Abstract
This chapter offers three bodies of theoretical work as enabling and overarching in the research and work: (1) language as a factor in the academic readiness of students, including the challenges of Mother Tongue and language of instruction; (2) learning potential theories and how academic literacies assessment might be seen as a form of surfacing the potential of students to cope with higher education studies across different disciplinary contexts; (3) the ways in which educational measurement theory has enabled the work of literacies testing, but also ways in which these theories are challenged in contexts of educational diversity and the need for testing to be responsive to these diversities.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Andrich, D., & Marais, I. (2019). A course in Rasch measurement theory. Measuring in the educational, social and health sciences (Springer Texts in Education). Springer.
Archer, A. (2006). A multimodal approach to Academic ‘Literacies’: Problematising the visual/verbal divide. Language and Education, 20(6), 449–462. https://doi.org/10.2167/le677.0
Archer, A. (2014). Multimodal designs for learning in contexts of diversity. Designs for Learning, 7(2), 8–28. https://doi.org/10.2478/dfl-2014-0061
Bachman, L. F., & Palmer, A. S. (1996). Language testing in practice: Designing and developing useful language tests. Oxford University Press.
Baker, F. B. (2001). The basics of Item Response Theory (2nd ed.). ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation.
Bangeni, B., & Kapp, R. (2007). Shifting language attitudes in linguistically diverse learning environment in South Africa. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 28(4), 253–269. https://doi.org/10.2167/jmmd495.0
Bezemer, J., & Kress, G. (2020). Semiotic work in the science classroom. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 15(1), 71–74. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-019-09957-4
Brown, A. L., & Ferrara, R. A. (1985). Diagnosing zones of proximal development. In J. V. Wertsch (Ed.), Culture, communication, and cognition: Vygotskian perspectives (pp. 273–305). Cambridge University Press.
Budoff, M. (1987). The validity of learning potential assessment. In C. S. Lidz (Ed.), Dynamic assessment: An interactional approach to evaluating learning potential (pp. 53–81). The Guilford Press.
Carstens, A. (2011). Generic versus discipline-specific writing interventions: Report on a quasi-experiment. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 29(2), 149–165. https://doi.org/10.2989/16073614.2011.633363
Carstens, A. (2016). Translanguaging as a vehicle for L2 acquisition and L1 development: Students’ perceptions. Language Matters, 47(2), 203–222. https://doi.org/10.1080/10228195.2016.1153135
Cattell, R. B. (1940). A culture-free intelligence test. I. Journal of Educational Psychology, 31(3), 161–179. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0059043
Cattell, R. B. (1971). Abilities: Their structure, growth, and action. Houghton Mifflin.
Cliff, A. (2021). The use of mediation and feedback in a standardised test of Academic Literacy: Theoretical and design considerations. In A. Weideman, J. Read, & T. Du Plessis (Eds.), Assessing Academic Literacy in a multilingual society (pp. 75–92). Multilingual Matters.
Cummins, J. (2008). BICS and CALP: Empirical and theoretical status of the distinction. In B. Street & N. H. Hornberger (Eds.), Encyclopaedia of language and education (Vol. 2: Literacy) (pp. 71–83). Springer Science.
Cummins, J. (2013). Language and identity in multilingual schools: Constructing evidence-based instructional policies. In D. Little, C. Leung, & P. Van Avermaet (Eds.), Managing diversity in education (pp. 3–26). Multilingual Matters.
Cummins, J. (2016). Reflections on Cummins (1980), the cross-lingual dimensions of language proficiency: Implications for bilingual education and the optimal age issue. TESOL Quarterly, 50(4), 940–944. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.339
De Champlain, A. F. (2010). A primer on Classical Test Theory and Item Response Theory for assessments in medical education: Classical Test Theory and Item Response Theory. Medical Education, 44(1), 109–117. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2923.2009.03425.x
Downing, S. M., & Haladyna, T. M. (2006). Handbook of test development. Lawrence Erlbaum.
Eva Fitriani, S., & Wawan, G. (2015). Scaffolding in the teaching of writing discussion texts based on SFL genre-based approach. English Review, 4(1), 39–53.
Feuerstein, R., Rand, Y., & Hoffman, M. B. (1979). The dynamic assessment of retarded performers: The learning potential assessment device, theory, instruments, and techniques. University Park Press.
Feuerstein, R., Rand, Y., Hoffman, M. B., & Miller, R. (1985). Instrumental enrichment: An intervention program for cognitive modifiability. Scott, Foresman, Lifelong Learning Division.
Feuerstein, R., Klein, P. S., & Tannenbaum, A. J. (1991). Mediated learning experience (MLE): Theoretical, psychosocial and learning implications. Freund.
Frith, V., & Prince, R. N. (2018). The National Benchmark Quantitative Literacy Test for applicants to South African Higher Education. Numeracy. Advancing Education in Quantitative Literacy, 11(2), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.5038/1936-4660.11.2.3
Gee, J. P. (1990). Social linguistics and literacies: Ideology in discourses. Critical perspectives on literacy and education. Falmer.
Gee, J. P. (2005). An introduction to discourse analysis: Theory and method (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Gee, J. P. (2016). Discourse analysis matters: Bridging frameworks. Journal of Multicultural Discourses, 11(4), 343–359. https://doi.org/10.1080/17447143.2016.1226316
Grigorenko, E. L., & Sternberg, R. J. (1998). Dynamic testing. Psychological Bulletin, 124(1), 75–111. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.124.1.75
Haladyna, T. M. (2004). Developing and validating multiple-choice test items (3rd ed.). Routledge.
Hambleton, R. K., Jones, R. W., & Rogers, H. J. (1993). Influence of item parameter estimation errors in test development. Journal of Educational Measurement, 30(2), 143–155. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-3984.1993.tb01071.x
Kapp, R., & Bangeni, B. (2011). A longitudinal study of students’ negotiation of language, literacy and identity. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 29(2), 197–208. https://doi.org/10.2989/16073614.2011.633366
Kress, G. R. (1989). Linguistic processes in sociocultural practice (Language Education) (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Kress, G. R. (2003). Literacy in the new media age. Routledge.
Kress, G. R. (2010). Multimodality: A social semiotic approach to contemporary communication. Routledge.
Lea, M. R., & Street, B. V. (1998). Student writing in higher education: An academic literacies approach. Studies in Higher Education, 23(2), 157–172. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079812331380364
Lea, M. R., & Street, B. V. (2006). The “Academic Literacies” model: Theory and applications. Theory into Practice, 45(4), 368–377. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip4504_11
Lillis, T., & Scott, M. (2007). Introduction. Journal of Applied Linguistics, 4(1), 1–4.
McAlpine, M. (2002). Principles of Assessment. CAA Centre, University of Luton.
Nitko, A. J. (2001). Educational Assessment of Students (3rd ed.). Merrill.
Paxton, M. (2007). Students’ interim literacies as a dynamic resource for teaching and transformation. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 25(1), 45–55. https://doi.org/10.2989/16073610709486445
Paxton, M. (2012). Student voice as a methodological issue in academic literacies research. Higher education Research and Development, 31(3), 381–391. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2011.634382
Paxton, M., & Frith, V. (2014). Implications of academic literacies research for knowledge making and curriculum design. Higher Education, 67(2), 171–182. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-013-9675-z
Poehner, M. E. (2007). Beyond the test: L2 dynamic assessment and the transcendence of mediated learning. The Modern Language Journal, 91(3), 323–340. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2007.00583.x
Poehner, M. E. (2008). Dynamic assessment: A Vygotskian approach to understanding and promoting L2 development (Educational Linguistics). Springer.
Poehner, M. E., & Infante, P. (2017). Mediated development: A Vygotskian approach to transforming second language learner abilities. TESOL Quarterly, 51(2), 332–357. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.308
Poehner, M. E., & Yu, L. (2022). Dynamic assessment of L2 writing: Exploring the potential of rubrics as mediation in diagnosing learner emerging abilities. TESOL Quarterly, 56(4), 1191–1217. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3098
Poehner, M. E., Zhang, J., & Lu, X. (2015). Computerized dynamic assessment (C-DA): Diagnosing L2 development according to learner responsiveness to mediation. Language Testing, 32(3), 337–357. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532214560390
Prince, R., & Archer, A. (2008). A New Literacies approach to academic numeracy practices in higher education. Literacy and Numeracy Studies, 16(1), 63–76. https://doi.org/10.5130/lns.v16i1.1948
Pryde, M. (2015). Teaching language learners to elaborate on their responses: A structured, genre-based approach. Foreign Language Annals, 48(2), 168–183. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12135
Ramani, E., & Joseph, M. (2008). Achieving academic excellence through higher-order cognition in an African language: Students researching ‘Small Talk’ in Sesotho sa Leboa. Perspectives in Education, 26(4), 42–56.
Ramani, E., Kekana, T., Modiba, M., & Joseph, M. (2007). Terminology development versus concept development through discourse: Insights from a dual-medium BA degree. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 25(2), 207–223. https://doi.org/10.2989/16073610709486457
Rose, D., & Martin, J. R. (2012). Learning to write, reading to learn: Genre, knowledge and pedagogy in the Sydney school. Equinox textbooks and surveys in linguistics. Equinox.
Sijtsma, K., Ruijssenaars, A. J. J. M., & Hamers, J. H. M. (1993). Learning potential assessment: Theoretical, methodological, and practical issues. Swets and Zeitlinger.
Smith, S., Carstens, A., & Stainbank, L. (2021). Student experiences studying Accounting in English as an additional language. Meditari Accountancy Research, 29(6), 1401–1424. https://doi.org/10.1108/MEDAR-09-2019-0557
Sternberg, R. J., & Grigorenko, E. L. (2002). Dynamic testing: The nature and measurement of learning potential. Cambridge University Press.
Tribble, C., & Wingate, U. (2013). From text to corpus – A genre-based approach to academic literacy instruction. System, 41(2), 307–321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2013.03.001
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society. Development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1986). Thought and language. MIT.
Weideman, A. (2012). Validation and validity beyond Messick. Per Linguam: A Journal of Language Learning, 28(2), 1–14.
Weideman, A. (2017). Does responsibility encompass ethicality and accountability in language assessment? Language and Communication, 57, 5–13.
Weideman, A. (2019). Validation and the further disclosures of language test design. Koers: Bulletin for Christian Scholarship, 84(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.19108/KOERS.84.1.2452
Weideman, A. (2021). Complementary evidence in the early-stage validation of language tests: Classical test theory and Rasch analyses. Per Linguam: A Journal of Language Learning, 36(2), 57–75. https://doi.org/10.5785/36-2-970
Wildsmith-Cromarty, R., & Turner, N. (2018). Bilingual instruction at tertiary level in South Africa: What are the challenges? Current Issues in Language Planning, 19(4), 416–433. https://doi.org/10.1080/14664208.2018.1468959
Wildsmith-Cromarty, R., Reyneke, M., Kaiser, K., & Dlavane, D. (2022). A multilingual pedagogies initiative in higher education. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 35(3), 240–260. https://doi.org/10.1080/07908318.2022.2041028
Wiliam, D. (2011). What is assessment for learning? Studies in Educational Evaluation, 37(1), 3–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2011.03.001
Wingate, U. (2012). Using academic literacies and genre-based models for academic writing instruction: A ‘literacy’ journey. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 11(1), 26–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2011.11.006
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Cliff, A. (2024). A Quest for Theoretical Underpinnings. In: Thirty Years of Literacies Testing at the University of Cape Town. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-58679-8_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-58679-8_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-58678-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-58679-8
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)