‘Complex teaching realities’ and ‘deep rooted cultural traditions’: Barriers to the implementation and internalisation of formative assessment in China

Adam Poole,Bob Adamson

doi:10.1080/2331186x.2016.1156242

Abstract

AbstractThis article forms the first part of an Action Research project designed to incorporate formative assessment into the culture of learning of a bilingual school in Shanghai, China. It synthesises the empirical literature on formative assessment in China to establish some of the difficulties that teachers have faced in trying to incorporate this approach into their teaching. Some of the barriers include student and teacher resistance and notions of face (mianzi) which are also related to deeply held cultural scripts for teaching and learning that emphasise knowledge transmission and respect for the teacher. The article then explores some of the bottom-up solutions that have been suggested by researchers, such as collaborative dialogue, professional development and international perspectives. These suggestions provide a jumping-off point for offering intercultural communicative competence as a concept and a method that could be effective in ameliorating cultural discontinuities. Throughout, I show ho...

Highlights

IntroductionAgainst a backdrop of globalisation, international testing systems like PISA (the Programme for International Standardised Assessment) are increasingly being used as a way to measure the success or failure of a country’s education system
Against a backdrop of globalisation, international testing systems like PISA are increasingly being used as a way to measure the success or failure of a country’s education system
This study aims to contribute to the literature by synthesising the empirical studies available that focus on the difficulties of incorporating formative assessment into the “Chinese” classroom and to propose tentative solutions to these problems which could be applied in my own context

Summary

Introduction

Against a backdrop of globalisation, international testing systems like PISA (the Programme for International Standardised Assessment) are increasingly being used as a way to measure the success or failure of a country’s education system. Despite excellent results in the last round of PISA, many educators in China are concerned that the current emphasis on high stakes examinations is having a detrimental effect on students’ well-being and their ability to use higher order thinking skills. Against this backdrop of debate over the role of summative tests, this article forms the first part of a collaborative project between expatriate and Chinese teachers in a bilingual school in Shanghai, China which aims to incorporate formative assessment into the school’s assessment culture. The incorporation of formative assessment could be a way to bridge this transition

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