مطالب

Although researchers have used practical procedures for developing professional teacher education, such as reflective practice and action research, the role of learning-oriented assessment (LOA) in building an active learner-centered pre-service teacher education has received scarce scholarly attention. Hence, the purpose of this study is to explore how collective and reflective LOA can enhance EFL pre-service teachers’ learner-centered teacher education. For this purpose, 15 Iranian EFL pre-service teachers were selected through a convenience sampling procedure from a teacher-training college in Iran. The study was built on a qualitative intrinsic case study, the data were collected from the participants through observations, self- and peer-assessment practices, portfolios, and semi-structured interviews, and the collected data were inductively analyzed. The results of the inductive thematic analysis indicated that pre-service teachers became active, cooperative, and flexible. Firstly, pre-service teachers concentrated on reflective self-assessment, collaborative peer-assessment, and portfolios. Secondly, pre-service teachers were more self-directed and autonomous by taking more actions, planning their development, making decisions, and learning. Thirdly, pre-service teachers accelerated their positive emotions, such as growth mindset, flexibility, curiosity, and criticality. The findings promise implications for implementing learning–oriented assessment to promote teachers’ agency and autonomy in their teaching careers.

The present study shows that abolitionist feminists, inspired by Foucault's biopolitical and agonistic analysis of power and his view on the capacity of modern power (bio-power) in the construction of subjectivity and the necessity of resistance against all forms of subjectivity as forms of subjugation, have proposed some abolitionist feminist criminal strategies in the fight against sexual violence against women as resistance strategies to subjectivity. The purpose of the study is to consider the inspiration of abolitionist feminist criminal strategies from Foucault's theory of power and provide two concrete examples of these strategies by using the methodology of critical discourse analysis of bio-power. The current study analyzed two abolitionist feminist-Foucauldian criminal strategies: Chloe Taylor's negative abolitionist feminist criminal strategy (2019) and Holly Henderson's positive abolitionist feminist criminal strategy (2007). Explaining the process of construction of the sex-delinquent subject and the process of construction of feminine subjectivity and providing ways to fight against these two forms of subjectivity, as forms of subjugation that are constructed by bio-power, are the principal axes of analysis in these Foucauldian abolitionist criminal strategies. The result of the current study is that Taylor, with a Foucauldian approach, shows how bio-power produces sex-delinquent subjects in two ways: the normalization of sexuality and the normalization of sexual violence in prison. According to Taylor, the only way to end sexual violence is to subvert the sex-delinquent subject as a form of subjectivity, and the only way to do this is to abolish prison. Henderson, with a Foucauldian approach, shows how bio-power produces feminine subjectivity through the normalization of sexuality, and this feminine subjectivity is the reason for the continuation of sexual violence. Henderson argues that to prevent sexual violence, the feminine subjectivity must be deconstructed, or in other words, the female body should be re-conceptualized in the structure of violence by recognizing the capacity of resistance in the female body and her agency. Therefore, inspired by Foucault's view on the agonistic conception of power, she proposed a positive abolitionist criminal strategy by promoting physical feminism and self-defence. Taylor calls for the implementation of transformative justice as an alternative to criminal justice to combat sexual violence, and Henderson calls for the implementation of preventive justice, a type of physical feminism, to prevent sexual violence. The research findings confirm the feasibility and applicability of Taylor and Henderson's strategies in the context of societal models of criminal policy, which seek to combat or prevent crimes outside the state and the criminal justice system. In comparison between these two strategies, transformative justice has been more developed and applicable.

This study investigates the effects of summative, formative, and combined assessments on the development of listening and reading comprehension skills on advanced Iranian EFL learners. Data were collected from 40 advanced EFL learners, aged 19 to 35, from intact classes at a higher education institute, divided into three experimental groups, each receiving one of the assessment types (summative, formative, or a combination of both), along with a control group. Learners’ progress in listening and reading comprehension was measured over a four-month period using pre- and post-tests administered at the end of the term. Data analysis involved ANOVA, ANCOVA, and post hoc LSD tests. The findings of this longitudinal study revealed that while the combined application of formative and summative assessments had a significant positive impact on listening comprehension, neither assessment type alone contributed to improvement in this area. In contrast, the results showed that all forms of assessment—whether summative, formative, or combined—led to notable improvements in reading comprehension. These results highlight the differential effects of assessment types on listening and reading skills, suggesting implications for assessment practices in EFL contexts.