Pakistani Higher Degree students' Views of Feedback on Assessment: Qualitative study

• The Feedback on Assessment from an Asian perspective has been highlighted.
• The feedback on assessment can be useful when students are satisfied.
• The continuity of feedback on assessment makes positive perceptions about feedback on assessment.
• The feedback on assessment must be timely.
• The feedback on assessment must be delivered to improve student performance.
• The role of instructor has been found to play an important role in perceived usefulness of feedback on assessment.

The purpose of this study is to explore Pakistani higher degree students' views regarding feedback delivered on assessment by course instructors. The researchers followed a naturalist-paradigm as a research design to investigate the feedback on assessment phenomenon in a moderately collectivist and high risk avoiding society. Qualitative data is collected through conducting four focus groups with 18 higher degree students, enrolled in the last years of their degree programs. The sample of students has been selected using purposive sampling technique from a private sector university located in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Thematic analysis revealed eight themes: satisfaction with feedback, scope of the feedback, demand for feedback, continuity of feedback, mode of feedback communication, timing of the feedback, competence of instructors, and student–instructor relationships & feedback. It has also been notable that role of instructors is considered imperative in enhancing the impact of feedback provided on assessment. This research is a pioneer study in the Asian context of Pakistan and contributes significantly to raise the standards of teaching and assessment in the country. The insights are useful for faculty members, teaching to higher degree students, and striving hard to achieve the desired outcomes of feedback on assessment.