Students as consumers: Using “satisfaction surveys” in the classroom

David W. Furst and Andrea H. Criste

Boys Town offers the “Consumer Satisfaction Survey” as a way to tap the insight of the youth we serve and to make data-based decisions about improving the learning environment. This article describes how to create, administer, interpret, and act upon survey results in order to bridge the gap between students and teachers.

In our efforts to find ways to improve our schools or services, increase student achievement, and motivate discouraged learners, we often overlook one of the best sources of information available to us – our students and clients. What exactly are the stressors or challenges that cause youth to disconnect or lose hope? How can these elements be eliminated? At Boys Town, we recognize that our students themselves can often best answer these questions and provide us with perceptive commentary on what’s wrong and what’s right about how we build trust and establish relationships with them. While our own knowledge of pedagogy, psychology, and best practices is never discounted, time and again it has been greatly informed by the insight of the youth we serve.

A data-based approach
At Boys Town, we use a “consumer satisfaction survey” as one approach to collecting and evaluating information about how our students rate their quality of life under our care. In the survey, youth actually rate their satisfaction on items regarding the fairness of staff in their treatment of youth, staff’s level of concern for their well-being and achievement, and staff’s helpfulness in times of need. In addition to questions covering these topics, more specific questions about the classroom environment include whether teachers have a calm voice and pleasant facial expression when talking to students, whether or not teachers explain why when correcting students, and whether teachers notice when students do something well.

In recent years we have collected and analyzed hundreds of such student surveys about our Boys Town Education Model from many schools across the United States. Results from content analysis of the comments obtained deliver a clear message: The quality of the teacher-student relationship is not only questionable, it is often negative.

Student Questionnaire Items

How satisfied are you that:

My teachers treat me fairly.
My teachers are concerned that I do well and will offer to help me if I need it.
My teachers have pleasant facial expressions and calm voices when talking to me.
When I get consequences for misbehavior, it’s usually for a good reason.
I am learning to get along better with other students, teachers, and my parents.
I am an important member in my classes.
My classes have clear rules.
My teachers usually notice me when I do things well.
My teachers always explain why when correcting me or asking me to do something.
I feel that when good things happen, they happen because of hard work.

_____________________________________
Answer Key
5 = very satisfied
4 = satisfied
3 = don’t know
2 = dissatisfied
1 = very dissatisfied

According to Noblit, Rogers, and McCadden (1995), “without a positive relationship with the teacher, students have little reason to commit to the instructional activities of the curriculum.” Poor relationships between teachers and students can also create intense feelings of discouragement, anger, and resentment, contributing to a host of undesirable outcomes besides low achievement, including increased drop-out rates, drug use, delinquent behavior, and even lower expectations from teachers (Gottfredson, Gottfredson and Lois, 1993). Often, teachers' words and actions may actually create the very student problems they seek to avoid. In some cases, teachers may impose a curriculum of coercion and control in the classroom (Knitzer, Steinberg and Fleisch, 1990; Steinberg and Knitzer, 1992) rather than trying to build relationships and teach. This kind of behavior by teachers can be one of the greater stressors within the school environment, as reflected in the following student survey samples:

Most of my teachers treat me fairly, but one particular teacher always tries to find something bad about me, even little things.

Teachers pick on you when you are doing wrong and hardly ever notice you when you are doing right.

While occasionally, some student comments may need to be taken with a grain of salt, the fact remains that in order to take steps to improve the quality of the classroom environment, we first need to know what students think is wrong. There is no substitute for going to the source.

Students' insights on building relationships
Many students have been able to turn their lives around because the adults responsible for them learned how to build positive relationships. In our consumer satisfaction surveys, we have found numerous suggestions from students on exactly how teachers can build or strengthen such relationships. In response to survey results from our own programs, we developed the following list of skills and qualities necessary for developing positive relationships with young people (Father Flanagan's Boys Home, in press). While these skills are especially important in working with students who have emotional and behavioral problems, they are equally important for any youth or relationship.

Smile. The art of the smile is not as regularly practiced by teachers as one might think. Smiling was repeatedly chosen by students as an area of great concern. Smiling signals approachability. However, smiling at an inappropriate time can easily be misinterpreted by students. As a general guideline, smiling is appropriate when you can tell a student is feeling good but it is not appropriate when you can tell a student is feeling uncomfortable or when a sensitive issue is being addressed.

Have fun. Tell a funny story. Laugh at the absurdities of life. Poke fun at yourself. Have students bring something funny to you. An element of fun in the classroom not only lightens the mood but has actually been correlated with increased student achievement.

Empathize. It can be extremely difficult to be empathetic in the classroom when students are behaving negatively. But while it is easiest to tell students to ignore their problems, it is far more effective to teach them how to overcome times when they feel bad. When you see that a child is depressed or upset, you might offer support by saying, “What can we do to solve the problem?” These kinds of statements must be made sincerely and compassionately for them to have any real impact. In addition, use a soft, comforting tone of voice and watch the student’s reaction. However, it is important to note that being empathetic does not mean that you fail to give consequences for negative behavior.

Praise. Praise is a powerful relationship-builder and is crucial when working with hard-to-reach students. However, ways to praise effectively are not as obvious as they might seem. Here are a few suggestions for effective praise that we have compiled from student survey comments:

Praise the behavior, not the student. Be descriptive about the behavior you wish to see again.
Don’t compare students or bring up past inappropriate behaviors.
Be brief. Too much praise sounds phony and renders it ineffective.
Praise sincerely. Effective praise needs to have some positive emotion attached to it.
Smile. Acceptance of a behavior comes through loud and clear when praise is accompanied by a smiling face.
Give praise immediately. If you see a positive behavior, don’t wait to praise it.
Give praise at an appropriate time in ways the students like. For example, some students are OK with public praise and appreciate an in-class thumbs up or a high five. Other students may prefer that praise be given privately, such as after class when peers have left the room.

Listen. The importance of listening cannot be overemphasized. Much of our communication with other people is accomplished without saying a word. Listening carefully will allow you to pick up cues about what is troubling a student. Here are some guidelines for effective listening:

Look at the student. If you fail to look at a student who is talking to you, you not only create the impression that you don’t care, but you also miss an opportunity to watch the student’s facial expressions – important cues about what a student is feeling.
Match your voice tone to the message. Speaking softly and slowly may help soothe an angry student. An enthusiastic voice may encourage a student to keep up the good work. On the other hand, a sarcastic voice tone can be discouraging or even inflammatory.
Use appropriate physical touch. Physical touch communicates warmth and acceptance. A pat on the back can comfort a sad or lonely student. However, touch also may be misused, and should never be threatening, intimidating, or sexual in nature. Allowing students their personal space shows you respect their right to privacy.
Be understanding. Children live in their child's world, just as teachers live in their adult world. The two worlds do not always co-exist in perfect harmony. Often, when students attempt to explain a dilemma in their lives, teachers say things like: “That’s not a problem. Wait until you’re older, then you'll know what real problems are.” Such a response is almost the same as saying, “Go away kid, you’re bothering me:” Try to see things from the student’s perspective. As minor as a problem may seem to you, it could be monumental to a child.
Use appropriate gestures and facial expressions. Smile, nod your head, and keep your arms and hands relaxed. Facial expressions and body posture communicate our willingness to listen, often much more than we realize.

Hints on developing and administering a “Consumer Satisfaction Survey"

Decide exactly what you want to measure. For example, if you want to know if students think that teachers are interested in them, you could ask them to evaluate a statement such as, “My teachers will help me if I need it.” To find out if students think teachers praise enough, a good statement would be, “My teachers usually notice when I do things well.”
Craft your questions. Include only questions that directly ask about what you want to know, and only ask about one thing in each question. (For example, an inappropriate question would be “Do you like it when your teachers praise you verbally in front of the whole class?” because it asks students to respond to two different topics – verbal praise and public praise.)
Test your questions. Have other people, including students, read the questions to see if they are simple, easy to read, and understandable.
Decide on a rating scale. The usual kind of scale used for this type of survey is the Likert-type scale. A Likert scale consists of a series of answer choices with a different number assigned to each answer. You should use an odd number of answer choices to allow for a neutral or in-between answer (e.g., 1 = strongly agree, 4 = neither agree nor disagree, 7 = strongly disagree).
Protect students' confidentiality. When administering the survey, ask the students not to include their names. Anonymity reassures students that the infor mation will not be used against them. If it is possible, have a colleague or a teacher assistant administer the survey to your class. This will help students feel that they can be more honest. You might even want to have someone else tabulate the results.
Analyze the survey. First, add the number of students who rated each scale point for each question. Next, calculate the average rating for each question. Finally, look for recurring ideas and areas of concern in the responses. The sheer number of like-minded comments validates the accuracy of student perceptions and provides you with a window into the feelings and experiences of students in your classroom.

Are we there yet?
Is the relationship-building process ever finished? Not really. Relationships are dynamic; they are going somewhere and always changing. They can get richer, grow old, end completely, begin anew, get better, or get bitter, all of which depends on what we do to make them change. When we ask our ultimate consumers – our students – how we can make positive changes, we are far better able to build the trust and the relationships that these young people need for success.

References

Father Flanagan's Boys Home (in press). The vital signs of relationships for caregivers.

Gottfredson, D. C., Gottfredson, G. D. and Hybl, L. G. (1993). Managing adolescent behavior: A multi-year, multi-school study. American Educational Research Journal, 30, 1. pp. 179-215.

Knitzer, J., Steinberg, Z. and Fleisch, B. (1990). At the schoolhouse door: An examination of programs and policies for children with behavioral and emotional problems. New York: Bank Street College of Education.

Noblit, G. W., Rogers, D. L. and McCadden, B. M. (1995). In the mean time: The possibilities of caring. Phi Delta Kappan, 76, 9. pp. 680-85.

Steinberg, Z. and Knitzer, J. (1992). Classrooms for emotionally and behaviorally disturbed students: Facing the challenge. Behavior Disorders, 17. pp. 145-146.

This feature: Furst, D. W. and Criste, A.H. (1997). Students as consumers: Using “satisfaction surveys” in the classroom. Reaching Today’s Youth, 2, 1. pp. 11-13.