Teachers’ experiences with formative assessment in primary art education

This article examines the experiences of six teachers who participated in an action research project using formative assessment (FA) in their teaching of art with pupils from 4 to 12 years of age. It emanates from a larger study conducted in Ireland from June 2011 to February 2013 investigating various aspects of FA in primary art education. Data relating to the teachers’ experiences in this qualitative study include pupils’ artworks, transcripts of interviews with the teachers and their answers to follow-up e-mails a year after completion of the project. Analysis of data revealed that teachers believed the use of FA in art education considerably enhanced teaching and learning in a number of ways. However, there were also challenges to implementing FA successfully. These findings have significant pedagogical implications for primary art education.