Culturally responsive assessment in compulsory schooling in Denmark and Iceland - An illusion or a reality? A comparative study of student teachers’ experiences and perspectives

This paper explores and compares student teachers’ experiences and perspectives on culturally responsive assessment in compulsory schooling in Denmark and Iceland. The study’s theoretical framework draws on scholarship on culturally responsive assessment. The data was derived from fourteen interview...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nordic Journal of Comparative and International Education (NJCIE)
Main Author: Artem Ingmar Benediktsson
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Norwegian
Published: OsloMet — Oslo Metropolitan University 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.7577/njcie.5392
https://doaj.org/article/4aec50b56e04468289c81a2277906c29
Description
Summary:This paper explores and compares student teachers’ experiences and perspectives on culturally responsive assessment in compulsory schooling in Denmark and Iceland. The study’s theoretical framework draws on scholarship on culturally responsive assessment. The data was derived from fourteen interviews with Danish student teachers and ten interviews with Icelandic student teachers. As per the selection criteria, all participants had to be in the final stages of their education process, meaning they had completed their on-site schoolteacher training and most courses in their teacher education programme. During the interviews, the participants reflected on pre-instructional, formative, and summative assessment practices with cultural diversity in mind. Furthermore, they discussed the importance of assessing children’s well-being. In both countries, the participants demonstrated positive attitudes towards cultural diversity and expressed awareness of considering children’s cultural and linguistic backgrounds when assessing them. On the other hand, most participants expressed criticism of teacher education programmes for lacking attention to the topic of culturally responsive assessment, which resulted in their rudimentary understanding of the theoretical underpinnings.