ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the enhancement of the assessment process from within the sociology community rather than from outside through public regulation. It reflects on the fact that there has been so little interest in assessment issues among sociologists. The chapter argues that this results from the ambiguous status of university teaching, an underdeveloped disciplinary infrastructure in comparison with longer-established subjects, and an uneasy relationship between sociology and the whole notion of 'professional closure'. It reports the findings of a survey of assessment practice in sociology conducted as part of the Assessment Strategies and Standards in Sociology project. In the case of sociology it has taken place at the level of the subject association. For much of the 1970s and 1980s the discipline was concerned with defending its access to research council funding and arguing the case for preserving a social science research base.
