Assessment conceptions: a crosssectional study on pre-service special education teachers

Abstract

This paper explores the assessment conceptions held by future special education teachers, analysing how professional identity is shaped in response to diverse institutional contexts. The reflection stems from the recognition that assessment is not merely a technical act but a multidimensional construct. In this idea, the drive for learning improvement, the demands of school and student accountability, and the risk of drifting toward pedagogical irrelevance are deeply intertwined (Brown, 2006; Rosa & Ciani, 2023).

Methodologically, a structured questionnaire adapted from the literature (Brown et al., 2019) was administered to a sample of prospective teachers across four educational levels: pre-school, primary, and lower and upper secondary school. The resulting mapping highlights how the specific school level acts as a discriminating variable. While the promotional function of assessment remains stable in primary school, a more pronounced tension emerges in higher educational levels. In these contexts, biographical legacies (Lortie, 1975) tend to crystallize visions of assessment that can ultimately become barriers to participation.

From this perspective, the study emphasizes the urgent need for training that promotes Teacher Assessment Literacy (TAL), understood as a reflective posture (Pastore, 2023). For support teachers, developing a robust TAL means guiding collegial contexts toward educational co-responsibility and the removal of learning barriers, in full alignment with the bio-psycho-social model (ICF).