Assessment in French and English infant schools: Assessing the work,the child or the culture? |
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| Authors: | Maroussia Raveaud |
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| Institution: | 1. University of Bristol , UK;2. University of Le Mans , France |
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| Abstract: | This article is based on a comparative study of French and English infant schools. The first section examines the understanding of 'mistakes' from a socio-cultural perspective, relating assessment to teachers' culturally situated practice and values. While mistakes and failure for some are an inevitable outcome of French pedagogic choices, they are less acceptable to English teachers and less relevant to the experience of infant school children. The second section considers the scope of assessment: teachers in France seek to dissociate their assessment of a piece of work from the pupil who has produced it, whereas English infant school teachers remain more holistic in their approach, assessing the 'whole child' through their work. The form and content of teacher assessment thus reflect socially constructed and culturally situated conceptions of pupils and of learning. Routine assessment in the classroom constitutes a prism through which one can examine teachers' beliefs and values, as well as the priorities of the two education systems. |
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