Self-Assessment at Work: Outcomes of Adult Learners' Reflections on Practice

Abstract

This qualitative study examined the outcomes of engaging in self-assessment as perceived by students in an experience-based graduate program. Self-assessment is one of the elements of experiential learning that provided the framework for this study. Fifty students in three groups participated in an iterative process of focus group interviews and follow-up surveys over 12 months. An additional 30 students generated data upon graduation. Fifteen themes representing specific out-comes of self-assessment emerged from an inductive analysis of the data within and across groups. The findings indicated that self-assessment serves as a powerful instrument for experiential learning, strengthens commitment to competent performance in the workplace, enhances higher order skills for functioning in the workplace, and fosters self-agency and authority. The findings were interpreted within frameworks concerning experiential learning, workplace performance, and personal development. Self-assessment was found to offer profound benefits to participants and to earn an integral place in the curriculum.