Reconceptualizing assessment in teacher education: A humanistic and sustainability-oriented framework from Indonesia’s teacher professional education program

Abstract

This study aims to examine how humanistic and sustainability-oriented assessment practices are enacted within Indonesia’s Teacher Professional Education (TPE) program and how they contribute to transformative professional learning. While TPE plays a strategic role in preparing reflective and socially responsible teachers, assessment practices remain dominated by compliance-driven and technically oriented approaches. Prior research has predominantly conceptualized assessment as a measurement or accountability tool, with limited attention to its role as a relational, ethical, and sustainability-oriented pedagogical system. This study employed a qualitative case study design involving student teachers, lecturers, and field mentors through interviews, observations, and document analysis. Thematic analysis identified five interrelated practices: self-reflection, mentor dialogue, digital portfolios, learning journals, and peer feedback. These practices form an integrated and cyclical system that supports the development of professional identity, emotional awareness, and ethical commitment. The study further demonstrates that assessment operates as a socially mediated and dialogic process through which professional identity and ethical agency are continuously constructed. The primary contribution of this study lies in conceptualizing assessment as a humanistic, relational, and sustainability-oriented system, positioning reflection as the central axis of continuous professional learning. The findings offer a theoretically grounded and empirically informed model that advances current understanding of assessment as a transformative pedagogical process in teacher education. By integrating humanistic, sociocultural, and critical pedagogical perspectives, this study advances an empirically grounded model of assessment as a transformative pedagogical infrastructure in teacher education.