The meaning of multicultural evaluation and meaningful evaluation: the importance of multifaceted responsive evaluation in higher education

Abstract

ABSTRACT The interplay between evaluation, pedagogy, and curriculum has been researched extensively. But evaluation is often treated as an isolated component in academic settings, also neglecting multicultural aspects. Its purpose is to measure students’ achievements at the end of the course and function as distinctive criteria between high-achieving and low-achieving students. However, according to the constructivist approach, evaluation is embedded in the planning of curricula and pedagogical processes. Specifically, the content this article seeks to measure depends on the curriculum and the pedagogical processes. Not only is evaluation affected by these two components, but it also affects them. Therefore, all three components must be aligned and defined by the same goals and strengths. When these components are not aligned as is necessary, the educational process could be affected negatively. However, many variables are not considered nowadays, such as student gender, multiculturalism disabilities, and technological literacy. This article addresses this gap, discussing the implications of neglecting these variables.