Challenging the Survey Narrative: A Qualitative Exploration of Student-Led Interview Method in Program Evaluation

Program evaluation commonly employs large-scale surveys as the primary means for assessing educational quality and effectiveness, followed by interviews to obtain insights that surveys cannot capture. However, the power dynamics embedded in evaluator-led interviews often restrict students’ willingness to share candid perspectives, limiting access to meaningful feedback. In response, student-led, peerto-peer interviews have emerged as a promising approach for eliciting authentic, experience-near accounts of learning. This study investigates the use of student-led interviews within a university-level academic English program for engineering students, where multiple large-scale surveys and traditional interviews had failed to generate the critical feedback necessary for curriculum development. Three trained student interviewers conducted 12 semi-structured interviews with peers, and thematic analysis, supported by a dialogic consensus process, was used to analyze the data. The interview findings were compared with results from university-wide and program-specific surveys. The study revealed a striking disconnect between the overwhelmingly positive survey data and the nuanced, critical perspectives expressed in the interviews. The analysis uncovered previously hidden issues that contributed to student confusion and disengagement, illustrating the limitations of surveys in detecting such concerns. The findings demonstrate the value of student-led interviews in generating actionable insights that can inform meaningful program reform.