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Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET), social influence dynamics, and teachers' choices: An evolutionary model

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  • Angelo Antoci
  • Irene Brunetti
  • Pierluigi Sacco
  • Mauro Sodini

Abstract

The issue of student evaluation of teachers (SET) has been explored by a large literature across many decades. However, the role of social influence factors in determining teachers' responses to a given incentive and evaluation framework has been left basically unexplored. This paper makes a first attempt in this vein by considering an evolutionary game-theoretic context where teachers face a two-stage process where their rating depends on both students' evaluation of their course and on retrospective students' evaluation of their teaching output in view of students' performance in a related follow-up course. We find that both high effort (difficult course offered) and low effort (easy course effort) outcomes may emerge, and that may either lead to a socially optimal outcome for teachers or not, according to cases. Moreover, there may be a potential conflict between the optimal outcome for students and for teachers. We also consider possible ways to generalize our model in future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Angelo Antoci & Irene Brunetti & Pierluigi Sacco & Mauro Sodini, 2017. "Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET), social influence dynamics, and teachers' choices: An evolutionary model," Discussion Papers 2017/225, Dipartimento di Economia e Management (DEM), University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
    • Handle: RePEc:pie:dsedps:2017/225
    Note: ISSN 2039-1854
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Student evaluation of teachers (SET); teacher effort; teacher motivation; social selection; strategic interaction between teachers.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • C73 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Stochastic and Dynamic Games; Evolutionary Games
    • D79 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Other

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