James, David  ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7921-6485 and Simmons, Jonathan
2007.
Alternative assessment for learner engagement in a climate of performativity: lessons from an English case study.
Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice
14
(3)
, pp. 353-371.
10.1080/09695940701592022
|
Abstract
In many education systems, young peoples’ ‘disaffection’ is increasingly equated with non‐participation in education, training and employment. There is also an expectation that educational activity can provide a key response to this situation. Drawing upon a case study of a successful development project based in Bristol, England which utilized an ‘alternative’ assessment regime in raising the participation and attainments of young people defined as disengaged from schooling, the paper considers a series of key issues. These include: the nature of the provision; the difficulties of understanding and evaluating it in a climate of performativity; a distinctive concept of learning promoted by the assessment practices; and the role of individual and networked professional mediation in creating the ‘space’ for the initiative. The paper concludes that the case study project represents a ‘marriage of convenience’ between the expectations of a culture of performativity and, on the other hand, a horizontal community of practice which provides a strong professional framework for action, and that there are implications for both practice and policy.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Status: | Published |
| Schools: | Schools > Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education) |
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) |
| Publisher: | Taylor and Francis |
| ISSN: | 0969-594X |
| Funders: | Learning and Skills Council |
| Last Modified: | 28 Oct 2022 08:31 |
| URI: | https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/71081 |
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