THE CULTURE OF SELF-ASSESSMENT: A LOOK AT ITS PHILOSOPHICAL, SOCIOLOGICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PEDAGOGICAL FOUNDATIONS

Abstract

The article presents a brief systematization of the philosophical, sociological, psychological and pedagogical foundations of the culture of self-assessment and reflects on the interrelation between the processes of self-assessment and the quality assurance in higher education institutions. The latter represents an essential educational policy for the socio-economic development of any nation. Therefore, promoting a self-assessment culture of quality should be based on the conscious participation of all the parties involved since it is a task that requires both determining internal self-assessment guidelines and the subsequent external assessment, as inexhaustible sources of either knowledge or transformations in the universities and the educational practice. In line with this process, good practices and constant improving conditions of the educational institution must be pursued. The development of the self-assessment culture must be considered as a change strategy and, consequently, it must be rigorously aligned with the achievement of the organization´s strategic goals (educational institution, specific area, academic program) as well as with the organization´s internal processes and with the existing organizational culture. Furthermore, two facts cannot be overlooked: self-assessment culture is built by each actor individually and collectively, through interpretations of specific situations and through their behavior and it is influenced by the meaning and sense that each participating agent attributes to their work action.