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Power in operation: a case study focussing on how subject‐based knowledge is constrained by the methods of assessment in GCE A Level Dance

2008; Routledge; Volume: 9; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/14647890802386890

1470-1111

Lorna Sanders,

Physical Education and Pedagogy

Abstract The General Certificate of Education (GCE) A Level Dance specification, offered by the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA), is the only GCE course of study in the UK that focuses solely on dance. Acquisition of subject specific knowledge is a feature of its aims, while assessment, as constructed by its objectives, is assumed to be a transparent process. In this paper I address the character of the interaction between knowledge and assessment in the GCE through a textual analysis of a pertinent range of AQA documentation. What is revealed is that assessment methods, rather than being objective, external judgements that measure understanding, appear to constrain and limit subject‐based knowledge at a conceptual level. The relationship between knowledge and assessment is shown to be not one of contingency – in which independent and pre‐existing subject knowledge is at the core – but one of power, in which assessment is a strategic effect. I draw on two theorists in particular. Derrida provides support for the textual analysis in order to help unpack the constructed character of knowledge in the specification. A Foucauldian perspective exposes the operation of power. Autonomous, hermeneutic epistemological assumptions, which underpin the belief that separately existing universalistic subject knowledge is simply reflected in curricula statements, are destabilised. To achieve this, I demonstrate that the micro context of the technology of the specification must be explored and that an in‐depth analysis of the ramifications across a range of associated documents is required. It is suggested that educators and designers of examinations endeavour to trace how power constructs their subject in order to militate against its effects, one of which is to mask its own presence. This case study provides a model they may find useful for this task. Keywords: GCSEGCE A LevelassessmentknowledgefoucaultDerrida Notes 1. The other A Level qualification in the UK, the GCE Performance Studies administered by the OCR examination board, includes dance as part of a range of activities. As such, this diminishes the amount of subject content in dance that is on offer. The AQA specification has been selected for critique in this paper because the issues in respect of dance knowledge are likely to be sharpened when dance is the main focus. 2. It is not my intention to critique how the aims and objectives of the GCE interact or to suggest how they might better be organised. Aims and objectives models of the curriculum are long established. They are considered good practice and feature in many of the competencies outlined by the Teacher Training Agency (the government body charged with determining standards for qualified status in the UK). For example, competence S3.1.2 states that ‘those awarded Qualified Teacher Status must demonstrate that they use … teaching and learning objectives to plan lessons … showing how they will assess pupils’ learning’ (Teacher Training Agency Citation2005, 29). Kelly (Citation1999) is one of the many critics of these models. He argues that linear models of curriculum planning, underpinned by notions that unproblematic and straightforward links can be made between pre‐specified objectives, content, methods and assessment are too simplistic in their assumptions. See also (Skilbeck Citation1995); (Moon and Murphy Citation1999); (Hodgson and Spours Citation2003); (Beck and Earl Citation2000); (Doll, Citation1993); and (Peters Citation1995) for a range of challenges posed to this type of linear curriculum. 3. The analysis of power has usually been undertaken at the macro level where political agendas and policy decisions have been seen as being of significance. This has been one effect of the ongoing national debate surrounding the institution of the National Curriculum in the UK in the 1980s and governments of both hues (Conservative and Labour) have made continuing changes to it. See for example, (Olssen Citation1999); (Beck and Earl Citation2000); and (Kelly 1994). I have found no example of a syllabus or specification being critiqued for the operation of power at the micro level; at that point where the specification intersects with the planning of courses of study by the teacher who delivers it. 4. The second half of the new A Level will not be examined until June 2010. Subject Reports commenting upon the examination and how it has been handled by candidates will not be available until the winter of that year. Given that the GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) is next in line for development it would seem appropriate that problematic relationships of power should be addressed now since the GCSE and the GCE are linked in their conceptualisation of the subject of dance. 5. Important differences include the excising of notation and one piece of repertoire from the subject content; the identification of particular historical periods as the focus of contextual study; an increase in Assessment Objectives from three to five; and a decreasing of the number of modules from six to four but with six assessed components. There is a greater emphasis on performance skills. The old specification awarded 25% of its total marks to these but this rises to 30% in the new GCE. 6. Derrida (Citation1978) theorises that language uses polar opposites, such as man/woman for example, to exclude other possibilities. In a Derridean deconstruction, oppositional terms would be examined to determine in what way, and why, these are positioned as the opposite of each other. It is not my intention to carry out a full deconstructive reading of this type, however, because the focus of the case study is the relationship between assessment and knowledge. 7. This is a complex debate but particular readings of Derrida by writers such as Olssen (Citation2003) and Norris (Citation1987) illustrate that the reader may be seen as being ineffably caught up in a system of interconnections controlled by the text. In order to escape the text and have an effect on the material world, such as a teacher expects to achieve, it is necessary to approach ways of situating agency outside the text’s control. Sanders (Citation2006) contains a more detailed commentary on these aspects. 8. Additionally, I will draw upon my doctoral research which also addressed some of the issues I approach in this paper. Where assertions are supported by the investigations in the thesis it will be referenced. For reasons of space it is not be possible to provide a full account of the evidence from this source. 9. The change of title from syllabus to specification, which all subjects underwent in 2001, is indicative of a shift in perspective that resituates the role of teacher. The previous syllabus, by identifying the assessment modes and the end product, left some flexibility for the teacher to exercise their professionalism. It allowed them to decide how they would achieve the aims but the specification specifies everything including the manner of delivery, which is outlined in the Teacher’s Guide. The teacher’s role is reduced. 10. See also Olssen (Citation2003, Citation2004) who has written extensively on the need to depriviledge the position of the text. 11. Further evidence for the way in which tactics operate is that the bulk of the Teachers’ Guide, published in 2000 to accompany the new specification in 2001 and a significant focus of the teacher support meetings organised by the AQA (Anonymous 2000), were given over to illustrating the hierarchy in progression between the six units of the GCE. 12. The apostrophes refer to the numerous occasions on which this phrase has been used by AQA representatives at teacher support events. 13. Foucault states that ‘the body is the inscribed surface of events (traced by language and dissolved by ideas)’ (Citation1971, 83). 14. The proposals to provide challenge, first mooted in the 14–19 White Paper for Education and Skills (2005), suggest an increase in ‘longer written replies, evidence of critical thinking and synopticity’ (Kelly, R. Citation2006, n.p). It might be noted, in effect, that this means a concentration on more challenging assessment rather than the introduction of further subject content, other skills or additional activities to stretch the brightest. 15. Indeed, there are multifarious restrictions operating: what Foucault refers to as ‘the polymorphous techniques of power’ (Citation1998, 11). They produce complexity in the system and have unintended, as well as intended, consequences because their operation is unpredictable. For example, the AQA provided the Teacher’s Guide to assist with the introduction of the new specification and to explain its differences from the old syllabus but because it suggests a procedure for successful delivery of the A Level course it would be a foolish teacher who strayed far from its precepts. Thus it became the way to approach the planning of learning (personal experience in discussing the material while delivering numerous training courses for teachers across the UK for a variety of organisations including the AQA). 16. Dance has existed as an examination subject within the state public school system since the Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE), which was usually taken by those 16 year olds seen as non‐academic. Kate Harrison, dance teacher at Starcross School, Islington, London wrote the first CSE, entitled Modern Educational Dance, in 1971. The underpinning philosophy was Laban‐based. During the 1970s there was a proliferation in these school‐based qualifications, with relatively light oversight by examination boards. The first cohort of the Certificate in Extended Education (CEE) in dance, a qualification designed for 17 year olds staying on within education but not seen as capable of academic study, was examined in 1977. Typically, all these courses were practically orientated. In 1983, the GCE O Level (Ordinary) in dance was established with only 40% of the marks allotted to practical work. The O Level, taken at age 16, is an academic route and leads to GCE A Level (Advanced) in most other subjects. Once granted it helped dance educators to press for the higher qualification in their subject. A Levels were first instituted in the 1950s, so dance is a latecomer, finding it difficult to establish its academic credentials (Sanders Citation2006). 17. See for example: Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Citation1980, Citation1982); Marland (Citation1984); and Smith (Citation1985, 1988). 18. Founded in 1975, this organisation was initiated by teachers. It became the National Dance Teachers Association in 1988. 19. Only a small number of theorists were writing in this area at that point in time. See for example: McFee (Citation1989); Redfern (Citation1973, Citation1983, Citation1986); and Smith (Citation1985). 20. The original syllabus provided for a two year course at the end of which a practical examination included a solo performance of a dance set by the examination board, the reconstruction of an unseen short dance from 32 bars of notation (either Labanotation or Benesh) after half an hour of preparation, the choreography of a solo dance and also a group piece; and two written papers dealing with practice‐based knowledge, anatomy, physiology, notation, two pieces of set repertoire, and questions concerning wider understanding of the choreographic and historical context. 21. There are many writers who provide critique of these issues. See for example (Usher and Edwards Citation1994) who discuss the impact of postmodernism on knowledge, and (Young Citation1971) who provided some of the earliest theorising about the impact of new concepts of knowledge in the sphere of education. 22. For example, a recent set work chosen for study by the AQA was Akram Khan’s Rush (2000). This dance is a challenging mix of two genres, Contemporary and Kathak, where the exact character of their interaction is the subject of some debate. I was the author of a book (Sanders Citation2004a) which provided a resource for A Level but during the writing of this it became clear that the analytical terms which must be used to approach Rush (the GCE specification specifies the language to be used for analysis) were problematic to apply to Khan’s unusual style. Indeed, they seemed to obscure much of what was interesting about it, such as how aesthetic qualities from what are usually seen as polar opposites (West/East; experimental/classical for example) might be interacting to produce multiple and ambiguous meanings, a subject I developed further through doctoral research (Sanders Citation2006). 23. Click on Qualifications. From the drop down menu click on a qualification type (GCE AS/A); then identify the subject, Dance 5231/6231. 24. Although content is identified for specific units it still has an essential core function in that the concepts are used across all the units. For example, the action terms listed as applicable to Unit 2 will be used when addressing analysis of repertoire or discussing the studio‐based knowledge in Unit 1. 25. Similar aims are retained in the 2009 specification and three further ones, which attempt to clarify theoretical skills, are added. For example, in summary the ability to communicate knowledge and understanding of choreographic and performance processes and the significance of dance through written skills are teased out. Unfortunately, one of these aims requires communication of ‘insight appropriate to dance study’ but this begs a host of questions (AQA 2009, 28) about the implied analytical frameworks and their underpinning values and might perhaps be clarified after 2010 when comments in Subject Reports might throw light on the expectations. 26. Academics are readdressing the past in various ways and a fixed notion of it is disrupted. See for example Carter (Citation2004), where every chapter deals with new thinking about dance and its history. 27. This is similar in concept to Unit 2 in 2009 where the practical assessment of choreography and performance in the AS year is pursued. The difference is that the set dance, which all candidates had to perform, is replaced with a duo/trio group dance and thus interpersonal performance skills are the focus of the mark scheme. The AQA will release the practical examination questions in the Autumn Term thus preparation for Unit 2 will spread through much of the academic year. 28. The notion that making and performing dances is achieved without recourse to critical perception, which is the focus of Assessment Objective c., is curious. The function of appreciation in the specification is a problematic area for consideration in the future. 29. Candidates are expected to choreograph and perform a solo dance of between two to three minutes in length. The AQA sets specific tasks from which one is selected. A single page of programme notes is also required to explain the work to the visiting examiner. The unit is worth 40% of the total AS marks. 30. A similar conceptualisation remains in 2009 but the marks have been adapted because this component is now awarded five more marks overall. 31. This ignores the fact that assessment offers opportunity to continue direct learning but the aim is not to quantify the effect of types of assessment. 32. In 2009 skills are listed under a general heading of interpretive and physical but are no longer specifically identified to these subcategories. This will make it more difficult to identify nuances in performance because differences in the use of these need to be clarified in relation to different styles. It is a pointer to where significant characteristics might be evidenced. For example, emphasis might be considered part of the physical skill in Jazz, where punctuating movement with strong dynamics is an aspect of technical control, whereas in Ballet it may be an aspect of expressive interpretation. One of the differences between Margot Fonteyn’s and Natalia Makarova’s interpretations of the role of Odette in Swan Lake (1895) for example lies in their use of emphasis. Fonteyn’s renowned musicality (Koegler Citation1987) and Makarova’s melting performance (Greskovic Citation1998) is partly due to their different placement of emphasis. 33. This remains the case even with the inclusion of release in the actions listed for Unit 2 in 2009 where its placement next to contraction seems to indicate Graham styles rather than release‐based ones, which in any event are not pedestrian as such. 34. Similarly, in 2009, only a small part of Unit 1 or Unit 3 (the written papers) might involve these aspects. 35. It is stated that ‘in studying different dances and different genres the comparative importance of constituent features, form, function and context will vary’ (AQA Citation2008, 16), however in practice only particular weightings of these aspects will count which acts to exclude certain styles. 36. The comment is made in respect of Fix (1995) but stands as pertinent to Khan’s style in general (Sanders Citation2006).