ABSTRACT

This chapter provides an overview of competing theoretical perspectives that can underpin the documentation and assessment of learning. It explores some of the issues practitioners have encountered, when assessing a child's development, in trying to reconcile their professional beliefs and identity with the policy expectations and the culture and practice of their workplace setting. The chapter discovers how practitioners attempt to reconcile their values and beliefs with the assessment policy of their settings. It presents a case study of a particular incident a practitioner observed that provided Rebecca with an opportunity to reflect upon some of the dilemmas that other practitioners may encounter when they are endeavouring to include the voice of the child in their assessment practice. Assessment practice reflecting a sociocultural perspective has become predominant in a number of countries both in Europe and in the Southern Hemisphere.