Inclusive assessment as participatory action: A longitudinal critical action research study in higher education
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Abstract
This study adopts a participatory, action research approach to inclusive assessment, conceptualising challenges in student performance not as individual deficits but as outcomes of institutional assessment practices that require collective scrutiny and redesign. Through a six-year longitudinal critical action research project in an international business programme, lecturers, undergraduate students, and employers collaboratively examined and reconfigured assessment practices to support inclusive participation and the development of employability-related capabilities among linguistically and socio-economically diverse students. Through iterative cycles of collaborative planning, enactment, and reflection, lecturers, students, and employers engaged in redesigning assessment practices at programme level. These findings demonstrate not only that assessment was socially situated, but also how its redesign reconfigured the conditions of participation and recognition in ways that supported more inclusive and professionally oriented learning trajectories. The study demonstrates how sustained action research can support institutional transformation in higher education while maintaining academic standards.
Keywords: action research, inclusive assessment, participation, employability capability, higher education, institutional transformation
La evaluación inclusiva como acción participativa: Un estudio longitudinal de investigación-acción crítica en educación superior
Este estudio adopta un enfoque de investigación-acción participativa para la evaluación inclusiva, conceptualizando los desafíos en el desempeño estudiantil no como déficits individuales, sino como resultados de prácticas de evaluación institucionales que requieren un análisis y rediseño al nivel colectivo. A través de un proyecto longitudinal de investigación-acción crítica de seis años de duración en un programa de negocios internacionales, docentes, estudiantes de grado y empleadores examinaron y reconfiguraron colaborativamente las prácticas de evaluación para fomentar una participación inclusiva y el desarrollo de capacidades de empleabilidad entre estudiantes lingüística y socioeconómicamente diversos. Mediante ciclos iterativos de planificación colaborativa, implementación y reflexión, docentes, estudiantes y empleadores participaron en el rediseño de las prácticas de evaluación a nivel del programa. Los hallazgos demuestran no solo que la evaluación estaba situada socialmente, sino también cómo su rediseño reconfiguró las condiciones de participación y reconocimiento, favoreciendo trayectorias de aprendizaje más inclusivas y orientadas a la profesión. El estudio demuestra cómo la investigación-acción sostenida puede apoyar la transformación institucional en la educación superior manteniendo, al mismo tiempo, los estándares académicos.
Palabras clave: investigación-acción, evaluación inclusive, participación, capacidad de empleabilidad, educación superior, transformación institucional
Bibliography: Nguyen, Anh Tu: Inclusive assessment as participatory action: A longitudinal critical action research study in higher education, IJAR – International Journal of Action Research, 2-2026, pp. 184-201.
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Title: Inclusive assessment as participatory action: A longitudinal critical action research study in higher education
Issue: Vol. 22, No. 2-2026: IJAR – International Journal of Action Research