Assessment practices in Scottish social work education: a practice audit of Scottish universities providing qualifying social work courses

Student assessment is a critical component of social work education. In the last ten years, the nature of assessment in social work education has changed considerably. Alongside innovations to more traditional forms of assessment such as essays and examinations, there has been increased emphasis on student participation in assessment in various forms of self- and peer-assessment. However, there is a dearth of published information on assessment strategies and methods employed in mainstream social work education programmes. The inception of the new qualifying courses across the UK has catalysed interest in the development of innovative assessment strategies and tools. In Scotland, the Scottish Institute for Excellence in Social Work Education (SIESWE) has commissioned research into innovative assessment strategies. This paper reports on the findings of a practice audit of current assessment practices in social work education in Scotland.

Perspectives on assessment practices in Australian journalism education

Claims from both educational and industry sides about what journalism students should be learning are not new, and not confined to Australia. European debates on the nexus between practical training and theoretical capacity extend to those by American journalism educators, who share concerns about how journalism schools can accommodate both theory and practice (Adam 2001; Bjork 1996; Bromley & Servaes 2006; Dickenson & Brandon 2000; O’Donnell 2001-02; Rosenbaum 2002; Ricketson 2005). These discussions merge coherently with initiatives undertaken by Australian universities to ensure graduates from any discipline are equipped with a set of measurable skills (or attributes)appropriate to the international context of higher education. The paper explores this tension through the lens of assessment in journalism education, and does so by drawing mostly upon education theory. It suggests some possible ways to cater for media industry pressure on universities to cut theory and concentrate on practice, while accounting for the educator’s responsibility to promote learning in line with graduate attributes such as the capacity to function as a global citizen, a capacity for critical evaluation, and a deep knowledge of the field of study.

Students' approaches to assessment in accounting education : the unique student perspective

In accounting education, most Student Approaches to Learning (SAL) research has investigated the relationship between students' performance and their approaches to learning. Relatively limited research has been conducted on how assessment practices influence the quality of students' learning from the students' perspective. This paper seeks to address this gap in the accounting education literature. The research is centred on a large Australian undergraduate accounting degree delivered in Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Focus group interviews were conducted with students across the three locations. The research results reveal that: (1) it is the English competency of students that has the most important impact on students' completion of set assessment tasks and thus their approach to learning; (2) it is the way in which assessment is designed and written and the way lecturers convey their expectations about how assessment will be undertaken that is crucial to how students from various countries perform in that assessment; and (3) students' approaches to assessment and their preferred assessment tasks are not homogeneously based on cultural background.

Exploring the development and assessment of work-readiness using reflective practice in construction education.

It is well known that the construction industry is characterized by the need for practical knowledge and skill. However, this creates special challenges for universities in the development of work readiness in graduates. This research investigates the attitudes of students towards a course which was designed to develop work-readiness skills in construction management. The paper focuses on the distinctive issues associated with Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) using a formally assessed industry-mentored course of study. Past research shows that university degrees should promote reflective thinking since, in construction, it is necessary to make reflective judgements which deal with ill-defined problems. This is a generic capability that is needed by all graduates in knowledge-based occupations. The study utilized reflective practice to examine the perceptions of construction management students towards the development of attributes which were known to improve work skills. The students were asked to capture their reflections on their experiences in the form of reflective diaries, which were prepared weekly throughout the course. The results showed that the students expressed very positive views about their learning experiences. This occurred in spite of the challenges caused by the formal assessment processes that were undertaken as part of the course. This paper compares the student perceptions with the teachers’ reflections on the ability of traditional assessment methods to measure graduate attributes and work-readiness. The research explores the issues associated with assessing work-readiness skills in higher education. The findings suggest that student reflection is a necessary precondition to the development of effective work-readiness. In addition, the research concludes that more nontraditional assessment approaches are needed in construction programmes in order to develop the type of graduate required by the industry.

Teacher performance assessment in teacher education : an example in Malaysia

As part of a cross-cultural collaboration, a teacher performance assessment (TPA) was implemented during 2009 in three Malaysian institutes of teacher education. This paper reports on the TPA for graduating primary teachers in Malaysia. The investigation focused on the pre-service teachers’ perceptions about whether the TPA provided them with an opportunity to document successfully their professional learning and professional practice. Successful completion of the Malaysian TPA was closely aligned to successful relationships, support and collaboration between Malaysian lecturers and pre-service teachers, and between pre-service teachers and their classroom teachers. Overall, the TPA did provide pre-service teachers with an opportunity to focus on the connection between theory and professional learning during field-work, and to become reflective evidence-based practitioners. Recommendations for improving the assessment of pre-service teachers are discussed.

Feeding back and enhancing authentic learning in quality course assessment design : locating information systems education in rigorous educational research

Locating information systems education foursquare within rigorous and substantial educational research is crucial if the discipline is to receive the scholarly attention that it warrants. One way to do that is to highlight how current information systems course design in Australian undergraduate and postgraduate programs exhibits the strongest possible elements of contemporary learning theories. This paper analyses selected features of the design of an information systems postgraduate course in an Australian university, including the use of peer review of journal entries and writing professional reports to enhance authentic learning and maximise quality assessment design. The analysis is framed by the principles of instructional design theory (Snyder 2009). The authors argue that, by demonstrating theoretically grounded and effective educational practice, the course highlights the value of being located in wider educational research, and of bringing the two fields more closely together.