Assessment in ethics education: neoliberalism, values and alignment

Book section

This chapter presents an outsider’s perspective on the issues raised by the Swedish contributors to this book. I first contextualise the Swedish situation within wider global policy tensions, identifying the three voices of conservatives, progressives and neoliberals, to argue that the demands of neoliberalism have created the desire for more effective and refined assessment across the curriculum. However, in the areas of religious education and ethics, this tendency has cut across long-standing debates between voices of conservatives and progressives. I then consider the principle of constructive alignment between curriculum, pedagogy and assessment, suggesting that many of the problems which the authors address can be framed in the light of this principle. In conclusion, the inter-relationship between alignment and the different voices is outlined, suggesting that the different voices impinge on policy-making, curriculum planning and assessment design in different ways at different stages.

Authors: Fancourt, N

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Springer International Publishing
• Host title: Assessment in Ethics Education: A Case of National Tests in Religious Education
• Series: Evaluating Education: Normative Systems and Institutional Practices
• Publication date: 2017-01-01
• DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-50770-5_8
• ISBN: 9783319507682
• Keywords: differential item functioning; ethical reasoning; SBTMR; national test; religious education; ethic education