Developing psychic self-regulation in children through self-assessment portfolios in school interaction

Abstract

The study addresses the nature of the self-regulation processes (their dynamics and development) that support the self-assessment of learning. It aims to elucidate these processes from the perspective of the Theoretical System of Expanded Affectivity (TSEA), focusing on the self-assessment of learning by children when constructing portfolios at school context. Participants were a class of twenty-nine students, seven to nine years old, and their teacher. The Broad Level of data collection, focused on the present work, covers participant observation and the application of Self-Assessment Scripts. The categories of analysis are based on the dimensions of the Psychic Cell (Self-Identity-Resilience-Alterity) postulated by TSEA. We found that children demonstrate basic and complex processes of psychic self-regulation and self-assessment of their learning, developing and strengthening their identity, recursive, resilient, and regulation references of the interactions. It is argued that self-regulation can be driven by self-assessments guided by the use of portfolios in the school context.