Socially Just Assessment in Initial Teacher Education: Analysis of a Participatory Co-Construction Experience in Chile

Abstract

University assessment processes tend to prioritize testing of rote knowledge over critical thinking and the common good. Socially Just Assessment (SJA) aims to subvert these traditional logics; however, its implementation in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) remains scarce. This qualitative study, exploratory in scope, analyzes a participatory experience within an initial practicum course of a Language and Literature Education program in Santiago, Chile. The methodological design enacted the principles of SJA through a pedagogical sequence consisting of five sessions of co-design and collective validation between a teacher and her students. The results demonstrate that the exercise inverted traditional roles and redistributed pedagogical power. Furthermore, strengthening autonomy and teacher identity. In conclusion, assessment co-design constitutes an empirical practice of justice that transforms the classroom into a democratic space.