Students’ Progress Evaluation: Micro and Macro Social Approaches PDF Print

ΚEΠ1 -Students’ Progress Evaluation: Micro and Macro Social Approaches

Tutor: Despina Tsakiris

Semester: 5th

ECTS: 4.5

Short Description:

The course includes the following topics:

  • Clarification of the concept of evaluation, which emphasises the distinction between the concepts of “control” and “evaluation”.
  • Historical conditions of the emergence, spread and development of students’ progress evaluation.
  • Study of social tricks concerning the students’ progress evaluation through surveys of micro-sociological level, description and analysis of sociological theories that interpret them.
  • Description and analysis of counterbalancing policies (Zones of educational priority, early schooling) applied to macro-sociological level, analysis of their contribution to the reduction in school failure and the improvement of students’ school progress.
  • Sociological approach of “effective schools”.

Aims:

The sociological understanding of educational evaluation through various topics in this particular scientific area. These topics relate firstly are to micro-sociological approaches to school evaluation and emphasise students’ results, the orientation procedures and the students’ choices through these directions. Secondly, the topics relate to macro-sociological approaches to evaluation and focus on the study of counterbalancing policies implemented in order to improve school performance, analyze the relationship between teaching practices and students’ school results and interpret the results of students’ skills through international comparisons that have been carried out by supranational organizations like OECD.

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the course students will be able to:

  • Distinguish the concepts that refer to evaluation (control, test, collective and formative evaluation) and the scientific and socio-historical differences.
  • Describe the historical conditions of the emergence, spread and development of student progress evaluation.
  • Indicate the role of evaluation in relation with the development of paid work and the formation of the labour market.
  • Distinguish the influences of various social factors (student’s social background, sex, learning status).
  • Distinguish the social tricks of students’ progress evaluation and indicate the social theories that interpret them.
  • Describe and analyze the implications of counterbalancing policies relating to school failure and the improvement of school results.

The acquired skills are:

  • Familiarization and decoding of a scientific text (article or book chapter)
  • Presentation and critical analysis of a scientific text on the basis of a plan proposed by the teacher.
  • Bibliography related to the studied subject.
  • Bibliography written according to APA style.
  • Project presentation using PowerPoint.

Structure:

13 three-hour meetings, during which lectures and some optional students’ projects are presented.

Assessment:

1. One compulsory project.
Presentation and critical analysis of a scientific article (proposed or approved by the teacher)
Bibliography (10 bibliographical references) relevant to the course’s topics.
2. Written evaluation.
Development of a topic or annotation of a text.

Bibliography:

Bourdieu, P. & Passeron, J.-C. (1990) Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture, London: Sage.
Broadfoot, P. (1996) Education, Assessment and Society, Buckingham-Philadelphia: Open University Press
Chiotakis, S. (ed.), (2004). The dispute about tests and test results in school, Athens: Grigoris.  
Fragkoudaki, A., (1985). Sociology of Education: Theories of social inequality at school, Athens: Papazisis.
Kontogiannopoulou–Polydoridi, G. (1995) Sociological analysis of Greek education. Athens: Gutenberg.
Merle P., (1998), Sociologie de l’évaluation scolaire, Paris: PUF
Milonas, Th. (2001) Sociology of Greek education, Athens: Gutenberg.