In a new article in the Tijdschrift voor Lerarenopleiders (Journal for Teacher Educators), Radboud researchers Tamara van Woezik, Roald Verhoeff, and Harmen Schaap explore the terrain.
Five key issues
The authors identify five issues that play a role in thinking about holistic assessment. The first concerns differences: how can educators do justice to the individual learning processes of students? The second addresses growing complexity: on what basis does an assessor form a judgement when considering the teacher as a whole? The authors also raise questions about learning — does holistic assessment stimulate further development, and if so, how? — about agency, what input students have and what resources are needed for this, and about evidence: is the holistic judgement truly more than the sum of its parts?
Self-regulation as a lens
These issues are examined through the lens of student teacher self-regulation. This perspective is deliberately chosen: holistic assessment offers students space to shape their own learning and is assumed to contribute to ongoing development — both during initial training and in the induction phase. At the same time, the authors show that this same space can be constrained by the way holistic assessment is designed and implemented.
Recommendations for practice
The article concludes with concrete recommendations and discussion questions that teacher educators can use to deepen the conversation about holistic assessment within their own team or institution. This makes the publication not only a theoretical contribution, but also a practical resource for anyone working to improve the quality of assessment in teacher education.
About the authors
Harmen Schaap is an assistant professor at the Radboud Docenten Academie and researches, among other topics, professional identity tensions, wellbeing, and commitment of teachers across different career stages.
Roald Verhoeff is an associate professor of science education, teacher educator, and chair of the examination board at the Radboud Docenten Academie. He is also team lead of the focus area 'educating and professionalising teachers' at the National Education Lab Artificial Intelligence (NOLAI).
Tamara van Woezik is an assistant professor at the Radboud Docenten Academie, focusing on the professional and personal development of student teachers.
The full article is available in the Tijdschrift voor Lerarenopleiders