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Patterns of resistance in managing assessment change

journal contribution
posted on 2014-01-01, 00:00 authored by C Deneen, David BoudDavid Boud
Achieving change in assessment practices in higher education is difficult. One of the reasons for this is resistance among those responsible for teaching and assessing. This paper seeks to explore this resistance through an analysis of staff dialogue during a major attempt to change the assessment practices at one institution. An institution-wide intervention to pilot new assessment practices was initiated, involving 35 academics across 12 departments. This paper reports on patterns emerging in dialogue about this among academics, and between academics and educational development personnel. Findings suggest that resistance is not a unitary concept, but that different stakeholders under varied circumstances express it differently; and that resistance to assessment change is particularly resilient. Implications are discussed in terms of relevance to current theories of higher education assessment and learning change management, as well as the practical considerations of attempts by institutions to engage in assessment change. © 2013 © 2013 Taylor & Francis.

History

Journal

Assessment and evaluation in higher education

Volume

39

Pagination

577-591

Location

London, Eng.

ISSN

0260-2938

eISSN

1469-297X

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2014, Taylor & Francis

Issue

5

Publisher

Taylor & Francis