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Assessment in Ethics Education: Neoliberalism, Values and Alignment

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Assessment in Ethics Education

Abstract

This chapter presents an outsider’s perspective on the issues raised by the Swedish contributors to this book. I first contextualise the Swedish situation within wider global policy tensions, identifying the three voices of conservatives, progressives and neoliberals, to argue that the demands of neoliberalism have created the desire for more effective and refined assessment across the curriculum. However, in the areas of religious education and ethics, this tendency has cut across long-standing debates between voices of conservatives and progressives. I then consider the principle of constructive alignment between curriculum, pedagogy and assessment, suggesting that many of the problems which the authors address can be framed in the light of this principle. In conclusion, the interrelationship between alignment and the different voices is outlined, suggesting that the different voices impinge on policymaking, curriculum planning and assessment design in different ways at different stages.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Education, University of Oxford, 15 Norham Gardens, Oxford, OX2 6PY, UK

    Nigel Fancourt

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  1. Nigel Fancourt
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Correspondence to Nigel Fancourt .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pedagogical, Curricular and Professional Studies, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Olof Franck

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Fancourt, N. (2017). Assessment in Ethics Education: Neoliberalism, Values and Alignment. In: Franck, O. (eds) Assessment in Ethics Education. Evaluating Education: Normative Systems and Institutional Practices. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50770-5_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50770-5_8

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