Back to Imaginative Spaces Home
go to ACE Report
1.1. THE PURPOSES OF ASSESSMENT................................................................ 13
1.1.1. From Technicist Purposes to Professional Development.................................... 13
1.1.1.a. Technical Purposes.......................................................................................... 14
1.1.1.b. Substantive Purposes....................................................................................... 14
1.1.1.c. Social Purposes................................................................................................ 15
1.1.1.d. Individual Developmental Purposes................................................................ 15
1.2. THE PROFESSIONAL MANDATE................................................................... 15
1.3. APPROACHES TO DEFINING COMPETENCE.............................................. 17
1.3.1. Some Approaches to Finding a Definition.......................................................... 17
1.4. FROM TECHNICIST TO EDUCATIVE PROCESSES IN THE ASSESSMENT OF PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE 19
1.4.1. Differentiating Quantitative and Qualitative Discourses..................................... 19
1.4.2. The Quantitative Discourses............................................................................... 21
1.4.3. Minimum Competency Testing (MCT).............................................................. 23
1.4.5. Competency Based Education (CBE)................................................................. 23
1.4.6. National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs)....................................................... 26
1.4.7. SUMMARY..................................................................................................... 28
1.5. FINDING A DIFFERENT APPROACH............................................................ 28
1.5.1.Towards Alternative Paradigms........................................................................... 28
1.5.2. Towards the Educative Paradigm........................................................................ 31
1.6. THE EDUCATIVE PARADIGM
A SUMMARY................................................................................................. 32
THE ASSESSMENT OF COMPETENCE
THE ISSUES DEFINED IN PRACTICE........................................................ 35
2.1. COMPETENCE.................................................................................................... 35
2.2. HOW PEOPLE DEFINE COMPETENCE IN PRACTICE................................. 35
2.2.1 Developing Conceptual Maps in Practice............................................................ 35
2.3. UNIDIMENSIONAL APPROACHES TO DEFINING COMPETENCE......... 36
2.3.1 Statutory Definitions of Competence................................................................... 36
2.3.2 The Tautology of Statutory Definitions of Competence....................................... 37
2.3.3 Statutory Competencies- a Minimum Standard?.................................................. 37
2.3.4 Competence as a Cluster of Components............................................................. 38
2.4. MULTIDIMENSIONAL APPROACHES TO DEFINING COMPETENCE.... 39
2.4.1 The Factors which Contribute to Multi-dimensionality........................................ 39
2.4.2 Working Relationships and the Dynamics of Work............................................. 40
2.5. COMPETENCE AS REFLEXIVE KNOWLEDGE EXPRESSED IN WORK.. 42
2.5.1 Competence and Professional Practice................................................................. 42
2.5.2 Competence and the Development of a Reflexive Body of Knowledge............... 42
2.5.3 Competence and Professional Development........................................................ 43
2.6. COMPETENCE
A SUMMARY................................................................................................. 44
2.7. ASSESSMENT..................................................................................................... 45
2.8. TRADITIONAL FORMS OF ASSESSMENT................................................... 45
2.8.1 Centralised Periodic Assessment......................................................................... 45
2.8.2 Practical Assessment........................................................................................... 46
2.9. DEVOLVED CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT.................................................. 48
2.9.1. The Reality of Continuity.................................................................................... 48
2.10. INNOVATION IN AN ESTABLISHED WORKPLACE CULTURE............. 49
2.10.1. The Persistence of the ÔOldÕ............................................................................. 49
2.11. ASSESSMENT
A SUMMARY................................................................................................. 50
3.1. MAPPING THE SYSTEM.................................................................................. 52
3.2. THE EXPERIENCE OF DESIGNING CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES 55
3.2.1. Operating in the Local Context........................................................................... 55
3.2.2. Ensuring Ownership Through Partnership Structures........................................ 56
3.2.3. Strategies for Achieving Coherence.................................................................... 57
3.3. DESIGNING ASSESSMENT IN THE LOCAL CONTEXT
A SUMMARY................................................................................................. 59
3.4. OPERATING AT LOCAL LEVEL WITHIN THE NATIONAL FRAMEWORK 59
3.4.1. ENB Education Officers as Facilitators.............................................................. 59
3.4.2. Establishing a Responsive and Negotiated Relationship..................................... 60
3.5. IMPLICATIONS OF THE EXPERIENCE OF DESIGNING DEVOLVED ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES FOR FUTURE ACTION 64
4.1 THE PLACE OF ASSESSMENT TEXTS WITHIN AN ASSESSMENT RATIONALE. 66
4.1.1 Texts as evidence bases...................................................................................... 67
4.2 ASSESSMENT OF PRACTICE.......................................................................... 68
4.2.1 Ticking Boxes - the accredited witness............................................................... 68
4.2.2 Increasing Witness Reliability............................................................................. 73
4.2.3 Increasing the Evidence Base.............................................................................. 75
4.3 TOWARDS THE INTEGRATION OF THEORY AND PRACTICE IN THE ASSESSMENT OF NURSING COMPETENCE 79
4.3.1 Texts Which Create Binary Opposition or Texts Which Promote Integration?... 79
4.3.2 The Range of Methods Employed...................................................................... 80
4.4 CONSTRUCTING THE EVIDENCE BASE
A SUMMARY................................................................................................. 82
4.5 CHAPTER EPILOGUE........................................................................................ 83
5.1 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR ASSESSMENT............................... 86
5.1.2. The Inadequacy of Mentor Preparation to Deal with Assessment Issues........... 86
5.1.2. Assessor Preparation.......................................................................................... 87
5.1.3. Preparation Through ENB 997/998 and City & Guilds 730 Courses................. 88
5.1.4. Preparation Through In-House Courses and Workshops................................... 90
5.1.5. Preparation Through Clinical Liaison................................................................. 91
5.2. MEETING CURRENT DEMANDS FOR PROFESSIONAL ASSESSMENT. 94
5.3. ONGOING SUPPORT AND DEVELOPMENT FOR ASSESSMENT............ 96
5.4. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT
A SUMMARY................................................................................................. 99
6.1 CONTEXTUAL ISSUES..................................................................................... 102
6.1.1. Liaison and Continuity of Support..................................................................... 103
6.1.2. Course Constraints............................................................................................ 104
6.1.3. Workplace Demands.......................................................................................... 105
6.1.4. Competing Workplace and Assessment Demands............................................. 106
6.1.5. Individual Commitment to Assessing Roles...................................................... 107
6.1.6 CONTEXTUAL ISSUES
A SUMMARY................................................................................................. 108
6.2. ASSESSMENT AND LEARNING EVENTS.................................................... 108
6.3. ANTECEDENT EVENTS
TACIT OR HIDDEN ASPECTS OF LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT.... 109
6.3.1. Handling the Tacit or Hidden Aspects of Learning and Assessments............... 111
6.3.2. ANTECEDENT EVENTS
A SUMMARY................................................................................................. 112
6.4. ANTECEDENT EVENTS
THE FORMAL FORMATIVE RELATIONSHIP.......................................... 112
6.4.1. THE FORMAL FORMATIVE RELATIONSHIP
A SUMMARY................................................................................................. 115
6.5. REACHING SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT DECISIONS.............................. 115
6.5.1. The Scheduled Assessment 'Events'.................................................................. 115
6.5.2. Self Assessment................................................................................................ 117
6.6. SUMMATIVE DECISIONS
ISSUES OF SUCCESS AND FAILURE....................................................... 118
6.7. MONITORING -TOWARDS THE LEARNING INSTITUTION.................... 119
6.7.1. Revealing the issues........................................................................................... 121
6.7.2. Principles for Learning from Monitoring........................................................... 124
6.7.3. THE LEARNING INSTITUTION
A SUMMARY................................................................................................. 127
7.1. CONSTRUCTIONS OF KNOWLEDGE AND THEORY................................. 129
7.1.1. Knowledge As ÔBasic FactsÕ.............................................................................. 129
7.1.2. Knowledge as Up-To-Date Information............................................................. 131
7.1.3. Knowledge As Synthesized ÔKnow-HowÕ......................................................... 132
7.1.4. Knowledge As A Framework For Analysis And Critique................................. 133
7.2. ASSESSING DIFFERENT FORMS OF KNOWLEDGE IN WRITING.......... 134
7.2.1. Assessing the Knowledge Necessary for 'Knowledgeable Doing'..................... 134
7.2.2. Assessing the Knowledge Necessary for 'Reflective Practice'............................ 135
7.3. CONSTRUCTING CRITERIA FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE 136
7.3.1. Preparation.......................................................................................................... 136
7.3.2. ÔFeedbackÕ.......................................................................................................... 138
7.3.3. Marking Schedules............................................................................................. 139
7.3.4. Marking Workshops........................................................................................... 141
7.4. ASSESSING KNOWLEDGE
AN OVERVIEW.............................................................................................. 142
7.4.1. The Current Situation.......................................................................................... 142
7.4.2. Strategies for Moving Forward.......................................................................... 142
8.1. THE FUNCTION OF DIALOGUE IN LEARNING & ASSESSMENT........... 145
8.1.1. The Constitutive and Educative Function of Dialogue........................................ 145
9.1. WHY FOCUS ON DISCOURSE?...................................................................... 157
9.1.1. The ÔInterpreting SubjectÕ................................................................................... 157
9.2. KEY DISCOURSES IDENTIFIED..................................................................... 158
9.2.1. The Education & Training Discourse.................................................................. 158
9.2.2. The Reflective Practice Discourse....................................................................... 158
9.2.3. The Ownership Discourse.................................................................................. 160
9.2.4. The Authority Discourse.................................................................................... 163
9.3. MOVING FORWARD........................................................................................ 164
10. THE RATIONAL OUTPUTS MODEL................................................................ 167
10.1 Moving From the Rational Model to the Professional Mandate........................... 169
10.1.2. Assessing Integrated Knowledge, Understanding, and Competence................ 171
10.2. TOWARDS RECOMMENDATIONS
A REVIEW AND A PREVIEW...................................................................... 173