Self-assessment: Practice or Representation?

Abstract

Based on a socio-discursive interactional perspective (Bronckart, 1997), this paper presents data analysis of a research which by using a selfassessment instrument, aimed, firstly, at investigating the representations (Silva, 1999) presented by a teacher about assessment matters, and, secondly, at showing that assessment instruments are context-bound. Knowing that, in practice, these instruments are many times designed by one person for a large number of students, I analyzed students’ and teachers’ validation (Habermas, 1985) of tasks proposed by another teacher, and looked at their representation of aspects that compose the learning-teaching of English. Initial results show that no matter how carefully the instrument is designed (by others), it may pose difficulties for some learners, inasmuch as the assessment moment is part and parcel of the teaching-learning process for both teachers and learners, and not a separate aspect to be used in a staccato style. If schools seek instruments which will allow children to reflect upon their own learning, thus becoming more capable of regulating this learning (Perrenoud, 1998), careful look into the design of such instruments will be needed.