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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON FACULTY OF SOCIAL HUMAN AND MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES The impact of the National Student Survey on institutional behaviour in relation to student feedback by Caroline Carpenter Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Education June 2016 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON ABSTRACT FACULTY OF SOCIAL HUMAN AND MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES Education Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Education THE IMPACT OF THE NATIONAL STUDENT SURVEY ON INSTITUTIONAL BEHAVIOUR IN RELATION TO STUDENT FEEDBACK Caroline Sheila Carpenter This thesis examines the impact of the National Student Survey (NSS) on institutional behaviour, from policy inception and stated purpose, through adoption and implementation, to its seeming predominance at sector and institutional levels. The research is based on an in-depth longitudinal case study of a single institution, ‘Greenfields University’. It comprises two elements: an extensive review of university committee documents at four points over a thirteen year period and a contrasting, qualitative analysis derived from individual interviews. The latter constitute slices through the organisational structure, from top to bottom, central to local, augmented by conversations with two recent Students’ Union presidents. This thesis identifies and explores the paradox that whilst the NSS was initially met with suspicion, scepticism and methodological critique, followed by continuing hostile expert and press commentary, it became the preferred and all pervasive means of securing and acting upon student feedback, both for government and the higher education sector that initially resisted it. By comparing official documentary narratives with individual experience within one institution, this thesis is able to offer empirical evidence that partly confirms but also contradicts assertions made by some commentators concerning NSS implementation, notably around managerialism.
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