Assessment, learning and power in the architectural design studio jury: a case from the United Arab Emirates
ISSN: 2631-6862
Article publication date: 11 June 2020
Issue publication date: 11 November 2020
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the architectural design jury in a university in the UAE. It explores the jury as an assessment tool, this system's formative value – i.e. significance for learning enrichment – and issues undermining it and power relations in the jury and their implications.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is carried out through surveys of students' views, reflection on the author's experience and literature review.
Findings
The paper finds that the jury emphasizes assessment over learning. Students are gradually disturbing unbalanced power relations in the jury, but power remains uneven and obstructive of the jury's developmental role. Despite the jury's shortcomings and scholars' call for abandoning it, students found the studio better with the jury, although they wanted the system to be enhanced. The persistent – albeit not unchallenged – power of the design jury institution and students' need for feedback from different sources and unawareness of any alternatives to the jury led to this position.
Practical implications
The paper recommends reforms to the design jury and suggests experimenting in supporting tools to direct this system toward student empowerment and learning enhancement.
Originality/value
This study fills a gap in the literature as it investigates persisting problematic components and practices in today's architectural design juries in university education in the Arab region, which have not received adequate attention. The context of the study and the new generation of students it involves enable a new perspective on the topic.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author is thankful to all research participants. The author is grateful to Nora Eltayeib for locating some resources and conducting surveys, Razan El Rifai for carrying out surveys, Elaf Bawab for providing some material used for illustrations and Zaid Koutrach for preparing the illustrations for publication.
Citation
Musa, M. (2020), "Assessment, learning and power in the architectural design studio jury: a case from the United Arab Emirates", Archnet-IJAR, Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 489-502. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARCH-01-2020-0009
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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