Abstract
A methodological proposal is presented for improving the assessment in Intercultural Professional Communities of Practices (IPCP). It is based on the results obtained in a previous social action and learning experience, based on the conformation of a IPCP integrated by teachers, NGO educators, teacher students and professors. Despite the improvements found in the development of intercultural competence of IPLC participants, the weaknesses in the assessment within the community encouraged a shared and reflective dialogue among the team of IPLC coordinators to (re)construct and (re)think assessment from its pedagogical function, as a shared and constructive learning. A mixed assessment model was designed, integrating a formative and shared assessment (F&SA), and relying on the formative framework for intercultural education. The proposed model seeks to build a culture of learning, (self-)assessment, reflection, dialogue and interdisciplinary collaboration between professionals and future professionals in the educational field.
TopIntroduction
The evolving social, economic, environmental, and educational landscapes of 21st-century societies demand that the professionals in the field of education are able, keen, and motivated to tackle the challenges of an increasingly global and diverse world. Achieving this goal will not be feasible if their training and professional development stays disconnected from these societies and/or if it continues grounded in outdated educational models.
If we want to move towards sustainable citizenship and achieve a democratic and peaceful coexistence among people, then training experiences aimed at professionals and future professionals in the field of education must be promoted. The objective should be that these professionals not only acquire theoretical knowledge and skills, but also that they can build and rebuild their professional and personal identity, as citizens of global societies and as agents driving change in multicultural contexts (UNESCO, 2017).
In this sense, several studies have defended the importance of education professionals opening to the context that surrounds them (local, national and global context), and providing them with opportunities to evaluate and assess what to teach, what to learn, how, why and for what purpose to conduct these processes (Boix-Mansilla & Chua, 2017; Crawford et al., 2020; Deardorff, 2019). Therefore, it is essential to build a scenario of shared and reflective learning, inspiring an interdisciplinary exchange and critical dialogue that promotes awareness of their beliefs, values, and attitudes towards educational practice and towards the diversity present in their educational contexts (Kerkhoff & Cloud, 2020; Romijn et al., 2021; Sjøen, 2023).
To respond to these needs in the professional development of teachers and educators, the construction of Professional Communities of Practices (PCP), based on the ideas of Lave and Wenger, has gained strength (Lave & Wenger; 1991; Wenger-Trayner & Wenger-Trayner, 2014). Furthermore, as a result of COVID-19, international organizations such as UNESCO (2020) or the OECD (Reimers & Schleicher, 2020), have emphasized the promotion of educational networks, collaborating from a multisectoral perspective (educational, social, community, health, environmental, among others), with the aim of transferring not only interdisciplinary knowledge between researchers, teachers and educators; but also sharing and creating resources, strategies, and new ways of thinking and thinking as professionals and citizens of the 21st century.
However, different research evidence how professionals in the educational field show a lack of experience and predisposition to work collaboratively and interdisciplinarity, and a scarce feedback culture among colleagues (Domingo-Segovia, 2020). Likewise, from the global and intercultural perspective, there is a warning about the need to develop global and intercultural competence in teachers and educators (Deardorff, 2019; Kavenuke & Kihwele, 2023). The development of these competencies often involves complexity due to the barriers generated by the educators' own cultural beliefs (Biasutti et al., 2019; Gómez-Barreto et al., 2021), as well as the low willingness to change among teachers, and the scarce habit and opportunities to reflect and assess both their educational practice and its effects on students (Romijn et al., 2021; Segura-Fernández et al., 2021).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Shared and Reflective Learning: Process by which professionals teach and learn through mutual and collaborative learning, generating opportunities for critical appraisal of the learning process itself.
Professional Identity: This refers not only to the set of knowledge acquired by a person in relation to a particular area of work, but also encompasses the skills, values, attitudes, and aptitudes that enable him/her to perform his/her task in accordance with the established objectives. In addition, it favors the sense of belonging to a (work) group, sharing with the rest of the members of the group a set of experiences, learning, and communicative exchanges, and promoting the resolution of problems that may arise.
Feedback: Positive or negative response to a given action or information between two or more interlocutors.
Intercultural Competence: A set of knowledge, skills, dispositions, attitudes, aptitudes and values that help a person to communicate and behave effectively in multicultural contexts, with cultural empathy and awareness of their own cultural beliefs, prejudices and stereotypes.
Professional Community of Practice: An environment made up of professionals in the educational field, where opportunities for training and professional development are promoted through shared, reflective, collaborative, and interdisciplinary learning. These communities encourage the exchange of educational experiences and a critical and reflective dialogue on teaching practice, in order to optimize it to meet the needs of students.
Global Competence: A set of knowledge, skills, dispositions, attitudes, aptitudes, and values that favor the exploration of local, national, global and intercultural environments, as well as the interaction in and with these environments. It also allows us to take perspective on the diversity present in our societies, facilitating action through open and effective communicative exchanges with citizens from different parts of the planet, in order to build a sustainable citizenship.
Formative and Share Assessment: A: way of assessment focused on the teaching and learning process, centered on recognition, assessment and decision-making actions, with the aim of promoting shared learning between teachers and students, encouraging them to become aware of their progress and development.