The evaluation of learning as a regulating mechanism of subject selection in the university community

Abstract

The present work contributes to the reflection about the role of the learning evaluation practices in the university as one of the mechanisms of knowledge legitimacy. The evaluation in itself represents an endless source of analyses and discussions because of its implication and influence on people and institutions. The story of the Omaha community, elaborated by Margaret Mead, was an interesting trigger to analyze the learning evaluation implications at the university level in relation to the knowledge ofdifferent social sectors. Considering some categories such as class knowledge, elite knowledgeand popular knowledge, this work progresses to establish a continuous line with the academic knowledge, trying to show the function of the learning evaluation when it is constituted as a legitimacy element through the selection.