| Volume 27 Number 6 | January 15, 2026 |
“They're far more prepared to teach children”: Authentic Assessment of the Arts in Primary Initial Teacher Education Degrees in Six Australian Universities
William Baker
University of Tasmania, Australia
Amy Hamilton
Flinders University, Australia
Katie Burke
University of Southern Queensland, Australia
Sian Chapman
Murdoch University, Australia
Katie Hotko
Southern Cross University, Australia
David Roy
University of Newcastle, Australia
Citation: Baker, W., Hamilton, A., Burke, K., Chapman, S., Hotko, K., Roy, D. (2026). “They’re far more prepared to teach children”: Authentic assessment of the arts in primary initial teacher education degrees in six Australian universities. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 27(6). http://doi.org/10.26209/ijea27n6
Abstract
The applied nature of learning in teacher education courses suggests the value of authentic assessment that links classroom learning to “real-world” school teaching. While the features of authentic assessment have been extensively explored, the features of authentic arts assessment are less well-articulated in the literature. We use a collaborative autoethnographic approach to examine our own assessment practices to surface the features of authentic arts assessment in our Australian teacher education courses, and the principles underpinning it. Using existing approaches to authentic learning as analytical frameworks, our research developed three principles for authentic arts assessment in teacher education. Authentic arts assessment: 1) replicates real-world arts making and actual arts teaching, 2) connects theory and practice through application, and 3) engages students in reflective practices. We propose these three principles as a means for teacher educators to reframe their approaches to arts assessment in ITE.
