Appropriation and Actualization of a Formative Assessment Initiative at a Chinese Local University: The Power-Process Nexus
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Qiuxian Chen
Dr. Qiuxian Chen is a professor of applied linguistics at the School of Foreign Languages, Shanxi University, China. Her research efforts have been focused on formative assessment-related policy changes and their implementation and impact in the space of English as a Foreign Language in China and other Confucian Heritage Culture contexts.
Dr. Jingwei Song obtained her PhD degree in the School of Education, University of Glasgow, UK, and is now a lecturer in English Education at the School of Foreign Languages and Business, Shenzhen Polytechnic University, China. Her research interests include English language teaching and formative assessment.
Abstract
The past two decades have seen formative assessment claim legitimacy in policy discourse and engender immense tensions within the testing-dominated assessment regimes of multiple educational settings. These tensions, along with the top-down approach of the policy process, have made the inroads of formative assessment in local contexts very complex. This study seeks to unveil the localized appropriation and actualization of a formative assessment initiative in the College English area at a Chinese local university. The focus is on how the key actors at the institutional and classroom levels appropriate and negotiate the policy meaning within their local community of practice. Analysis of an individual interview with the dean and a focus-group interview with six teachers has revealed a “two-hand” approach[1] to the national policy and a nested mediation from local constraints, “cultural tools for thinking” and, more importantly, power in the policymaking process at the institutional level. The classroom level, on the other hand, witnesses capable teachers exercising their agency within a limited space. As a result, we would caution that power and agency could be solid mediators in the policy process and need to be exercised with care to ensure a more coherent implementation of assessment innovations.
About the authors
Dr. Qiuxian Chen is a professor of applied linguistics at the School of Foreign Languages, Shanxi University, China. Her research efforts have been focused on formative assessment-related policy changes and their implementation and impact in the space of English as a Foreign Language in China and other Confucian Heritage Culture contexts.
Dr. Jingwei Song obtained her PhD degree in the School of Education, University of Glasgow, UK, and is now a lecturer in English Education at the School of Foreign Languages and Business, Shenzhen Polytechnic University, China. Her research interests include English language teaching and formative assessment.
Acknowledgments
This study is based on research projects sponsored by the National Social Science Fund of China (NSSFC) (No.17BYY100) and the China Association of Higher Education—Foreign Language Teaching and Research Association [21WYJYYB24].
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Second Language Acquisition
- Asymmetry Across Stress Patterns: Production and Perception of English Word Stress by Chinese ESL Learners
- The Efficacy of Written Corrective Feedback Explicitness on the Grammatical Accuracy of Passive Voice Tenses
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- Teacher and Learner Factors Shaping Classroom Emotions: Evidence From High School Students in Xinjiang, China
- Testing, Evaluation and Assessment
- Appropriation and Actualization of a Formative Assessment Initiative at a Chinese Local University: The Power-Process Nexus
- Teacher Development
- Facts and Fallacies About English Language Teaching: Evidence From the Literature on Job Advertisements
- Abstracts
- Chinese Abstracts
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Second Language Acquisition
- Asymmetry Across Stress Patterns: Production and Perception of English Word Stress by Chinese ESL Learners
- The Efficacy of Written Corrective Feedback Explicitness on the Grammatical Accuracy of Passive Voice Tenses
- An Inquiry Into the Effect of Peers on L2 Motivation Under the L2 Motivational Self System
- Using L1 in English-Medium Content-Based Classrooms: A Case Study of Teachers’ Perspectives in Hong Kong
- Comparing the Effect of CHL Background on Chinese Receptive Vocabulary Breadth Between Indonesian and Thai CS/FL Learners: A Mixed-Methods Study
- Teacher and Learner Factors Shaping Classroom Emotions: Evidence From High School Students in Xinjiang, China
- Testing, Evaluation and Assessment
- Appropriation and Actualization of a Formative Assessment Initiative at a Chinese Local University: The Power-Process Nexus
- Teacher Development
- Facts and Fallacies About English Language Teaching: Evidence From the Literature on Job Advertisements
- Abstracts
- Chinese Abstracts
