Placing feedback skills among new literacies and competencies

Abstract

Despite feedback being proved to be one of the most influential factors of the learning process with a high effect size which can be seen in every lesson, there is still a large deficit of research in this area in the Russian scientific field. Existing studies often review foreign theories and practices, which are not always applicable to the Russian context due to differing socio-cultural backgrounds, such as the lack of basic training for teachers in providing feedback in lessons. In addition to outlining the concept of feedback, the article delves into a relatively new concept – feedback literacy – from the perspective of aligning the term with current understanding of literacy and competencies in Russian science. It is suggested that it would be more appropriate to consider this construct not as literacy or competency but rather as a popular construct like problem-solving, learning to learn, and decision-making skills. Considering giving and receiving feedback as meta skills crucial for lifelong learning, there is a need for more research of the skills related to working with feedback. Furthermore, there is also a distinct lack of training programmes for teachers aimed at developing teacher feedback literacy.