New Year message from Stuart Shaw, CIEA Chair
A very blessed, peace-filled, and fruitful New Year to all CIEA Members.
The last few weeks at the end of an outgoing year and the first few weeks heralding a new year afford opportunities for reflection: consideration of where we have come from and where we believe we are going. This is as true for educational assessment as it is for life in general.
Although I was appointed Chair of the Board of Trustees in November 2023, this year effectively signals the beginning of my second year in the role. Four Trustee Meetings in, and I am now beginning to appreciate the purview, role, purpose, and trajectory of the Institute.
One of my first tasks as Chair was to familiarise myself with the various personnel comprising the Board and the Institute more widely. The breadth and depth of expertise and experience within the Institute became immediately apparent.
Given that the vision of the Institute was established at the onset of the 21st century, and that the global educational landscape has changed significantly over the course of the first quarter of this century seeing seismic changes and developments in education and educational assessment, it was important for me as incoming Chair to determine whether the aims of the Institute have remained relevant 25 years into the 21st century. Consequently, the Board of Trustees commissioned an extensive, far-ranging modular questionnaire for members which sought to elicit, amongst other things, perceptions relating to the CIEA and its claims; membership; newsletters/ training/ webinars; and, engaging proactively with the Institute. The cooperation rate of those who responded was extremely encouraging. An ‘Executive Summary’ and detailed outcomes from the survey questionnaire will be reported in full in the March Newsletter (following the first of the 2025 Trustee Meetings in late January).
One early, very clear message emerging from respondents is the necessity for the Institute to assume a more influential lead in assessment discussions nationally and internationally. To this end, the CIEA - working in close collaboration with Dr. Sylwia Holmes – Head of Education and Continuing Professional Learning, University of Hertfordshire (UH) – is currently in the process of developing a joint strategy to strengthen their work in the field of education and assessment through qualification design and delivery and research. A collaborative endeavour of this kind affords a unique combination of the extensive expertise in educational assessment within the CIEA and the breadth of qualifications across all educational sectors with the UH capacity to provide credited programmes leading to exit awards. Consequently, a paper entitled: We need to talk about assessment, has already been prepared and is awaiting wider circulation following peer review from the Board and UH education staff (to appear in the February Newsletter). A further exciting development to emerge from the collaboration is the potential for a 2025 one-day CIEA conference hosted by the UH. The content, tenor and direction of the conference has yet to be determined but plans are already afoot.
2024 also witnessed several ‘Opinion Pieces’ which were published in the monthly Newsletter. Contributions have come from Board Trustees, Institute Members, and the Chair. This is a feature of the Newsletter I wish to foster over time.
In addition, I fully intend to widen the webinar programme in 2025, extending its international reach (in response to several survey requests for a global educational assessment focus).
Another exciting development in 2024 has been the growth of Special Interest Groups (SIGs): the ‘Examiner’ SIG, the ‘Technical and Vocational’ SIG and the ‘Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)’ SIG, all of which are burgeoning. Updates from SIGs will appear on a sporadic basis in future Newsletters.
On a personal note, I was especially delighted that ‘Educational Assessment in a Changing World: Lessons Learned and the Path Ahead’ (co-authored with Isabel Nisbet) was published in October, 2024. The book attempts to answer several thorny questions such as: What is the state of educational assessment a quarter of the way into the 21st century? What lessons have been learned from recent decades and what is the agenda for the next quarter century? The book reviews a wide range of developments in society, education, and assessment, including significant initiatives and reports, events, new priorities, and changes in theoretical views. It concludes by offering conclusions about lessons learned and the path ahead. Enormous thanks to those Institute members (and others connected with the CIEA) for attending the Institute of Education, University College London ‘Book Launch’ in November.
Finally, I would like to thank all CIEA members for their invaluable contributions throughout 2024 and earnestly entreat other members to lend their knowledge and experience to the expansion and impact of the Institute in 2025. Special thanks go to outgoing Director Ali McCree for her indefatigable endeavours in relation to all aspects relating to the work and output of the CIEA. She has been a constant source of encouragement and help to me. I also welcome new Director - Joe Toko, who until this year was serving as Deputy Programme Lead on the MA in Education programme at the UH. Joe brings a wealth of experience garnered from across primary, secondary, further, and higher education.
I hope to see and interact with many of you as the year unfurls.
Kind regards,
Stuart (CIEA Chair, Board of Trustees)