Placements shape the experience — what 1,924 teacher training students say
Scope. UK NSS open-text comments for Teacher Training (CAH22-01-02) students across academic years 2018–2025.
Volume. ~1,924 comments; 97% successfully categorised to a single primary topic.
Overall mood. ~55.0% Positive, 40.9% Negative, 4.2% Neutral (positive:negative ≈ 1.35:1).
What students are saying
Teacher Training students anchor much of their feedback in practical experience. Around one in six comments focuses on placements/fieldwork (≈16.1% share), a markedly higher focus than the broader sector. The tone here is mildly positive overall (sentiment index ~+4.6) but trails the sector baseline for the same topic.
Alongside placements, students talk about the mechanics of delivery—especially scheduling/timetabling (3.6% share; −32.4), organisation and management (2.7%; −31.0), course communications (1.8%; −43.1) and remote learning (2.4%; −20.8). Taken together with placements, this delivery & operations cluster accounts for just over a quarter of all comments (~26.6%), and its tone sits below sector on most elements. Predictability and clear ownership of changes are recurrent asks.
Set against those operational frictions, the people-centred picture is strong. Students are notably positive about Teaching Staff (8.1% share; +45.7), Student support (8.4%; +34.1), and Availability of teaching staff (3.3%; +47.6). They also report meaningful gains in Personal development (+60.1) and a positive Student life experience (+40.9). Personal Tutor references are positive too (+28.6), albeit less frequent than sector.
In Assessment & Feedback, the themes are familiar. Feedback (6.0% share; −18.8) and Marking criteria (3.2%; −45.6) pull sentiment down when expectations are unclear or feedback is hard to act on. Assessment methods also trend negative (3.6%; −15.8). The upshot is simple: clarity—via exemplars, transparent rubrics and reliable turnaround—shifts sentiment quickly.
Finally, some topics are less discussed here than sector-wide—e.g., Module choice/variety (1.4% vs 4.2%) and general Learning resources (1.4% vs 3.8%)—which reinforces how day‑to‑day experiences of placements and delivery shape the Teacher Training narrative.
Top categories by share (Teacher Training vs sector)
| Category |
Section |
Share % |
Sector % |
Δ pp |
Sentiment idx |
Δ vs sector |
| Placements/ fieldwork/ trips |
Learning opportunities |
16.1 |
3.4 |
+12.7 |
4.6 |
−7.2 |
| Student support |
Academic support |
8.4 |
6.2 |
+2.2 |
34.1 |
+20.9 |
| Teaching Staff |
The teaching on my course |
8.1 |
6.7 |
+1.4 |
45.7 |
+10.2 |
| Feedback |
Assessment & feedback |
6.0 |
7.3 |
−1.3 |
−18.8 |
−3.8 |
| Delivery of teaching |
The teaching on my course |
5.7 |
5.4 |
+0.3 |
6.1 |
−2.6 |
| Type and breadth of course content |
Learning opportunities |
5.5 |
6.9 |
−1.4 |
18.6 |
−4.0 |
| Scheduling/ timetabling |
Organisation & management |
3.6 |
2.9 |
+0.8 |
−32.4 |
−15.9 |
| Assessment methods |
Assessment & feedback |
3.6 |
3.0 |
+0.6 |
−15.8 |
+8.0 |
| Availability of teaching staff |
Academic support |
3.3 |
2.1 |
+1.2 |
47.6 |
+8.3 |
| Marking criteria |
Assessment & feedback |
3.2 |
3.5 |
−0.3 |
−45.6 |
+0.1 |
Most negative categories (share ≥ 2%)
| Category |
Section |
Share % |
Sector % |
Δ pp |
Sentiment idx |
Δ vs sector |
| Marking criteria |
Assessment & feedback |
3.2 |
3.5 |
−0.3 |
−45.6 |
+0.1 |
| Scheduling/ timetabling |
Organisation & management |
3.6 |
2.9 |
+0.8 |
−32.4 |
−15.9 |
| Organisation, management of course |
Organisation & management |
2.7 |
3.3 |
−0.7 |
−31.0 |
−17.1 |
| Remote learning |
The teaching on my course |
2.4 |
3.5 |
−1.1 |
−20.8 |
−11.8 |
| Feedback |
Assessment & feedback |
6.0 |
7.3 |
−1.3 |
−18.8 |
−3.8 |
| Assessment methods |
Assessment & feedback |
3.6 |
3.0 |
+0.6 |
−15.8 |
+8.0 |
| Communication with supervisor/lecturer/tutor |
Academic support |
2.0 |
1.7 |
+0.3 |
−14.9 |
−6.9 |
Shares are the proportion of all Teacher Training comments whose primary topic is the category. Sentiment index ranges from −100 (more negative than positive) to +100 (more positive than negative).
Most positive categories (share ≥ 2%)
| Category |
Section |
Share % |
Sector % |
Δ pp |
Sentiment idx |
Δ vs sector |
| Personal development |
Learning community |
2.2 |
2.5 |
−0.3 |
60.1 |
+0.3 |
| Availability of teaching staff |
Academic support |
3.3 |
2.1 |
+1.2 |
47.6 |
+8.3 |
| Teaching Staff |
Teaching |
8.1 |
6.7 |
+1.4 |
45.7 |
+10.2 |
| Student life |
Learning community |
2.7 |
3.2 |
−0.4 |
40.9 |
+8.8 |
| Student support |
Academic support |
8.4 |
6.2 |
+2.2 |
34.1 |
+20.9 |
| Career guidance, support |
Learning community |
2.0 |
2.4 |
−0.4 |
29.7 |
−0.4 |
| Personal Tutor |
Academic support |
2.1 |
3.2 |
−1.0 |
28.6 |
+9.9 |
What this means in practice
-
Treat placements/fieldwork as a designed service. Confirm capacity before timetables go live; publish clear placement briefs; and provide a short, structured “on‑site feedback” moment. Where the experience is predictable and supported, sentiment lifts not only for placements but for surrounding delivery topics.
-
Tighten the operational rhythm. A single source of truth for course communications, visible ownership of scheduling and organisation, and a simple weekly “what changed and why” update reduce confusion and improve perceived reliability.
-
Raise assessment clarity. Publish annotated exemplars, checklist-style rubrics and realistic feedback SLAs. Calibrate expectations in class and align assessment methods to intended learning outcomes so students can see what “good” looks like and how to achieve it.
-
Amplify people strengths. Keep the accessibility and responsiveness of teaching staff visible; make personal tutor contact regular and purposeful; and signpost support early to sustain the strong, positive tone students report.
Data at a glance (2018–2025)
- Top topics by share: Placements/fieldwork (~16.1%), Student support (~8.4%), Teaching Staff (~8.1%), Feedback (~6.0%), Delivery of teaching (~5.7%).
- Delivery & ops cluster (placements, scheduling, organisation, comms, remote): ~26.6% of all comments; tone generally below sector, especially on scheduling (−32.4) and comms (−43.1).
- People & growth cluster (personal tutor, student support, teaching staff, availability of staff, delivery of teaching, personal development, student life): ~32.5% of comments, strongly positive overall.
- How to read the numbers. Each comment is assigned one primary topic; share is that topic’s proportion of all comments. Sentiment is summarised as an index from −100 to +100 and averaged at category level.
How Student Voice Analytics helps you
Student Voice Analytics turns open-text survey responses into clear, prioritised actions. It tracks topics and sentiment over time so you can see where Teacher Training (CAH22-01-02) is improving and where attention is needed—at whole‑institution level and down to faculty, school and programme.
It also enables like‑for‑like sector comparisons across CAH codes and by demographics (e.g., year of study, domicile, mode of study, campus/site, commuter status). You can segment by site/provider, cohort or year to target interventions precisely, and share concise, anonymised theme summaries with partners and programme teams. Export‑ready outputs (web, deck, dashboard) make it straightforward to communicate priorities and progress.