This thesis reports on perceptions of current feedback practices in English writing instruction in a school where assessment for learning (AfL), also known as formative assessment, is an underlying pedagogy. It investigates both teacher and student perspectives on feedback for learning purposes. The study has been conducted in Norway and is focused on the first-year, upper secondary school level of the general studies branch.
The thesis is informed by three individually conducted studies. The first two studies are qualitative and investigate teacher and student perspectives of feedback that are addressed separately in two respective articles, Article I and Article II. The third study, which is reported in Article III, is quantitative and uses a paper-and-pencil survey to investigate student views on feedback.
Overall, the findings have revealed that despite the mandated use of AfL in Norwegian schools, and teachers’ attempts to adhere to this pedagogy, perceptions of current feedback practices with the delivery of feedback to a finished and graded text fall short on the continuum of summative and formative assessment. In addition, the feedback practices are largely teacher-controlled, offering few opportunities for student involvement. The findings suggest that teachers need to re-think their approach to teaching writing. But, more importantly, schools have to work towards resolving the persistent problem with scheduling and workload hindrances that prevent the revision and revaluation of commented texts. Likewise practicing teachers and teacher education students need to get a proper, domain specific knowledge of AfL in order to improve implementation in English writing classes.