Editorial

Blackwell Publishing Ltd

or working in a particular context. Although

Feedback feedback ranges from the broad and global to the
Feedback is now accepted as a key factor affecting narrow and very precise, it has a strong emotional
learning and is a key feature of interpersonal dimension, which may lead to feedback intended to be
communication. The term is absent from the older narrow being interpreted as being broad. Moreover,
dictionaries, because it first began in electronics and even when the provider of feedback stresses that it is
then became a basic concept in the broader field of the action or performance that is the subject of the
cybernetics before it filtered through into psycho- feedback, many recipients interpret it as being a
logy to attain the wider significance it carries today. comment on their person. Thus, messages intended
In cybernetics, feedback was first associated with for guidance may be interpreted as judgemental.
self-regulatory systems. Then, systems theory raised Another problem arising from too close a link
the level of complexity to include the input of infor- between feedback and formative assessment is that
mation from outside the system that was relevant to formative assessment is usually conceived in quasi-
its performance. From there it filtered through into formal terms and provided by people with some
both behavioural and cognitive theories of learning authority. Much feedback is informal and provided
from experience. Feedback from experience is not by a wider range of people, including senior people
necessarily dependent on interpersonal communi- not having authority over the learner. Sometimes
cation. People can try things out, make mistakes, important feedback messages can be indirect. For
celebrate success and learn without any witnesses. example, the allocation of work is often perceived as
Such feedback is largely determined by what is indicating a judgement of a person’s capability, and
noticed, what is regarded as significant, how it is personal agency in seeking such work may lead to
interpreted and whether it is stored in long-term more rapid learning, or even earlier promotion. At
memory and/or contributes to current or future the other end of the scale is the undue importance
actions. When other people are involved in giving attributed to second-hand reports of conversations
feedback, the same factors apply to the recipient of and chance remarks by insecure learners who feel
the feedback, but the perspective of the giver of starved of feedback.
feedback, or of any observers, may be very different. The relationship between the cognitive content of
The feedback given is not the same as the feedback feedback and its emotional dimension was explored
received. by Trope et al. (2001, pp. 257–258), who interpreted
In education and workplace settings, the term responses to negative feedback as posing a self-
‘feedback’ is now mainly used in the context of control dilemma:
formative assessment, where its main purpose is
intended to be the provision of guidance on the Individuals may want … to know what skills
quality of a person’s understanding and/or perfor- they need to improve, what kinds of tasks to
mance. This could apply either to a specific situation, choose or avoid, and how much effort and
decision or event, or to an ongoing process of learning

© 2006 The Author

Journal compilation © 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Learning in Health and Social Care, 5, 3, 111–118
112 Editorial

positive feedback at a global level. The second is

preparation to invest in those tasks they when the feedback is followed by discussions about,
choose. At the same time, individuals may be and support or suggestions for, specific improve-
deterred by the emotional costs of negative ments. The third is when the recipient is known to
feedback. These costs involve negative be formally engaged in relevant learning, either
esteem-related feelings such as shame, through having student status or through being
dejection and disappointment. Indeed, engaged in a recognized ‘learning project’ at work.
research on task choice has found that Improving the mood by choosing or creating a
people expect diagnostic failure to improve setting that indicates concern for the learner may
the accuracy of their self-knowledge, but also also have a positive effect.
to make them shameful and dejected. In A related area of laboratory research, which has
contrast, people expect diagnostic success to been followed through into ethnographic research
promote their self-knowledge as well as in classroom settings, concerns the relationship
feelings of pride and gratification. Thus, the between achievement and motivation, and how it
decision to accept negative feedback that is is affected by feedback. Two theories of particular
diagnostic of self-relevant attributes entails a interest are Attribution Theory and Goal Theory.
trade-off between long-term information gain Weiner (1998) argued that a key factor affecting
and immediate emotional costs. learners’ motivation lies in how they attribute their
perceived success or failure. He uses four constructs
Their own research (Trope et al. 2001, p. 271) for this purpose:
indicated that the individuals’ mood and sense of
priority may also influence how this conflict is
resolved: Locus of responsibility:
Does this lie with the learner or is it
attributed to other factors?
When the feedback was diagnostic of an
important ability, participants who were in Scope:
a positive mood preferentially solicited and Does it relate to a specific event, a class
extensively processed feedback regarding of events or a wider range of contexts?
their weaknesses. However, … when he Control:
offered feedback that was non-diagnostic or Can the factors be controlled by
when it pertained to an unimportant ability, themselves or by others?
participants who were in a positive mood
preferred to receive feedback regarding their Stability:
strengths rather than their weaknesses. Are the factors relatively stable or
unstable?

In one experiment, Trope et al. showed that people

in a positive mood not only seek but also better (Note that in ‘Locus of responsibility’ and ‘Scope’
remember and accept arguments that specify the the terminology has been changed to clarify the
health risks associated with caffeine consumption. text.) Where the responsibility is seen as personal,
This diminished their positive mood, but enhanced the scope is regarded as significant, and the factors
their willingness to give up unhealthy habits. are viewed as stable and controllable, success will
I have three suggestions regarding the context that raise motivation and failure will lower motivation.
might affect the mood in which health and social Although it is the learners’ attribution that is
care practitioners and students receive negative deemed to affect motivation, this attribution is
feedback. The first occurs when there is an ongoing significantly affected by teachers and significant
relationship of mutual interaction, which entails others in the work environment.

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 Editorial 113

The ‘Goal Theory’ of Dweck (2000) is based on a

distinction between two kinds of achievement goal: • tend to see ability as a stable entity;

• concentrate much of their task analysis

Learning Goals, in which individuals strive on gauging the difficulty of the task and
to increase their competence to understand calculating their chances of gaining favourable
or master something new; and ability judgements;

Performance Goals, in which individuals • attribute difficulty to low ability;

strive to document, or gain favourable
• give up in the face of difficulty; and
judgements of, their competence or to avoid
negative judgements of their competence. • become upset when faced with difficulty
or failure [Note that the wording has been
changed to clarify the text.] (ibid, p. 85).
Dweck analysed research on children’s approaches
to schooling to show the main characteristics of
these two orientations. Torrance & Pryor (1998, The ethnographic studies of Torrance & Pryor
p. 85) summarize her research as indicating that (1998) in several primary school classrooms revealed
children with learning goals: how both the general classroom discourse and
separate conversations with individual children dem-
onstrated teachers’ encouragement of performance
• choose challenging tasks regardless of
goals rather than learning goals, with often un-
whether they think they have high or low
intended consequences for the long-term motivation
ability relative to other children;
of their pupils. Their conclusion is that ‘approaches
• optimize their chances of success; to formative assessment where the complexity of the
situation is minimized and interaction is seen in
• tend to have an ‘incremental theory of
purely cognitive terms’ (p. 105) help the teaching to
intelligence’;
‘move on’ but provide little real help to the learner as
• go more directly to generating possible to what to do next. Any attempt to understand the
strategies for mastering the task; learners’ needs ‘must involve a critical combination
and co-ordination of insights derived from a number
• attribute difficulty to unstable factors,
of psychological and sociological standpoints, none
e.g. insufficient effort, even if they perceive
of which by themselves provide a sufficient basis for
themselves as having low ability;
analysis’, and be ‘contextualized in the actual social
• persist; and setting of the classroom’ (p. 105).
If we return to consider the determinants of
• retain their self esteem, and are relatively
individual feedback listed in my opening paragraph
unaffected by failure.
– what is noticed, what is seen as significant and how
it is interpreted and used – we can now see how
These characteristics are developed through co- dependent these factors are on the social context in
operative work and encouraging personal (ipsative) which the feedback is given. The feedback perceived
standards of success. In contrast, children with by learners in education settings is hugely influ-
performance goals: enced by the classroom culture, and that in turn is
influenced by the wider culture of the organization
• avoid challenge when they have doubts and the state structure for professional formation.
about their ability compared with others; When we move to workplace contexts, there are
• tend to self-handicap so as to have an similar, if not identical, factors affecting learning.
excuse for failure; Much learning at work occurs through doing
things and being pro-active in seeking learning

© 2006 The Author

Journal compilation © 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
114 Editorial

Fig. 1 Triangular relationship

among challenge, support and
confidence.

opportunities, and this requires confidence. More- manner in which the communication of feedback
over, confidence arises from successfully meeting is given and received.
challenges in one’s work, while the confidence to Given the various perspectives on interpersonal
take on such challenges depends on the extent to feedback discussed above, it is important to include
which learners felt supported in that endeavour. Thus, informal and indirect feedback in any definition. So,
there is a triangular relationship among challenge, for the purposes of this editorial I define feedback as:
support and confidence (Eraut et al. 2000). The con-
textual significance of the word ‘confidence’ depends
Any communication that gives some access
on which aspects of this triangular relationship
to other people’s opinions, feelings, thoughts
are most significant at any particular time. Often,
or judgements about one’s own
it comes close to Bandura’s (1997) concept of self-
performance.
efficacy, relating to their self-perceived ability to
execute a particular task or successfully perform a
role. But, especially in the early career stage or when This excludes feedback given to groups of people,
the stakes are high, it can also refer to their con- which raises many issues beyond the scope of this
fidence in their colleagues’ support. editorial. Group feedback is closely allied to the
Further research led our joint Sussex/Brighton concepts of the ‘learning team’ and the ‘learning
research team to add further elements to each apex organization’ and deserves separate treatment.
of this triangle (Fig. 1) to reflect other factors found
to be significant for the learning of early career
professionals (Eraut et al. 2005a). First, we decided
Settings for feedback
to separate feedback from support, because it is not In order to study feedback more closely, we need to
necessarily supportive and can effect motivation in distinguish four types of setting in which feedback
some of the complex ways discussed above. Then may occur.
we recognized that commitment to work and to 1 Immediate comment on aspects of a task or a role
colleagues is generated through participation in given on-the-spot or soon after the event by a co-
teams (much less common in education settings) participant or witness. This has the greatest chance
and through appreciation of the social value of the of being more specific and taking into account
work. Then, personal agency recognizes participants’ situational factors that may later be forgotten.
own sense of choice, meaningfulness, competence 2 Informal conversations away from the job. These
and progress (Thomas 2000), which is not necessarily often convey indirect and/or unintended messages
aligned with their employer’s priorities. as well as intended advice. Their role is particularly
The main contextual factors that influence these dependent on the local learning climate.
learning factors are the allocation and structuring 3 Formal roles, such as mentor or supervisor, which
of the work, relationships in the workplace and ex- involve some responsibility for a learner’s short to
pectations of and by learners. Learners’ expectations medium term progress and an obligation to provide
are critical to their views on the kind of feedback formative feedback on a regular basis. The quantity
they need, and relationships are critical for the and quality of such feedback varies widely, not only

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 Editorial 115

with the skills of the providers, but also with their in the quality and quantity of each other’s work.
opportunities for witnessing the work of those they Second, both direct and indirect feedback are often
are meant to support, and the priority accorded to a spontaneous part of the working relationship and
that role in that particular work context. given without stopping to think. Sometimes this can
4 Appraisal is a more formal and less frequent also be a disadvantage. Third, when there is a shared
process, through which a more senior worker is work setting, many things do not need to be
expected to give normative feedback on personal explained, so it is easier and quicker to give feedback.
strengths and weaknesses, ascertain their views Fourth, there is a greater possibility of incorporating
on their learning opportunities and discuss whether tacit knowledge into the learning and the feedback.
they were meeting their own and their employers’ Working alongside a colleague for a period of time
expectations. This process also depends on the enables one not only to learn by asking questions
appraiser’s skill, their relationship with the people and receiving feedback about shared activities and
they appraise and the quality of the information events as and when they happen, but also to pick up
available to them about their appraisee’s performance. aspects of their situational understanding and
The first two types of setting are informal and ongoing monitoring and decision making that are
embedded in the local learning culture. They also largely tacit and beyond their powers of explanation
depend on the specific affordances for learning (Eraut 2000, 2004). Moreover, comparing one’s own
provided by the learning context. I will now present work with that of a more experienced colleague
and discuss examples of each of these potential often engenders formative self-evaluation. The
feedback settings, before returning to discuss the immediacy of feedback can also be extended when
role of indirect feedback in situations where there is the practitioners involved have had separate recent
little direct feedback. contacts with the same patient/client, or through the
use of images or chemical data as ‘mediating objects’.
Our research concluded that on-the-spot feedback
Immediate on-the-spot feedback
is best provided through a system of de-centred sup-
One important finding of our research was that port (Nielsen & Kvale 1997), where all professionals
the majority of workplace learning takes place as present regard supporting other people’s learning as
a by-product of working processes, for which we part of their role. Moreover, such feedback needs to
developed the following typology (Eraut et al. 2005b): be both supportive and constructive, and to help
them reflect on their practice. In settings where such
Participation in group processes focused feedback is available, learning becomes part
Working alongside others of everyday practice with consequent benefits for
all concerned. Where it is not present, learners feel
Problem solving rudderless and became anxious about their long-
Consultation term progress.
Tackling challenging tasks and roles One professional group for which this distributed
Trying things out apprenticeship is both feasible and highly desirable
is hospital nursing. Newly qualified nurses need to
Consolidating, extending and refining skills acquire complex clinical and communication skills
Working with clients to a high level and to learn how to prioritize their
workload; and both these competencies require
Several of these learning categories involve working on-the-spot rather than distant or delayed feedback.
closely with other people in a manner that creates However, learning cultures often differ greatly
opportunities for on-the-spot feedback to be given between wards, even in the same hospital. In many
immediately or very quickly, and this has four wards nurses are more likely to receive negative
important advantages. The first is that, in most situ- feedback on one mistake, than positive feedback on
ations of this kind, colleagues have a vested interest everything they do well. Constructive feedback in

© 2006 The Author

Journal compilation © 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
116 Editorial

areas where their performance is adequate but Where the distributed apprenticeship system or
capable of being improved is most likely to occur support from those immediately available works
when membership of a ward community provides well, mentors may be friendly back ups rather than
access to significant social and emotional support. active helpers, and this is no cause for concern.
Hence, strong learning support and leadership from However, in the absence of distributed support, the
senior nurses is also necessary. Some ward managers role of the mentor becomes crucial. The important
understand that the best way to improve their skill role of providing on-the-spot feedback is either
mix and the quality of their collective care is for ignored or delegated to mentors, who may have
novices and those in the first promoted grade to neither the opportunity nor the disposition to pursue
develop their capabilities as rapidly as possible. it. Managers who do not appreciate the importance
Others do not see this as a form of investment in of learning through working alongside more experi-
people, or are just too daunted by the problem of enced practitioners may disregard it when allocating
trying to implement it. work to mentors and mentees, and mentors may not
develop supportive ways of working with their mentees.
The situation can also be complicated by mentors or
Informal conversations away from the job
supervisors of trainees on placements being given
Most early career professionals receive some additional assessment roles. Mentor training often
informal feedback from their colleagues, but this fails to address these important practicalities.
does not necessarily provide much support for A particularly good example of ensuring that
learning. The status of casual feedback, such as mentors provide close support for newly qualified
informal chats or passing comments at the end of nurses came from a ward manager who combined
the day, is uncertain. It enhances collegiality, but does giving her novices regular supervisions, in which
not often seem like a considered piece of advice. The she discussed their problems and gave them advice,
nature of the feedback, its timing and the way it is with organizing the ward so that they all worked
given, are all important, especially after emotionally regularly with the same mentors, even on night duty.
draining situations when sympathetic support is She also advised the mentors on how to provide
vital for sustaining practitioners’ morale and com- support by explaining that:
mitment. More reflective discussions may follow
later, ideally with a mentor or a clinical supervisor.
They are there to help them move on and to
There are also occasions when informal consulta-
go through their patients with them, so that
tions or encounters in the space around a formal
they understand what they are doing; and it’s
meeting, in a corridor or during a break for coffee or
just so worthwhile if you do that, if you just
lunch, give rise to focused discussions in which views
go through things with them and they know
are exchanged in a more deliberative manner. These
where they are, they understand what you
are a constant source of advice to those who take the
know about the patient so far; and if anything’s
opportunity. Now and again useful feedback gets
different you’ll come and tell me and then
woven into these conversations, and even when that
we’ll go through things. It just makes life so
does not occur, relationships are developed that enable
much easier and they remain calm for the day
feedback to be actively sought on future occasions.
without getting anxious and worried and not
taking their breaks and that sort of thing …
Formal roles such as mentor, supervisor or
manager
This philosophy not only sets up the mentors as
Official mentors or supervisors are appointed for all on-the-spot-providers of feedback, but also addresses
students and most newly qualified health and social the confidence and emotional needs of the novices
care professionals in most countries, but both their during a period, which our research has shown to
official role and their actual role can differ widely. cause a crisis of confidence in at least a half of each

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 Editorial 117

new cohort. This enhances not only learning but • whether appraisers have the information to enable
also retention. them to have the kind of informed discussion that
novices are seeking;
• the appraisers’ ability to give constructive
Appraisal
feedback in a manner that is both challenging and
While a sense of progression is closely linked to reassuring; and
recognition of learning, it is possible to know that • the frequency of appraisals: they may need to be
one is learning without knowing that one is making conducted more frequently in the first year of a new
good progress. All our respondents in every project job, perhaps every 3 months.
we have conducted have wanted longer-term
normative feedback, as well as short-term on-the-
spot feedback. How did their progress and their
The scope of the feedback
quality of performance compare with that of others This is a problem area for many organizations. If some
at the same stage? Were they meeting the expec- areas of work come to be perceived as more important
tations of significant others in the organization? than others, because they appear to be better routes to
What were their main strengths and weaknesses? promotion or are better paid, this indirect evidence
This required someone more senior and experi- will trump any official policies or appraisal schemes.
enced who knew them but had also consulted other Similarly, if some more observable or measurable
people about their progress. One of the most telling aspects of a job are weighted more highly, other
lessons of our research is that even when novices, possibly more important aspects will suffer and the
and also mid-career professionals, appeared development of less appreciated, but crucial, skills will
confident and were working competently, they still be neglected. If the only route to promotion is through
needed to have a discussion about their own and management, then professional skills may suffer.
their employer’s views of their progress. For example, Less obvious, perhaps, are job assessment or
we found that nurses who were contemplating appraisal schemes that neglect some of the more
leaving their jobs often doubted their capabilities or complex aspects of a job, because the people who
had other problems associated with their employment design them do not recognize the nature of the
which, if acknowledged, might have been rectified. expertise involved. There is usually an overemphasis
Giving medium- to long-term feedback is usually on actions, rather than the situational understand-
associated with appraisal, but we encountered ings that are needed to inform those actions, and
relatively few examples of appraisal, if it happened at on short-term outcomes rather than longer-term
all, being valued by either early career or mid-career consequences. In some professions, the importance
professional workers (Eraut et al. 1998) There were of the more complex communication skills is
a few positive examples, but most regarded appraisal also under-rated. In general, one major tension in
as a wasted opportunity. Indeed, many of our health and social care is that between accountability
partner organizations in the mid-career project and complexity. Until we find modes of account-
confessed that appraisal was not working as intended ability which recognize complexity, the scope of both
and said that they were trying to reformulate it. professional and managerial work will continue
This has prompted us to ask whether there are any to be over-simplified.
other methods of collecting evidence and providing People are quite good at creating new sets of
feedback that have not yet been considered. In competences, promotion criteria or job descriptions,
addition, we want to explore the following factors, but not so good at evaluating their implications.
which seem to influence the gap between both Improving feedback could be disastrous if it turned
participants’ aspirations for appraisal and what out to be the wrong feedback. What attributes do
happens on the day itself: current appraisal and feedback systems reward,
• the continuity of relationship between appraiser what attributes most influence promotion and pay,
and appraisee; what attributes are most needed for the envisaged

© 2006 The Author

Journal compilation © 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
118 Editorial

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© 2006 The Author

Journal compilation © 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.