An integrative review of student evaluations of teaching: implications for evaluation of nursing faculty

Student evaluations of teaching often play an important role in the promotion and tenure of faculty. Many of the instruments in use within the university setting are self-developed and have not undergone psychometric testing. More specifically, nursing education has many unique challenges, yet the effectiveness of student evaluations of teaching in nursing is understudied. The purposes of this integrative review were to review the current research literature on the design and psychometric testing of teaching evaluation scales, to synthesize the results, and to propose implications specific to nursing programs that are evidence based and will provide guidance on faculty teaching evaluations. A systematic literature review was conducted using Cooper, H. (1998). Synthesizing research: A guide for literature review (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications methodology. Data analysis led to the identification of 6 themes: faculty characteristics and perceptions, student characteristics and perceptions, course characteristics, on-line versus paper student evaluations, reliability and validity, and development of new instruments. This literature review provides the context in which to interpret student evaluations of teaching and discusses implications for practice.