Students’ Self-Evaluation: an Empirical Study on Umm Al Quwain University Students

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the existence of the Dunning-Kruger effect at Umm Al Quwain University in the UAE. The students were asked to evaluate themselves on given tests. A sample size of 131 students from different specialties (Law, Public Relations and New Media) was assessed. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to determine whether or not there is a correlation between the students’ scores and the lecturers’ scores (r = 0.634, p-value = 0.001). A paired sample t-test was calculated to determine whether there is statistical evidence that the mean difference between paired observations (students’ scores and lecturer’s scores) is significantly different. The result shows that there is a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the students and the lecturers (T (130) = 6.799, P-value = 0.000). The result also shows that there is no statistically significant difference between male and female students’ self-evaluation scores (T (130) = -1.258, P-value = 0.211). This study demonstrates that the students are capable of accurately evaluating themselves if they are given the assessment criteria and instructed on how to utilize them.