| The present research explores phenomenologically how tests and examinations are experienced by Chinese students and how these experiences and underlying school practices may be pedagogically interpreted and understood.; The study starts from the observation that there already exists a large body of research literature regarding educational examinations and tests, assessment and measurement. Much of this literature focuses on the political, educational and economic aspects of exams, or discusses technical issues of test construction (e.g., factor analysis, item response theory), psychometrical analysis of exams (e.g., test validity and reliability studies, test effectiveness and outcomes, computer-based test research and design), and so on. However, little research has pursued the question how students actually experience the tests and exams to which they are subjected, and how they experience life in schools and school systems that are increasingly test and examination driven.; The study first presents a cultural historical view of the tradition of examinations in China, dating back several thousand years. In recent decades, however, the cultural purpose of examinations seems to have shifted.; Next, the experiential reality of tests and exams in children's lives is pursued through accounts written or told by young people and adults. Through such hermeneutic phenomenological methods of writing, interview, observation and the exploration of experiential sources, this study has gathered a wide variety of narrative data, in anecdote form, that describe in particular and concrete terms students' experiences of examinations and tests. In the main chapters of this dissertation the experiential accounts are presented, thematized, and reflectively discussed.; Subsequently, a pedagogical discussion aims to problematize how educators need to reflect on their examination and assessment practices---especially since these practices fundamentally seem to shape the everyday reality of teaching and learning.; This research aims to contribute towards a thoughtful pedagogy of examination. As well, the study aims to create a space for intercultural dialogues about the pedagogy of tests and examinations between East and West. |
