The past two years have seen higher education researchers breathe new life into the concept of authentic assessment. Rather than being content with the notion that the imitation of real-world tasks were the backbone of authentic assessments, researchers have interrogated authenticity and put forward a multitude of perspectives that invite us to consider the meaning and purpose of the task within the broader societal context. No longer are authentic assessments constrained to mimicking workplace tasks. But what if we were to go one step further? What if we construed the possibility that this rethinking of authenticity in assessments fostered student wellbeing across their course? In this blog, I propose that our recent model of authenticity in assessment is a starting point for how we could use assessment to foster student wellbeing.    

Rethinking authenticity

In troubling the traditional notions of authentic assessments, McArthur (2023) became a catalyst for rethinking authenticity in this context. Building on this work, Ajjawi et al. (2023) conceptualised different perspectives of authenticity that had broad implications for assessment. From our point of view, the notion of meaning and value as outlined in both works, is fundamental to this shift in thinking. Our recent model of authenticity in assessment is based on self-determination theory, and proposes that when students are undertaking certain assessments, they first make a judgement regarding the alignment between the task and their personal values. We label these as authentic cognitions. If students determine that there is sufficient value in the task, they will then make decisions that are self-endorsed and will behave in a way that is congruent with their values. We label these actions authentic behaviours. Importantly, these authentic behaviours fall on a self-determined continuum; externally motivated behaviour (e.g., I am doing the assessment to get a high mark) through to intrinsically motivated behaviour (e.g., I love this topic/assessment etc). In our article, we provide an assessment example to showcase how students might experience authenticity in an assessment, including some of the less desirable motives (e.g., providing false accounts of their experience to ‘get better marks’).

The link between authenticity and wellbeing

With this reframed perspective of authenticity in mind, the question becomes, can authenticity in assessment foster student wellbeing?  Psychological authenticity by extension suggests that individuals who act more self-determined (i.e., make decisions that are congruent with their values and behave accordingly) tend to experience greater psychological wellbeing. Here it is worth unpacking what we mean by wellbeing, as it remains a troubled concept in psychology.

Why psychological wellbeing?

Of the various wellbeing models that exist in scientific literature, psychological wellbeing details a comprehensive model of human functioning that extends beyond the experience of happiness. People who are higher in psychological wellbeing are more likely to experience: (i) positive evaluations of their life, (ii) continued growth and development as a person, (iii) meaning and purpose in life, (iv) good relationships with others, (v) more effective life management, (vi) enhanced self-determination. More practically, the pursuit of post-secondary education can contribute to wellbeing. Similarly, dedicating time and effort to build a career fosters wellbeing by providing life purpose and enabling personal growth. In short, striving for meaning and purpose in life is the essence of positive human functioning, which is synonymous with psychological wellbeing. So, when we couple this notion of wellbeing with our reframed concept of authenticity, pursuing goals (i.e., tasks) with greater intrinsic value is a more authentic personal experience, and those who experience this heightened authenticity may indeed experience greater psychological wellbeing (i.e., positive functioning).

Where to from here?

If you could devise assessments that reframed authenticity in this manner, what would they look like? The challenge for educators and course designers is to consider developing scaffolded assessment tasks within units and/or across courses that provide students with the opportunity to judge whether the tasks align with their personal values. If so, they will more likely be able to act authentically and by extension develop positive functioning. In practical terms, rethinking assessments in this manner encourages us to think more about the assessment process rather than simply the outcome (e.g., the curation of artefacts in student portfolios).

Reference list available

Image generated by: Microsoft Designer AI