Peer feedback in higher education: student perceptions of peer review and strategies for learning enhancement

This article explores student perceptions and experiences of peer review, the influences on potential feedback uptake, and the value attributed to discourse and collaborative learning processes in personal development. Higher education is increasingly promoting active student engagement in feedback, yet perceptions of the quality of feedback experiences, as voiced in evaluations and national student surveys, appear to contradict this movement’s aims, calling into question the effectiveness of current practice. This article aims to contribute to the development of dialogic feedback approaches by identifying potential barriers and enablers to effective peer review, with this insight significant for improving student learning experiences. Based on a qualitative study and thematic analysis of formative peer review practice by undergraduate students, it found that peer reviews are valued as a dialogic feedback practice because they encourage independent learning, and that they offer significant value in developing critical thinking skills and self-reflection. Key student engagement factors include constructive learning environments, emotional management, tutor-student power relations, and iterative cycles of developmental learning. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. The article contributes novel strategies for advancing peer review practice and embedding dialogic feedback within higher education to increase student agency over their own learning.