What Distinguishes a Distinction: The Eyes of the Beholder and Beholdee

Abstract

This paper reports results of a pilot case study on coursework postgraduates' perceptions of and strategies for achieving high quality performance in relation to teaching. The aim was to yield a preliminary database from which a survey questionnaire can be designed and administered to a larger population. Extending from the work by Bartlett and Fletcher (2001) the pilot case study was based on semi-structured interviews of three students. The students were asked about what they did and what they believed helped them get a distinction (D) or high distinction (HD) grade. The interview data were analysed using Leximancer Analysis for their perceptions and qualitative content analysis for their strategies. The results show that there were intrapersonal and interpersonal factors involved, which are reflected in the Leximancer analysis.