When western epistemology and an indigenous worldview meet: Culturally responsive assessment in practice

Abstract

There exists a natural tension between standards-based assessment and a multicultural perspective of assessment. The purpose of this paper was to examine issues of culturally-sensitive assessment, specifically within the context of preparing a female American Indian doctoral candidate in Educational Leadership. How does an instructor with a Western worldview fairly evaluate a research topic proposal written from an Indigenous paradigm? A case study design bounded by a single assignment and the instructor’s reflections of that assignment provided the context for examination. When the instructor and the student operate from different worldviews, there is a mismatch in expectations. Criteria for evaluating a student’s understanding from an alternative perspective need to be explored.