STUDENTS EXPECTATIONS OF STUDENT’S ACHIEVEMENT ASSESSMENT: SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE

Abstract

Assessment of student achievement is one of the indication of the study quality. Each time attention is paid to the student’s achievements assessment issues in Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (2015) which is a systematically-published European edition relevant to higher education institutions. Also it is reminiscent of the meaning of student oriented studies. The article raises the problem, that it is not clear, what assessment of student›s achievements first-year students would like. Also what assessment methods are relevant and why. The analysis of published literature suggests that this aspect has been less studied in Lithuania. The main aim of the article is to present first-year social work students expectations of the aspect of personal studying achievement assessment. A qualitative research, based on the methodological provisions of social constructivism and theoretical assumptions of social constructivism is presented in the article. Research data collection and analysis methods: document analysis and analysis of scientific literature, open questions, content analysis. The research was conducted on 2013-2015. May. The research involved 23 first-year social work students of bachelor›s degree studies. Was figured out expectations of assessment of studying achievements of students by first-year social work students, which we can connect with essential characteristic of personal achievement assessment which is mentioned in methodological literature: motivational assessment, formative/educational assessment, self promotion, self-assessment integration, criterion assessment. First-year social work students (of bachelor›s degree studies) prefer different assessment methods, but they can highlight some of the most likely to choose (test, conversation, debate, open questions, review of literature, essay, project, problem solving). However, first-year students are not sufficiently aware of the meaning and purpose of the assessment method. They tend to attribute subjective meanings: just like, personally appropriate, do not cause stress, motivate or give them a good opportunity to express their opinions, show their efforts and strengthen by building their relationship with the teacher.