Students' perceptions of teaching: the research is stil alive and well

This paper reports on the findings of a study investigating students' perceptions of lectures, seminars and modules in a university school of sociology and social policy. An anonymous questionnaire was used which incorporated both closed and open-ended questions. Results show that students thought lectures were well structured and audible, the latter being linked to easy note-taking. Lecturers were also viewed as enthusiastic and available for discussion and a good student-teacher rapport was reported. On the other hand, students had difficulties with overhead transparencies and the speed at which some lectures were presented. Seminars were reported to be well organised and integrated with lectures but students were less enthusiastic about the modular system, although they felt that module objectives were clear. Students were most dissatisfied with availability of books in the library. The paper ends by presenting some suggestions for future studies.