[What role does social background and school type play in perceptions of digital feedback and academic self-concept during the COVID-19 pandemic?]

Abstract

How students perceive feedback shapes the impact of feedback on academic achievement and the development of academic self-concepts. The COVID-19 pandemic changed the framework of school learning and thus the opportunities for feedback in the classroom. In the present study, a sample of 668 students from different types of schools was used to investigate how often they received digital feedback from teachers and how they perceived the feedback. We analysed the role of school type and social background (socioeconomic status and migration background) in the perception of feedback and whether social background, school type, and perceived feedback can predict academic self-concept. In terms of school type, students in the higher academic track (Gymnasium) perceived their teachers' feedback as less fair, accepted it less, and saw less benefit in the feedback. The social background of students with and without a migration background did not play a significant role in their perception of the feedback. The results of a multiple regression model showed that socioeconomic status, perceived fairness, and usefulness of the feedback were positive predictors of academic self-concept in distance education. Thus, the present study provides preliminary evidence on the perception of digital feedback and its relationship to academic self-concept. The results imply that teachers should more strongly incorporate students' perceptions of feedback to especially enhance academic self-concept.