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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Bill Boyle

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Guest Editor

Centre for Formative Assessment Studies (CFAS), School of Education, Ellen Wilkinson Building, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
Interests: teaching, learning and assessment; self-regulated learning; formative assessment; co-construction; equity and metric

Ms. Marie Charles

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Guest Editor

Centre for Formative Assessment Studies (CFAS), School of Education, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
Interests: early writing development; affective and connative domains; equitable pedagogies; formative assessment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In 1970, the Brazilian educator Paulo Freire published his book ‘Pedagogy of the Oppressed’. It introduced expressions such as ‘humanising pedagogy’ and the ‘banking model’ of education which made a profound and lasting impression on my own training. Over 20 years have passed since the National Curriculum and its assessment was implemented in England followed by the introduction of international testing and performance League Tables. These events have produced a dehumanising of the taught curriculum with the pupil a recipient of a delivery model measured by coverage and banking of facts with the accountability for those facts through increasingly minimum competency examinations.

Freire’s humanistic principles for an enlightened education system have been submerged internationally by ‘one size fits all’ government-issue pedagogy; speeded and basic training in ‘delivery’ for teachers based on the model of pupil as producer of performance data rather than an individual with a stake in his or her own learning journey.

The intention of this Special Issue is to reclaim assessment as an integral part of an equitable pedagogy; in plain terms, assessment to be understood and practised as an essential support to teaching and learning rather than used as a measurement and grading process.

Professor Bill Boyle
Marie Charles
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

assessment
formative assessment
self-regulated learning
co-construction
differentiation
equity pedagogy
learning environments
teacher training

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

315 KiB

Open AccessArticle

“Which Child Left Behind”: Historical Issues Regarding Equity in Science Assessment

by Peter J. Fensham and J. Joy Cumming

Educ. Sci. 2013, 3(3), 326-343; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci3030326 - 07 Aug 2013

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 7184

Abstract

Assessment of learning plays a dominant role in formal education in the forms of determining features of curriculum that are emphasized, pedagogic methods that teachers use with their students, and parents’ and employers’ understanding of how well students have performed. A common perception is that fair assessment applies the same mode of assessment and content focus for all students—the approach of assessments in international comparative studies of science achievement. This article examines research evidence demonstrating that the act of assessment is not neutral—different forms of assessment advantage or disadvantage groups of students on the basis of family backgrounds, gender, race, or disability. Assessment that implicitly or explicitly captures the social capital of the child serves to consolidate, not address, educational equity. The article provides an overview of ways that science curriculum focus and assessment can introduce bias in the identification of student achievement. It examines the effect of changes to curriculum and assessment approaches in science, and relationships between assessment of science and the cultural context of the student. Recommendations are provided for science–assessment research to address bias for different groups of students. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Assessment in Supporting an Equitable Pedagogy)

554 KiB

Open AccessArticle

“Assessment as Discourse”: A Pre-Service Physics Teacher’s Evolving Capacity to Support an Equitable Pedagogy

by Edward G. Lyon

Educ. Sci. 2013, 3(3), 279-299; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci3030279 - 19 Jul 2013

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5890

Abstract

One way to view ‘equitable pedagogy’ is through an opportunity to learn (OTL) lens, meaning that regardless of race, class, or culture, a student has access to rigorous and meaningful content, as well as appropriate resources and instruction necessary to learn and demonstrate understanding of that content. Assessment holds a unique position in the classroom in that it can both uncover whether inequitable conditions exist (i.e., performance gaps, denied OTL) and provide an OTL by mediating communication between teacher and students regarding learning progress and what is important to learn. Nevertheless, individuals entering teacher education programs often hold deficit views toward marginalized students, such as Language Minorities (LMs), believe that assessment strictly serves to evaluate learning, and do not do consider how language and culture influence student thinking–views supplanting assessment’s role at supporting an equitable pedagogy for LMs. Through surveys, interviews, program artifacts, and classroom observation, I report on a case study of one pre-service physics teacher, Dean, to depict how his expertise at assessing science did evolve throughout his yearlong teacher education program in terms of (a) becoming more knowledgeable of the role of language and (b) developing a belief in incorporating ‘discourse’ while assessing science. Within the case study, I analyze one particular episode from Dean’s teaching practicum to highlight remaining challenges for pre-service teachers to integrate science and language in classroom assessment—namely, interpreting students’ use of language along with their understanding of core science ideas. The findings underscore the need for connecting language and equity issues to content-area assessment in teacher preparation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Assessment in Supporting an Equitable Pedagogy)

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