ABSTRACT
Self-assessment is assessment, and the product of assessment is feedback by any other name. Feedback is a much used and abused word which has proved to be problematic for being at the heart of power struggles and manipulation. The dichotomy of processes on the one hand and functions and purposes on the other, which is evident in relation to summative and formative assessment, maybe even more destabilising for feedback. From denial that feedback has anything to do with self-assessment to being central to formative assessment, which is then appropriated for tutors, feedback is at the heart of creativity and control. Therefore, clarifying feedback’s relationship to all aspects of assessment and particularly within the dynamics of participants must surely be a priority. Conceptualisations with self-assessment models, learning, and assessment theories are explored.
