Institutionalising formative assessment through school reform: when educational policy and teacher education are misaligned

The interest in formative assessment, which is highly valued in current conceptualisations of teacher assessment literacy, has led to a renewed focus on initial teacher education (ITE) programmes, as well as on the assessment education domain. The conceptual understanding of the theory and practice...

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Main Author: Serafina Pastore
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2024-12-01
Series:Cogent Education
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Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2428075
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author Serafina Pastore
author_facet Serafina Pastore
author_sort Serafina Pastore
collection DOAJ
description The interest in formative assessment, which is highly valued in current conceptualisations of teacher assessment literacy, has led to a renewed focus on initial teacher education (ITE) programmes, as well as on the assessment education domain. The conceptual understanding of the theory and practice of formative assessment has been long advocated by scholars. However, most of the research conducted over the years has primarily focused on the effectiveness of pre-service courses in promoting teacher assessment literacy, while the assessment content and pedagogies provided to teacher students have received limited attention. Given the emphasis on formative assessment, recently introduced as a compulsory practice in the Italian school system, this study offers a first scan of educational assessment courses provided by the national (ITE) programmes. Using nationwide data from 74 syllabi of educational assessment courses, a content analysis has been performed to detect if, and to what extent, ITE programmes have been revised to reflect the new formative assessment demands. More specifically, the analysis determined the existence and frequency of formative assessment content. Findings indicate a limited presence of formative assessment (theory and practice) elements across the selected syllabi. Implications and future directions for educational practice, research, and policy are finally discussed.
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spelling doaj-art-60f06ad6b235497a9f88553fa524b22e2024-11-18T13:32:20ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Education2331-186X2024-12-0111110.1080/2331186X.2024.2428075Institutionalising formative assessment through school reform: when educational policy and teacher education are misalignedSerafina Pastore0Department of Research and Humanities Innovation, University of Bari, Bari, ItalyThe interest in formative assessment, which is highly valued in current conceptualisations of teacher assessment literacy, has led to a renewed focus on initial teacher education (ITE) programmes, as well as on the assessment education domain. The conceptual understanding of the theory and practice of formative assessment has been long advocated by scholars. However, most of the research conducted over the years has primarily focused on the effectiveness of pre-service courses in promoting teacher assessment literacy, while the assessment content and pedagogies provided to teacher students have received limited attention. Given the emphasis on formative assessment, recently introduced as a compulsory practice in the Italian school system, this study offers a first scan of educational assessment courses provided by the national (ITE) programmes. Using nationwide data from 74 syllabi of educational assessment courses, a content analysis has been performed to detect if, and to what extent, ITE programmes have been revised to reflect the new formative assessment demands. More specifically, the analysis determined the existence and frequency of formative assessment content. Findings indicate a limited presence of formative assessment (theory and practice) elements across the selected syllabi. Implications and future directions for educational practice, research, and policy are finally discussed.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2428075Formative assessmentinitial teacher educationassessment educationteacher assessment literacycourse syllabusTeachers & Teacher Education
spellingShingle Serafina Pastore
Institutionalising formative assessment through school reform: when educational policy and teacher education are misaligned
Cogent Education
Formative assessment
initial teacher education
assessment education
teacher assessment literacy
course syllabus
Teachers & Teacher Education
title Institutionalising formative assessment through school reform: when educational policy and teacher education are misaligned
title_full Institutionalising formative assessment through school reform: when educational policy and teacher education are misaligned
title_fullStr Institutionalising formative assessment through school reform: when educational policy and teacher education are misaligned
title_full_unstemmed Institutionalising formative assessment through school reform: when educational policy and teacher education are misaligned
title_short Institutionalising formative assessment through school reform: when educational policy and teacher education are misaligned
title_sort institutionalising formative assessment through school reform when educational policy and teacher education are misaligned
topic Formative assessment
initial teacher education
assessment education
teacher assessment literacy
course syllabus
Teachers & Teacher Education
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2428075
work_keys_str_mv AT serafinapastore institutionalisingformativeassessmentthroughschoolreformwheneducationalpolicyandteachereducationaremisaligned