Student conceptions of assessment accommodations in university mathematics: an analysis of power

Authors

Juuso Henrik Nieminen

Abstract

This study investigates the power relations that underlie assessment accommodations in the context of university mathematics. Assessment accommodations, such as extended testing time, have been claimed to be controversial and even discriminatory. This study approaches these practices through the viewpoint of power and governmentality to understand their sociocultural nature. Nine mathematics students with special needs were interviewed to give them a voice over their own accommodations. The analysis used three contrasting notions of power (sovereign, epistemological, and disciplinary power). The students understood assessment accommodations as unfair practices, which represents unilateral sovereign power. Epistemological and disciplinary power could be identified when the students normalised mathematical assessment, and in the ways the accommodations constructed exclusion. This study highlights the importance of understanding power in the context of assessment accommodations, to shed light on the power structures that might create inequity and injustice in mathematics assessment.

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Published

2024-11-19

How to Cite

Nieminen, J. H. (2024). Student conceptions of assessment accommodations in university mathematics: an analysis of power. NOMAD Nordic Studies in Mathematics Education, 25(3-4), 27–49. Retrieved from https://tidsskrift.dk/NOMAD/article/view/149069