Feedback and justice in education: an exploration of the conceptions of teachers training future professors in a Chilean university
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56294/mw2025746Keywords:
Assessment, Educational Justice, Feedback, Social Justice, Teacher TrainingAbstract
Introduction: sufficient studies allow concluding a favorable impact of feedback in the consolidation of deep learning. Research is also clear in indicating the formative benefits of integrating socially just approaches to assessment. However, there is little evidence of the link between feedback, assessment and social justice. Considering this gap, the present inquiry problematizes fair feedback by exploring the conceptions of teachers working in initial teacher education.
Method: with a qualitative approach of exploratory, descriptive and interpretive scope, the diverse conceptions of 10 academics (two men and eight women) representing all the careers of the Faculty of Education of a private university in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago de Chile were explored. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and the data were studied with content analysis.
Results: there is a prevalence of conceptions that refer to feedback as a practice that is more informative than constructive. Regarding fair feedback, it is defined as a conversational and democratic instance that recognizes and legitimizes the variety of learning rhythms. Likewise, it is conceived as a space for collective construction that encourages reflection on learning and eliminates the punitive nature of evaluation.
Conclusions: the conceptions of good feedback are linked to the idea of fairness. The implementation of this form of feedback is impeded by cultural, personal and structural barriers.
References
Hattie J, Timperley H. The Power of Feedback. Review of Educational Research. 2007;77(1):81–112. https://doi.org/10.3102/003465430298487
Carless D, Boud D. The development of student feedback literacy: enabling uptake of feedback. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 2018;43(8):1315–1325. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2018.1463354
Winstone N, Boud D, Dawson P, Heron M. From feedback-as-information to feedback-as-process: a linguistic analysis of the feedback literature. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 2021;47(2):213–230. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2021.1902467
Wisniewski B, Zierer K, Hattie J. The power of feedback revisited: A meta-analysis of educational feedback research. Frontiers in Psychology. 2020;10:3087. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03087
Canabal C, Margalef L. La retroalimentación: La clave para una evaluación orientada al aprendizaje. Profesorado, Revista de Currículum y Formación Del Profesorado. 2017;21(2):149–170. https://doi.org/10.30827/profesorado.v21i2.10329
Wanner T, Palmer E. Formative self-and peer assessment for improved student learning: the crucial factors of design, teacher participation and feedback. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 2018;43(7):1032–1047. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2018.1427698
Sadler I, Reimann N, Sambell K. Feedforward practices: a systematic review of the literature. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 2022;48(3):305–320. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2022.2073434
Panadero E, Lipnevich A. A review of feedback models and typologies: Towards an integrative model of feedback elements. Educational Research Review. 2022;35:1–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2021.100416
Williams A. Delivering effective student feedback in higher education: An evaluation of the challenges and best practice. International Journal of Research in Education and Science (IJRES). 2024;10(2):473–501.https://doi.org/10.46328/ijres.3404
Hidalgo N, Murillo FJ. Evaluación de Estudiantes para la Justicia Social. Propuesta de un Modelo. Revista Internacional de Educación para la Justicia Social.2016;5(2). https://doi.org/10.15366/riejs2016.5.2.008
McArthur J. Assessment for social justice: The role of assessment in achieving social justice. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 2015;3(1):1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2015.1053429
Khasawneh MAS, Khasawneh YJA. Achieving Assessment Equity and Fairness: Identifying and Eliminating Bias in Assessment Tools and Practices. Kurdish Studies. 2023;11(2):4469–4478. https://kurdishstudies.net/menu-script/index.php/KS/article/view/1035
McArthur J, Blackie M, Pitterson N, Rosewell K. Student perspectives on assessment: connections between self and society. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 2021;47(5):1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2021.1958748
Sánchez-Lara R. Evaluación educativa y justicia social: apuntes y reflexiones. Revista Enfoques Educacionales. 2024;21(2):209–221. https://doi.org/10.5354/2735-7279.2024.74147
McArthur J. Student participation and engagement in assessment: Engaging the whole student in the pursuit of justice and social good. RELIEVE - Electronic Journal of Educational Research and Assessment. 2020;26(1). https://doi.org/10.7203/relieve.26.1.17089
Flick U. El diseño de Investigación Cualitativa. 2th. ed. Ediciones Morata; 2015.
Murillo FJ, Hidalgo N, Martínez-Garrido C. El método fenomenográfico en la investigación educativa. Revista Interuniversitaria de Investigación en Tecnología Educativa. 2022;117–137. https://doi.org/10.6018/riite.549541
Mayring P. Qualitative Content Analysis. Forum: Qualitative Social Research. 2000;1(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.17169/fqs-1.2.1089
Chan CKY, Luo J. Exploring teacher perceptions of different types of ‘feedback practices’ in higher education: implications for teacher feedback literacy. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 2021;47(1):61–76. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2021.1888074
Contreras G. Prácticas y concepciones de retroalimentación en Formación Inicial Docente. Educación y Pesquisa. 2019;45:1–22. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1678-4634201945192953
Carneros S, Murillo FJ, Moreno-Medina I. Una aproximación conceptual a la Educación para la Justicia Social y Ambiental. Revista Internacional de Educación para la Justicia Social. 2018;7(1):17–36. https://doi.org/10.15366/riejs2018.7.1.001
Murillo FJ, Hidalgo N. Enfoques Fundamentales de la Evaluación de Estudiantes para la Justicia Social. Revista Iberoamericana de Evaluación Educativa. 2016;8(1). https://revistas.uam.es/index.php/riee/article/view/2975
Van der Kleij F, Adie L, Cumming J. A Meta-Review of the Student Role in Feedback. International Journal of Educational Research. 2019;98:303–323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2019.09.005
Murillo FJ, Hidalgo N. Concepciones de los Docentes sobre la Evaluación Socialmente Justa. Aula Abierta. 2018;47(4):441–448. https://doi.org/10.17811/rifie.47.4.2018.441-448
Aquario D. Through the lens of justice. A systematic review on equity and fairness in learning assessment. Education, Sciences & Society. 2021;12(2):96–110. https://doi.org/10.3280/ess2-2021oa12405
Pérez L, González DA. “Dime cómo evalúas y te diré qué enseñas”. Un Análisis Teórico sobre las Relaciones entre la Evaluación del Aprendizaje y la Enseñanza-Aprendizaje de la Justicia Social. Revista Iberoamericana De Evaluación Educativa. 2016;4(1):135–148. https://doi.org/10.15366/riee2011.4.1.007
Paris B. Instructors’ Perspectives of Challenges and Barriers to Providing Effective Feedback. Teaching and Learning Inquiry. 2022;10:1–13. https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.10.3
Brown GTL, Andersson C, Winberg M, Palmberg B, Palm T. Teacher conceptions of assessment and feedback predicting formative feedback practices: helping students to not ignore improvement-oriented feedback. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research. 2025;1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2025.2468183
Rasooli A, Rasegh A, Zandi H, Firoozi T. Teachers’ Conceptions of Fairness in Classroom Assessment: An Empirical Study. Journal of Teacher Education. 2022;74(3):260–273. https://doi.org/10.1177/00224871221130742
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Ricardo Sánchez-Lara, Ingrid Sánchez-Téllez, Daniela Araya-Bastías (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The article is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Unless otherwise stated, associated published material is distributed under the same licence.
