It is generally accepted that evaluation should be an integral part of any teaching. The question this paper would like to address is "Should not evaluation be an integral part of any LEARNING?" INTRODUCTION When a lady looks at herself in the mirror and decides to make some adjustments to her make up, when a child rearranges the pieces of a puzzle to complete a picture, when a boy makes corrections in a letter he has written to his girl friend, in each case the individual is using self-evaluation. People use self-evaluation and make judgements of their own performance daily and throughout their lives. However, when people join educational institutions the situatlon changes. Even graduate students and adult learners who outside the classroom, make crucial decisions about themselves and others based on self-evaluation, upon becoming students, become dependent learners. They are continuously judged by the teacher-educator who becomes also the evaluator-grader (Corcoran 1985:59). In a survey of graduates of the university of New South Wales carried out by Midgley and Petty (1983) in collaboration with Alumni Association,1892 graduates across most disciplines were asked to rate skills they expected to develop by university education in order of importance, and indicate the extent to which their undergraduate education had contributed to the acquisition of these skills. The survey indicated that the second most important skill required by graduates was the ability to evaluate their own work, but only 20% felt that the contribution of the university to this skill was considerable , while 27% thought the university's contribution to it was little (Boud, 1985:9). This researsh shows that in the best situations, the development of self-evaluation has not been emphasised enough at university education. In spite of the great amount written and said about the importance of training students to become independent !earners and thinkers, evaiuation - which is an important part of independent learning -is lacking in the curriculum and the learning activities of students in most educational institutions. Even at tertiary level, where students are expected to have mastered skills of problem solving, analysis, decision making and evaluation, students are not allowed to implement skills of evaluation in practice on their own. They are evaluated unilaterally (Boud 1980) by their tutors. The problem is, how can students become independent learners when, for the entire Period of their schooling life, they have not been given the chance to practice self-evaluation. WHAT IS SELF-EVALUATION? Boud (1985:5) defines self-evaluation as: ...Not just another method for testing students. Rather, it is a way for students to become involved in assessing their own performance. In this process they may in fact use quite farniliar and routine techniques which differ little at all from those regularly used by teachers for testing achievement. It is the ends to which those methods are put that characterises self-assessment. While Boud emphasises the evaluative aspect of self-evaluation others emphasise the learning value of seH-evaluation: Kusnic and Finley (1993:8) describe self-evaluation as students' reflection on and evaluation of his or her learning...' (1993:8). Students are asked to think not only about what they have learned but also about ' what they have learned in relation to themselves . John Dewey and David Kolb also give anention to reflection in the learning process. By reflective thinking the learner demonstrates the ability to stand back from experience, look at it, and make sense of it in the context of past experiences and previous knowledge.' (Kusnic & Finley 1993:12). Carl Rogers (1983: 62) points out similar idea about evaluation: ~...learning to look inward for signs of progress and growth and not through peer comparison or teacher evaluation alone.' The use of self-evaluation in the classroom is based on two basic philosophical premises: 1. Self-evaluation is necessary for reflective learning; 2. Students need to develop autonomy in learning in order to become critical evaluators of their own work. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND According to Boud 11980 & 1985), although some work on self-evaluation and self-assessment has been reported as early as 1930's, it has been generally ignored until the 1970's. Even Heywood's (1977) book, Assessment in Higher Education does not include the topic. The literature on self-evaluation, especially in respect of student self-evaluation is minimal and until the 1970's contains those studies that compare grades generated by students with those generated by the teachers. Boud in 1989 conducted a critical review of 48 self-assessment studies. He concluded that regardless of the degree of agreement of student-teacher rating, self-assessment can be a valuable learning activny, and can provide potent feedback to the student about learning and educational and professional standards (1989:427). In 1981 Heron provided a clear rationale of self-evaluation based on the importance of learners accepting responsibility tor their learning and on the need for the development of self-evaluation skills for professional life. From 1980 to 1989 Boud with his colleagues conducted research on self-evaluation in various fields of law, engineering, architecture, university teaching and distance study. These studies, even though they illuminate some facts about self-evaluation, are very limited in scope and require much more investigation. SELF-EVALUATION IN PRACTICE Self-evaluation is not intended to replace teacher-evaluation in any respect. It is neither to be used as the main means of evaluation, nor as the criterion to promote or fail a student. However, the contributions self-evaluation can make to the education and development of the individual learner should not be ignored. MacGregor (1993:1) refers to student self-evaluation as a learning strategy which enriches the learning of students. In self-evaluation, the process is as important as the product. The process involves students' thinking, analyzing and evaluating his own learning and the product is the outcome of evaluation which may come out as marks. The marks or grades awarded by the student may be included as a part of the final evaluation of the student or may be used as a part of the learning exercise and the course requirement in tertiary education. It must be noted however, that students must be trained and prepared in order to be able to make an honest and accurate judgment of their own learn,ng. Preparation should include the following: a. Students should understand and accept the value and the rationale of self-evaluation; b. An atmosphere of trust and respect must prevail in the classroom. Students should know that their evaluation will be respected by the tutor; c. It is essential that criteria for evaluation be discussed and at times negotiated between the tutor and the students. Setting of criteria should include discussions (Boud 1985:11): i. the area to be assessed; ii. aims to be pursued; iii. standards to be reached. After setting the criteria, students can make judgement about the extent to which they have met the criteria. If the students are supplied with a marking guide, it is referred to as self-marking or self-testing (Boud, 1985:5), and if the criteria are set in consultation with students, it is called self-evaluation . Like other skills, self-evaluation requires practice and conscious effort on the part of the student. Many self-evaluation techniques require of students to reflect upon their learning and indicate in writing what they have learned and what marks represent the degree of their achievement. Students are often asked to write explanatory remarks next to each mark to justify the mark granted. By practicing this strategy students will be encouraged to make a more careful judgement of their work and develop a sense of objectivity. WHY SELF-EVALUATION? Theoretically self-evaluation can make a valuable contribution to the whole system of evaluation based on the following: 1. An essential part ot any learning is evaluation. What differentiates between experiencing and learning , according to Barlund and Haiman (1960:387) is evaluation. An experience changes into learning when it is accompanied by some kind of evaluation. A leaner therefore, benefits from self evaluation as it helps him to change his experiences into learning. Self-evaiuation can convert students' education into an experience that will not be lost but will end up part of students' lives (MacGregor 1993:3). 2. No one is closer to the learner than the learner himself. He knows how much time and effort he has invested in his work (Edwards 1989:6). If he hnows the criteria and standards of achievement, he is iin a position to make an assessrnent of his work. Shrauger and Osberg (quoted by van der Kamp 1984:266) write: individuals possess an extensive data base from which to draw inferences about themselves, a much larger base than even the most ambitious external evaluators likely to develop. 3. Principle of Involvement. Involvement of the learner in the process of learning is fundamental to effective learning. van der Karnp (1984:265) says "...that the learner himself is the expert concerning the learning effects the learnner has achieved. Dewey has written Only by wrestilng with the conditions of the problem at first hand, seeking and finding his way out does he think. The learner by getting involved with evaluation comes face to face with his learning problems and consciously tries to tackle them. 4. Principle of Awareness. Another didactic principle of self evaluation is awareness. Learning has been defined as a change in behaviour. A learner is not likely to make changes in his behaviouf unless he is aware of the deficiencies in his behaviour and feels the need for change. Self-evaluation requires of students to be more self-conscious about the changes they are experiencing intellectually, personally, and in their relationship with people and ideas outside themselves (Findley, 1993:11). Sharan and Sharan (1976: 105) argued that if the aim of evaluation is to improve communication and to create awareness in students, then students must play a greater role in evaluation. Broadfoot (1979:105) also emphasised the importance of evaluation for the learner. "Not only does the test tell the teacher something about the pupil, it usually tells the pupil something about himself.' 5. Bloom's Taxonomy. According to Bloom, evaluation is the hichest level of thinking and learning objectives. By allowing students to evaluate themselves, students get involved in the most complex learning activity. Given enough practice, students can develop advanced thinking skills of comparing, contrasting, interpreting and synthesizing which they use for assessing their work against the set criteria. 6. Motivation. Self evaluation motivates students to form a realistic and honest awareness of their own work and to try to take responsible steps in solving their own problems. Practice in self evaluation helps the learner to become gradually independent in his thinking and responsible in his decision making. 7. Educational Goa!s. Many educational systems aim to enable the learner to become an independent learner as well as an independent thinker. Self evaluation can play a significant role in achieving this goal. This is because those learners who have enough experience in self-evaluation should not have difficulty in evaluating themselves later in life, even without a supervisor. SELF-EVALUATION: A SHIFT IN FOCUS? In recent years educators have paid special attention to the learner. The learner, his needs and interests have become a primary concern. The change from a teacher-centered education to a child-centered education has had an important impact on all educational activities of the teacher and his perspective on education. The areas affected by this shift are: relationship between the teacher and the learner, educational planning, type of objectives, teaching methods and learning priorities. The area in education which has been least affected by learner-centered education - especially in practice - is evaluation. The traditional concept of evaluation as Rodger and Richardson (1985:14) noted, emphasises the learning outcome and not the learning process. In the tradnional classroom the teacher is the only one in control and the one who knows the criteria for evaluation. It is the teacher who plans the instructional cycle and has the authority to impose his decisions at all levels of the educational cycle. Involving students in the process of evaluation, even at an informal level. can contribute greatly to the practice of child-centered education AT the last stage of the education cycle, the evaluation. The learner will know thal as a partner in evaluating himself, he will have an input in shaping his future. A teacher who decides to use self-evaluation in his classroom - in addition to the changes he may need to make in teaching activities and lesson objectives also needs to make a few fundamental adjustments in his outlook on education and the teacher's role in the education process. CONCLUSION Student self-evaluation is a relatively new phenomenon to many tutors. Little is known about implications of introducing self-evaluation at different levels of education system and there are many questions which need answers. Some questions are: How reliable is student self-evaluation? When and how the teacher should use student self-evaluation ? What kind of self-evaluation instruments should be used? How often self-evaluation should be used? Can a teacher use student self-evaluation to evaluate any kind of skills and knowledge? How should the self-evaluation marks be calculated? What makes study of student self-evaluation worthwhile is the potential value of it for the student. Perhaps one most important advantage of use of self-evaluation for the learner is the possibility of developing an insight into the process of his/her own learning. The following quotation from a student's self-evaluation diary depicts this characteristic: My ideas about learning have changed this quarter in that I HAVE IDEAS ABOUT LEARNING. Up un61 this quarter I had never really focused on this, as an idea. Through Ways of Knowing I have given much finely tuned focusing to the way I learn and it has been useful (though painfully difficult at times). It has broadened my perspective and allowed me to hear more. I have been so used to seeing things MY WAY for so long, there has been no need for me to change very much (except maybe in areas of relationships ). I have held on to my concepts and values tenaciously. Ways of Knowing student, Seattle Central Though I don't intend to let them go completely, l am Community College]. (Waluconis 1993:29). more open to new and revised ideas. 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