Date of Award

Spring 2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Education Policy, Planning, and Administration

Committee Chairperson

Orkideh Mohajeri, PhD

Committee Member

Benjamin Brumley, PhD

Committee Member

Vipanchi Mishra, PhD

Abstract

Student Affairs and Student Service (SASS) professionals play a central role in student success outcomes and have direct organizational impact in higher education settings. As in other types of workplaces such as corporations, supervision and feedback are key elements of growth and development for SASS professionals. There is minimal research addressing how the supervisor feedback environment is connected to SASS employees’ feedback orientation, highlighting a need to explore these relationships to enhance supervision practices, feedback self-efficacy, and institutional effectiveness. The purpose of this quantitative study was to analyze the potential relationships between SASS employees’ perceived feedback environment and their own ability to receive informal performance feedback. This study used a quantitative design grounded in Leader-Member Exchange Theory (Graen & Uhl-Bien, 1995) and Self-Efficacy Theory (Bandura, 1977; 1997). The researcher developed four hypotheses and five sub-hypotheses to study key variables from the literature. A total of 127 SASS staff members at higher education institutions across the United States completed a questionnaire that consisted of seven feedback environment components and four components critical to feedback receptivity. Descriptive and inferential statistics were calculated using SPSS software to correlate participants’ perceptions of their feedback environment and perceptions of their feedback receptivity. The results suggest that supervisor credibility, feedback seeking behaviors, and racial similarity between supervisors and employees correlate with how SASS professionals perceive their feedback environment and accept informal supervisor feedback. This information can strengthen supervision relationships and feedback practices in higher education institutions.

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