Teachers responding to cultural diversity: case studies
on assessment practices, challenges and experiences
in secondary schools in Austria, Ireland,
Norway and Turkey
Global mobility and economic and political crises in some parts of the world have
fuelled migration and brought new constellations of ‘cultural diversity’ to European
classrooms (OECD 2019). This produces new challenges for teaching, but also for
assessment in which cultural biases may have far-reaching consequences for the
students’ further careers in education, occupation and life. After considering the
concept of and current research on ‘culturally responsive assessment’, we use qualitative interview data from 115 teachers and school leaders in 20 lower secondary schools
in Austria, Ireland, Norway and Turkey to explore the thinking about diversity and
assessment practices of teachers in the light of increasing cultural diversity. Findings
suggest that ‘proficiency in the language of instruction’ is the main dimension by which
diversity in classrooms is perceived. While there is much less reference to ‘cultural
differences’ in our case studies, we found many teachers in case schools trying to adapt
their assessment procedures and grading in order to help students from diverse backgrounds to show their competencies and to experience success. However, these responses were, in many cases, individualistic rather than organised by the school or
regional education authorities and were also strongly influenced and at times, limited
by government-mandated assessment regimes that exist in each country. The paper
closes with a series of recommendations to support the further development of a
practicable and just practice of culturally responsive assessment in schools.
Metadata
Item Type:
Article (Published)
Refereed:
Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords:
Cultural diversity; Assessment; Cultural bias; Linguistic diversity