From Feedback Receipt to Feedback Uptake: Feedback Literacy and Sustainable Assessment in a General Foundation Programme

Abstract

Assessment sustainability depends not only on the provision of feedback but also on learners' capacity to understand feedback, evaluate quality, manage their emotional responses, and use feedback for future learning. This mixed-methods study examined the relationship between student feedback literacy, engagement with feedback, and perceived assessment sustainability in a General Foundation Programme at a private higher education institution in Oman. Data were collected from 92 foundation-level students through a structured questionnaire and from 12 teachers through semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, one-sample t-tests, Pearson correlation, and simple linear regression. Qualitative interview data were analysed thematically. The results indicated that students reported moderately positive levels of feedback literacy, engagement with feedback, and perceived assessment sustainability. Feedback literacy was positively associated with engagement with feedback and perceived assessment sustainability, and it significantly predicted feedback engagement. Teacher interviews showed that feedback was commonly provided through written comments, verbal guidance, and peer review; however, student uptake was shaped by motivation, emotional response, understanding of criteria, and opportunities for dialogue. The study concludes that sustainable assessment in foundation-level education requires feedback to be designed as an active learning process rather than as a one-way transmission of comments. The findings suggest that feedback literacy can be strengthened through explicit guidance, rubric-based discussion, peer review, reflection tasks, and structured opportunities for students to act on feedback. The study contributes to assessment and feedback research by foregrounding feedback uptake in a foundation-programme context and by offering practical implications for educators working with academically diverse learners.