NA (Nicole) Kleine Staarman, MSc

PhD project: A future-oriented assessment progrmme in VET: supporting the learning and decision-making function of assessment programmes

Within vocational education and training (VET), assessment plays a key role in both supporting student learning and informing decisions about progress and qualification. Programmatic assessment (PA) is an approach that integrates these functions, emphasizing feedback, student development, and the continuous collection of evidence over time. In practice, however, the decision-making function often dominates, leading students to focus primarily on gathering evidence for high-stakes decisions rather than engaging with feedback to support their learning.

Therefore, this project aims to better understand how the learning function within PA can be strengthened, and which design choices and conditions are needed to more effectively support learning and feedback in practice. Central to this research is the development of the learning function, guided by the formative assessment cycle (FA cycle) as a conceptual framework.

Between 2026 and 2029, four sub-studies will be conducted. Three consecutive studies each involve four VET teams and use work sessions and focus groups to, respectively, (1) explore experiences and needs, (2) co-design the learning function and feedback practices, and (3) investigate how these are implemented and experienced in practice. In addition, a longitudinal study (4) will be conducted across multiple VET teams, using questionnaires to examine how students and other stakeholders experience the development of the learning function and its balance with the decision-making function over time. Together, these studies provide insight into how the learning function within PA can be strengthened in VET practice.