Exploring the process of evaluative judgement: the case of engineering students judging intercultural competence

Abstract

For students to sustain their learning beyond higher education, it is important for them to develop their evaluative judgement. Although the importance of evaluative judgement is well-established, the process through which students make such judgements remains contested. This study explores students’ evaluative judgement process by asking 20 engineering students to evaluate their own intercultural competence and that of other engineers in task-based interviews. The findings reveal that in the process of judgement-making, students negotiate and navigate multiple dimensions, including their ‘knowledge of intercultural competence’, ‘awareness of bias’, ‘attitude towards development’, ‘capability to judge’, ‘action towards improvement’ and ‘identity as assessor’. Building on these findings, the study further reconceptualises evaluative judgement as a negotiated process rather than a capability.