Standards as a social contract in curriculum-based qualifications: stakeholder views in Scotland
The theoretical literature on the meaning of qualification standards depicts a variety of definitions. Some definitions describe properties of examinees, whilst others rely on cohort-level or system-level characteristics. Different definitions can be compatible or contradictory. In this study, stake...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor and Francis
2024
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| _version_ | 1817932543026003968 |
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| author | Baird, J-A Godfrey-Faussett, T Allan, S Macintosh, E Hutchinson, C Wiseman-Orr, L |
| author_facet | Baird, J-A Godfrey-Faussett, T Allan, S Macintosh, E Hutchinson, C Wiseman-Orr, L |
| author_sort | Baird, J-A |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | The theoretical literature on the meaning of qualification standards depicts a variety of definitions. Some definitions describe properties of examinees, whilst others rely on cohort-level or system-level characteristics. Different definitions can be compatible or contradictory. In this study, stakeholders’ views of the meaning of qualification standards in Scotland were collected, using focus groups (82 participants) and a questionnaire (918 participants). Almost 60% of questionnaire participants responded that standards tell us about performances on the assessment (criterion-referencing) and approximately 40% responded that they tell you about an underlying ability (construct-referencing). Few participants considered that maintaining statistical grade distributions every year were important. Discrepancies in views raise questions regarding how an examination board manages the political and technical process of maintaining public confidence in standards. Based upon this Scottish case, the authors argue that social settlements regarding qualification standards are a social contract, and a solely technocratic view of standards is conceptually inadequate. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-25T04:33:43Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:9124299d-283f-4e63-9571-e55c88d7490e |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-09T03:39:35Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publisher | Taylor and Francis |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:9124299d-283f-4e63-9571-e55c88d7490e2024-12-05T08:55:08ZStandards as a social contract in curriculum-based qualifications: stakeholder views in ScotlandJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:9124299d-283f-4e63-9571-e55c88d7490eEnglishSymplectic ElementsTaylor and Francis2024Baird, J-AGodfrey-Faussett, TAllan, SMacintosh, EHutchinson, CWiseman-Orr, LThe theoretical literature on the meaning of qualification standards depicts a variety of definitions. Some definitions describe properties of examinees, whilst others rely on cohort-level or system-level characteristics. Different definitions can be compatible or contradictory. In this study, stakeholders’ views of the meaning of qualification standards in Scotland were collected, using focus groups (82 participants) and a questionnaire (918 participants). Almost 60% of questionnaire participants responded that standards tell us about performances on the assessment (criterion-referencing) and approximately 40% responded that they tell you about an underlying ability (construct-referencing). Few participants considered that maintaining statistical grade distributions every year were important. Discrepancies in views raise questions regarding how an examination board manages the political and technical process of maintaining public confidence in standards. Based upon this Scottish case, the authors argue that social settlements regarding qualification standards are a social contract, and a solely technocratic view of standards is conceptually inadequate. |
| spellingShingle | Baird, J-A Godfrey-Faussett, T Allan, S Macintosh, E Hutchinson, C Wiseman-Orr, L Standards as a social contract in curriculum-based qualifications: stakeholder views in Scotland |
| title | Standards as a social contract in curriculum-based qualifications: stakeholder views in Scotland |
| title_full | Standards as a social contract in curriculum-based qualifications: stakeholder views in Scotland |
| title_fullStr | Standards as a social contract in curriculum-based qualifications: stakeholder views in Scotland |
| title_full_unstemmed | Standards as a social contract in curriculum-based qualifications: stakeholder views in Scotland |
| title_short | Standards as a social contract in curriculum-based qualifications: stakeholder views in Scotland |
| title_sort | standards as a social contract in curriculum based qualifications stakeholder views in scotland |
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