Chapter 16: The Need for Positive Feedback: Sociocultural Consideration of Self-Evaluative Motives in Education

Feedback is the currency through which the social world informs, rewards, or punishes its occupants. This currency is supplied frequently and on many occasions: in schools, organizations, sports, relationships, or transient social interactions. It is dispatched not only by authority figures (e.g., teachers, managers, coaches), but also by equals (e.g., fellow students, friends, social interactants). And it is intended to influence.

Sometimes feedback does influence, as examples from education demonstrate (Hattie, 2012; Hattie & Timperley, 2007). Yet, feedback is often less impactful than is meant to be (Kluger & DeNisi, 1996; Kulhavy, 1977). As a recent article in The Guardianconcluded, “There is remarkably little highquality, relevant research evidence to suggest that detailed or extensive marking has any significant impact on pupils' learning” (Aubrey, 2016, para. 1).