Discourses on learning assessment in the Systems Engineering Major program 2012 – 2017

Abstract

The objective of this research was to understand the coherence between the discourses and evaluative practices of university authorities and teachers in the Systems Engineering Major 2012-2017, at Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería (UNI).This study was conducted based on the qualitative paradigm, the approach of Symbolic Interactionism. Methodologically, the case study, content analysis, and interview methods were used. The techniques used were documentary analysis and semi-structured individual interviews. For this purpose, the institutional and oral discourses of the informants were analyzed based on the theories of learning assessment. One of the findings refers that the official written discourse of learning assessment in the major is based only on institutional and career regulations. The existing documents are complementary nonetheless do not coincide in their discursive content. On the other hand, the oral discourse shows that the informants, for the most part, have knowledge of learning assessment based on their own experience. The results identify that there is no coherence between the institutional written discourse and the oral discourse of the informants, on the evaluation of learning in the Systems Engineering Major, showing that both discourses have a shared meaning that is located in a behaviorist perspective of evaluation.