade.  A real step up from evaluation forms or questionnaires. It is about sustained dialogue and mutual reflection.

The idea that the teacher is the 'all knowing holder of knowledge' and the students the 'lowly appreciative listeners' is prevalent in teaching. Lack of development can be accountable for stale paradigms as well. The movement for deconstructing notions of domination and power in education is shifting not only in the classroom, but outside of it as well. I think once the powers above shift, for example, then it may trickle down into the classrooms. Maybe the role of teacher can change in a positive and influential way.

According to my experience most teachers do get the feedback from students in numerous way which may not be seen as an assessment of their work. However, the moment a formative method is introduced the chances of teachers feeling certain insecurities would stop them encouraging such action.

In my part of the world where teachers are next to god they feel intimidated or made small when students give feedback about their teaching. Even though it may be the best feedback one can have.

On a different context, the students in this age group are more expressive due to their adolescence and the psychological status. This may also make them express certain areas in a more exaggerated way than it actually may be. This is also a negative reflection on this kind of feedback.

However, my personal belief is, when the whole world is trending into the 360 degree feedback to get a proper evaluation for the improvement process, formative feedback from students is a requirement.

You can also find some answers to this question in the german study of Ditton and Arnold, who identified teachers stress and the attitude towards the validity of student feedback as important influences on the use of this instrument. My own studies with German teachers confirmed these effects. In my opinion it is also very important to understand student feedback as their own perception of the lessons which is influenced by other factors like interest on the subject of the lessons, personal like/dislike, espacially in elementary classes (see the studies of Gerlinde Lenske). But it is a very good basis for constructive discussions on possible improvements of the lessons with the class. For this a perspective on teaching and lessons as a joint process and responsibility of teacher and class and a less authorative approach to the students is important. So I agree with Manuela. And teachers don't like to be evaluated, as Manuela already described.

@ Konstantinos Yes - That short term, occasional, anonymous formative feedback (as opposed to the institutionalized feedback) is what I think would be most useful for teachers. Just for the sake of improving or tweaking teaching strategies or assessment.

@ Manuela - Thank you for taking the time to provide a detailed and thoughtful response. Parenting style is an interesting influence that might come into play. As for the feedback process, that is certainly something that could be researched to maximize benefits for the students and teachers. Finally, teachers believing they are warriors, leaders and directors of the class could be a significant problem, since ideally, a fair bit of research suggests that student directed learning works best for a number of reasons.

@ Rozália - Thank you for your comment - I am excited that feedback was actually gathered and that is appeared to work well. I believe that a fair bit of thought has to go into obtaining effective feedback, with clear criteria/goals in mind.

@ Nelressa - Good point about teacher-centered pedagogy influencing desire for feedback. Why ask students when a teacher feels that they are the center of the process? Thanks for that idea.

@ Onalie - Excellent point about teacher insecurities coming into play AND specific cultures of teaching. I understand there is fear of the kind and reliability of feedback, but I wonder if this is a matter of method - finding the right way to get the right feedback. There will always be extreme feedback, so helping students be more constructive and teacher more selective about which feedback is reasonable might help. I'm not clear on why you feel feedback will increase, though, for education. We see it outside of education, but so very limited withing education, at least in Canada.

@ Sebastian Thank you for the reference - I see some research on feedback in higher education, but rarely in K-12 classrooms. I understand the culture of fear and insecurity in education, but if we ask students to have a growth mindset, I am hoping that teachers can as well.

Let me share three personal experiences.

I was teaching at an all-boys private school (grades 9 and 10) and there were a number of challenging students. Before things got out of control, I asked students for feedback on a number of issues. The students were stunned and said that no teacher had ever asked for their feedback. They provided a number of useful (and not so useful suggestions). I addressed them all to the class and I have to say, the rest of the year went quite smoothly with periodic feedback collected.

A second example - When I first taught at university, I worked very hard to make my classes and assessment effective. My evaluations were reasonably good, but I felt I was missing something. So I started to ask students for feedback during the course (4-5 times). The feedback was absolutely amazing and it helped transform my class. Students offered suggestions and observations I was completely unaware of - I responded quickly and they say that I cared. Final course evaluations, for what they are worth, improved significantly.

When when I taught my first online virtual course, I was pretty uncertain. I prepared "like crazy" but still sought feedback after every second class. The suggestions were clear, helpful and really improved the quality of the course. The key gain was getting the perspective of the student, which I could only guess at. At times, I was totally but pleasantly surprised at the obvious suggestions they made that I missed.

Agree with@ Manuela Muller.

Hope you good luck

best wishes

The question as it is formulated "Why do teachers resist....?" assumes that there is such resistance. This may not be the case. Teachers might lack awareness that collecting feedback from young learners could/should be done. A lack of action does not necessarily mean resistance to act.

@Larisa - Good point Larisa. So why do you think that teachers are unaware of the notions that collecting feedback might be helpful. Most of our teachers in Canada would be given training on this, they would have given feedback to their professors in higher education for at least 5 years, and they would be well versed on the benefits of formative assessment and feedback. They would also be acutely aware of trying to be effective teachers and help their students learn. I just assumed this training and life experience would lead them to the possibility that they could ask for feedback - but perhaps not - especially in different countries/cultures.

In my schooling years in the late 80''s, our teachers were the source and fountain of knowledge. Whatever they said was taken as correct and even a genuine spelling mistake made by the teacher, you would never dare make them aware because you would be shamed and the teacher would construe that as trying to be smart or clever and it was even punishable. So our teachers never wanted their limitations to be exposed, when my turn came as a junior teacher I realised that the same fear of being corrected by students had somehow crept into me as well. However, to cover that up I decided to tell my students in advance that it's natural that as students you might have knowledge of something I don't know and you would expect me to know it, so rather let's share any new trends or development. I would say I didn't completely allow learners to assess me or give me feedback as I feared as well the same, that I might feel less knowledgeable. But now after having left teaching, I feel somehow it would be interesting to have such regular feedback like we do after training in institutions of higher learning. I would have learnt a lot about my teaching from the learners themselves and believe it would improve the way we teach and avoid the assumption that whatever the method we use is the best and it had worked for years.

A large ego could hold teachers back from encouraging formative feedback. Teachers always need to encourage feedback. How else can they judge if what they are doing is working? This is very much like the problem in communication worldwide. We are so busy talking and proving that we are right that we don't listen; a person who doesn't listen does not learn about the needs or talents of others.

Performance assessment from can be threatening from any source. When it comes from a non-credentialed juvenile, it can easily denigrated. Isnt an uninformed naïve respondent enough to be wary? The process does not have to produce hostility. I suggest:

1. Start by recalling that the goal is to provide useful performance feedback for a single teacher.

2. Instrument language and contexts should be framed with the student’s perspectives and sensitivities.

3. Involve both faculty and students in the instrument ’s formation and validation processes.

4. As formative feedback, the aggregate results distribution should be limited to the individual teacher and otherwise quarantined.

@William - Thank you for your very helpful suggestions - Properly framing the feedback forms and process is critical for productive feedback. I think your wording about feedback coming from a " non-credentialed juvenile" is problematic for education - it is a mistake to think of students as "less" or "incapable". Remember, the sole purpose of teaching is to educate the students. I'm not saying that you would have this attitude - I believe it is an attitude that gets in the way for some teachers.

Thank you, Robin, for your question. In higher education, we use in small groups "Socrates approaches" in giving and receiving one-on-one feedback. The Socrates approach is based on using open-ended questions. For peer feedback, there is evidence that students' in the clinical years are more able to give constructive feedback to their peers compared to students in their first medical year. Whether this due to the lack of practice of providing feedback in primary and secondary schools; or that students at this stage are more into making friendship and unable to use critical thinking in giving constructive feedback, is an area that needs to be researched. I hope this helps.

Agree wth@Manuela Muller.

Hope you good luck.

Greeting

Teachers may find self-reflection in their pedagogical practices a daunting task. It may require rethinking their teaching philosophy or modifying their teaching strategies that may have been very successful for both the teacher and their students. Depending on the stage of learning, the teacher may feel the students may not be ready to give an effective formative assessment that can support their learning. With metacognition, students can provide a formative assessment which can be valuable to the teacher in providing effective instruction.

I totally agree with @ Onalie Dissanayake. From the very beginning, elementary school, we are told not to question the teacher because it is considered rude. This eventually destroys our students' curiosity.

Not all teachers resist!!! There are many teachers in these satges who encourage asking questions and giving feedback. I know that in some countries giving feedback or asking question are considered as culturally not appropriate... At the end such resistance affects students' curiosity and makes him/her grow up as a passive learner who just listen to what is said even when s/he joins advanced studies

@ Westmore Smith- I definitely agree with your opinion. During conducting my research studies about teaching meta-cognition and critical thinking in a secondary school, I observed the lessons and found that what and how teachers' asked determined student's feedback. Moreover, the classroom/ peer's culture, motivation of learning and relationship with the teachers were also important factors. Therefore, I am thinking that the meta-cognitive awareness and regulation of teachers are more important and should be addressed during planning the lessons in order to conduct high-quality formative assessment. However, in reality, teachers in Hong Kong are stuffed with thousands of non-teaching tasks and no room to reflect or even lose passion due to tiredness or disappointment in education.