The Status of Students’ Didactic Self-Assessment in The Romanian University Curriculum

Abstract

Even though many students and teachers tend to minimize its relevance, didactic self-assessment is one of the most important components of the instructive-educational process. It can be defined as the students’ ability to make value judgments about their own academic performance, based on sound logical and psychological arguments. The development of students' self-assessment skills is supported by a number of socio-psychological factors such as: perceived self-efficacy, relevant individuals’ opinions - teachers, parents, etc. as well as by certain pedagogical factors such as: the teacher's didactic style, teaching/learning strategies, type(s) of assessment used, particulars of the information/content taught, etc. The aim of this research was to assess students’ awareness of the importance of training self-assessment skills for their ongoing professional and personal development. The research sample was made up of 336 students from 4 different faculties of the University of Oradea, Romania. They were grouped in 3 series according to their academic year of study (2019-2022). Students were asked to self-assess their own academic performance in a university subject included in the Psycho-pedagogy and Methodology Training Program. The results showed that most respondents tend to underestimate themselves, this depending, among other things, on the quality of their academic preparation or on the way exams are carried out.