The closing plenary at AMEE Glasgow 2023 will be given by Professor Rola Ajjawi PhD on the topic of
Enabling Assessment for Inclusion in the Health Professions.
Rola Ajjawi is Professor of Educational Research at the Centre for Research in Assessment and Digital Learning (CRADLE) at Deakin University, Australia. Her international program of research has sought to reveal the taken for granted assumptions about and hidden complexities of educational practice. Her current research spans equity, agency, belonging, and workplace learning. Rola was awarded a Karolinska Institute Fellowship for her Research in Medical Education in 2021. She is Deputy Editor of the journal Medical Education, DEI lead for the journal, and chair of the AMEE doctoral award group. Her latest edited collection is
Assessment for Inclusion in Higher Education: Promoting Equity and Social Justice (Routledge, 2023 – Open Access).
AMEE is very proud to have Professor Ajjawi delivering the closing plenary this year, adding a very interesting end point to this years conference.
Enabling Assessment for Inclusion in the Health Professions
Recognising that health professional graduates should reflect the diverse communities in which they are practicing, institutions in many parts of the world are increasing intakes of students from non traditional backgrounds and students with disabilities. Yet, these groups of students consistently underperform in our traditional assessment models. This forces us to question our overall approach to assessment. In theory, institutions seek to ensure their assessments are not discriminatory, but they continue to treat conventional assessment design as sacrosanct. For example, from a disability perspective, institutions often adjust peripheral aspects of exams such as timeframes or locations – tinkering rather than addressing the core issue at hand. Assessment for inclusion seeks to ensure that no student is discriminated against by virtue of features other than their ability to meet appropriate standards. In this plenary, I argue that exclusionary assessment is a fundamental threat to validity. I present research that shows how inequities in assessment intersect to derail student learning and achievement. Finally, I describe approaches to promote assessment for inclusion in health professions curricula.
For more information on AMEE 2023 visit our Glasgow 2023 webpage.
