Brazilian academic intellectuals’ conceptions of educational evaluation in the 1980s

Abstract

This paper discusses the educational evaluation field in Brazil based on the conceptions held by Brazilian academic intellectuals who helped in the creation of this knowledge field during the 1980s. To this end, a documental and bibliographical research was performed in combination with bibliometric study strategies and content analysis. The data were organized into two main educational evaluation approaches, one that emphasizes evaluation as a result and the other whose focus is on the process. The conceptions held by the intellectuals in these approaches indicate that evaluation is an inherently human activity and, thus, cannot be reduced to a mechanical action, since it implies a power and negotiation relationship between evaluator and evaluatee.

Keywords

• avaliação educacional
• intelectuais acadêmicos
• concepções de avaliação educacional