As the awareness of the importance and necessity of an assessment to improve learning increases, the ability to understand and utilize feedback, useful information about learning processes and results, is an essential competency for students. Since the subject utilizing the evaluation is a student, it is necessary to examine how to accurately measure the feedback literacy, which is the attitude and utilization ability of the student's to feedback, and to diagnose and improve it. Therefore, in this study, the concept of feedback literacy was designed to measure the feedback literacy for elementary, middle and high school students in Korea and developed and validated the scale. We also tried to understand the feedback literacy by using the validated feedback literacy scale and examine how to improve the feedback literacy.
The purpose of this study is twofold. First, it examines various domestic and foreign researches, conceptualizes feedback literacy, develops a feedback literacy scale, and confirms applicability to the elementary, middle and high school students. For this purpose, preliminary tests were conducted on 405 elementary school children, 291 middle school students and 300 high school students in Daegu and Daejeon. The subjects were 508 elementary school students, 376 middle school students and 448 high school students in Seoul, Daejeon, Daegu, Gwangju, Gyeongbuk and Gangwon. Based on previous studies, I constructed items and scales. Furthermore I verified validity based on content, internal structure, generalization, and substantive based on the definition and classification of the validity of Messick (1995). Secondly, I investigate the feedback literacy tendency of Korean students using the developed feedback literacy scale, and examine the effects of feedback literacy and factors affecting feedback literacy. The subjects were 612 elementary school students, 422 middle school students, and 518 high school students in Seoul, Daejeon, Daegu, Gwangju, Gyeongbuk and Gangwon. To do this, the latent mean analysis was first conducted and the level of feedback literacy of elementary, middle, and high school students in Korea was compared by the school level. In addition, I conducted a latent profile analysis based on the subfactors of feedback literacy to search feedback literacy profiles. Finally, I identified the personal and contextual factors affecting the feedback literacy profile. To do this, I conducted a multi-level latent profile analysis using the 3 step method considering the classification error of latent profiles. So I investigated the internal and external factors affecting the feedback literacy profile by dividing them into student level and class level. Finally, I confirmed the effect of feedback literacy profile on academic self-regulation, Korean language, and mathematical achievement. For this purpose, a series of studies were conducted in this study.
First, based on various existing literacy research, feedback theory and learning theory, the concept of feedback literacy is defined in detail. The feedback literacy is composed of two sub-factors of ‘Feedback Utilization Ability’ and ‘Feedback Attitude’. Also Feedback Utilization Ability is composed of Feedup Feedback, and Feedforward in based on feedback theory (Hattie & Timperely, 2007; Pat-El et al., 2013; McMillan, 2013). Feed-up correspond to pre-feedback stages, including the understanding of learning objectives and evaluation criteria. Feedback means the ability to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their learning through the feedback provided and to judge their own tasks and learning processes themselves. Feedforward is defined as the ability to apply after feedback and apply to the next learning task. The Feedback Attitude covered both the overall cognitive, emotional, and behavioral attitudes toward feedback. The cognitive attitude is based on the expectation value theory (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002), the feedback theory (Brookhart, 2017; Nicol & Macfarlane-Dick, 2006; McMillan, 2013), and feedback knowledge. In addition, the preference degree of feedback is composed of feedback sentiment in that it can lead to feedback utilization. Feedback includes positive and negative judgments about students’ own learning, so it can bring about a feeling of feedback. Considering this point, emotional regulation, which is the ability to control these emotions, was included. Finally, feedback seeking is also included which means students’ active action to seek feedback.
Second, this study developed and validated the feedback literacy. Feedback Literacy Scale for Students (FLSS) was developed to measure the feedback literacy based on the concept of feedback literacy. The validity of the questionnaire was verified by confirming the degree of goodness of the question in elementary, middle, and high school students. The results of this study are as follows: the validity based on content, the validity based on internal structure, the validity based on actual, and the validity based on generalization. The final factors in the feedback literacy scale are that feedback utilization ability comprises feed up, feedback(understanding), feedback (production), and feedforward factors. Additionally, Feedback attitude is composed of cognitive (expectation, value, knowledge), emotion control, emotion, feedback seeking, 6 factors. Finally, the feedback literacy question was consisted of 35 items, 14 items of feedback utilization ability, and 21 items of feedback attitude. Specifically, the feedback utilization ability was 14 items; consisting of three feedup, six feedback, and five feedforward items. On the other hand, the feedback attitude consisted of 10 cognitive items, three items of emotion, four items of emotion regulation. and four items of feedback seeking
Third, this study diagnosed the level and type of feedback literacy. As a result, the feedback literacy of elementary, middle and high school students was relatively positive, however, the feedforward ability and feedback emotion were relatively low. For the comparison between the school level, this study estimated the latent average of other school levels by setting the latent average of middle school students and elementary school students as zero. As a result, middle school students showed a significantly lower mean of feedback utilization ability and feedback attitude than elementary school students and high school students. Compared with elementary school students, high school students were significantly lower in feedback utilization ability. however there was no significant difference in feedback attitude(expectation). In order to grasp the type of feedback literacy, the latent profile analysis was conducted based on the multi-dimensional sub-factors of feedback literacy, and the feedback literacy type was classified into four groups. Four groups are 'High level group', 'Upper middle level group', 'lower middle group' and 'low level group'. students tend to be divided according to their feedback utilization ability and feedback attitude level. In other words, students with high feedback utilization ability showed high feedback attitude, and students with low feedback utilization ability showed low feedback attitude.
Fourth, the effects of feedback literacy according to the feedback literacy profile and the individual internal and external factors influencing the feedback literacy profile were analyzed in consideration of individual level and class level. Based on the previous research, it was assumed that the students' internal factors, such as achievement goal orientation, teacher-student relationship, formative feedback, gender, and school, external factors, teacher-student relationship, and formative feedback would affect the classification of feedback literacy type. In addition, according to the feedback literacy profile, academic achievement and academic self-regulation would have different results. The results showed that the achievement goal orientation, which is an individual internal factor, predicted a significant effect on the feedback literacy profile classification. Formative feedback, which is external factor at the individual level, showed a significant effect on the feedback literacy grouping. Especially, the more they perceived to be scaffolding, the more likely they were in the upper middle and high level group than the lower middle and low group. When they perceived to have a lot of monitoring, they were more likely to belong to the high groups than the upper middle group. At the individual level, the teacher-student relationship increased the probability of belonging to the high group as compared to the lower group. However, the teacher-student relationship did not have a significant effect on the group classification except for the lower group and the high group.
At the class level, the more likely they were to be in the lower and low middle class than the upper middle and high group, and the more likely they were to be more formative feedback, the more likely they were to belong to the upper middle and high group than the lowe middle and low group. The gender did not have a significant effect on the feedback literacy grouping. According to a kind of school, middle school students had lower probability of belonging to high, upper middle, and middle group than the lower group.
Finally, I compared the effects of the feedback literacy profile on academic self-regulation and academic achievement after controlling variables at the student and school level. As a result, the feedback literacy high level group showed the highest achievement in academic self–regulation, Korean language, and mathematics. On the other hand, in the lower group, academic self-regulation, Korean language, and academic achievement were the lowest.
The implications of this study are as follows. First, it defines the concept of feedback literacy. By defining the various competences related to feedback as feedback literacy, we can strengthen the recognition of feedback literacy in the classroom and academia. This will also help to raise awareness of more active feedback activities and feedback capacity development. Second, the feedback literacy scale was developed and validated. This scale can be used to reliably and properly measure students' feedback literacy. In addition, this scale can help teachers and learners to improve teaching and learning process and evaluation process, and can contribute to the activation of related research. Third, the level of feedback literacy among elementary, middle and high school students could be comprehensively assessed through the analysis of latent mean and latent profile analysis. Fourth, we could empirically verify the importance and role of feedback literacy in learning. We can search for the influence of feedback literacy on achievement, academic self-regulation, and internal or external factors influencing feedback literacy. Fifth, it can provide educational significance in the changing evaluation flow. The feedback literacy emphasizes the active role of the student in the feedback process. This is essential to the paradigm of capacity-based, learner-centered education pursued by the revised curriculum.