AUTONOMY AND FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT: PAULO FREIRE AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF DIALOGICAL ASSESSMENT PROCESSES

Abstract

This article discusses formative assessment from the perspective of Freirean pedagogy, proposing an approach centered on dialogue, active listening, and the promotion of student autonomy. Assessment, as historically structured in educational institutions, has been marked by classificatory, punitive, and standardized practices that contribute little to the integral development of individuals. In contrast, Paulo Freire proposes a dialogical assessment, guided by respect for students' trajectories and an ethical commitment to critical education. The research, qualitative in nature and theoretically argumentative, is based on Freire's landmark works, such as Pedagogy of Autonomy and Pedagogy of the Oppressed, and on authors who discuss assessment from a formative perspective, such as Cipriano Luckesi, Jussara Hoffmann, and Charles Hadji. Contributions by Stephen Ball and Michel Foucault are also used to reflect on the effects of performative policies on teacher assessment practices. The results indicate that developing an assessment committed to autonomy requires a break with models centered on measuring results and control, demanding pedagogical spaces that value process, listening, and dialogue. It concludes that Freirean formative assessment represents not just an alternative technique, but a conception of education based on justice, solidarity, and emancipation. It involves understanding the act of assessment as an integral part of the construction of the individual and the democratic project of the school.