Marking scale from A to F
Knowledge Understanding and analytical ability Professional communicative ability, relevance and reliability
Below these three criteria are related to the main components of the study program (the significance of gender and gender equality issues in Nordic countries, central questions of gender policy and theory, gender in texts, images, theories and methods, gender equality in different fields, and the specific social and cultural contexts in the different Nordic countries) at each of the six levels of the marking scale. The weighting of every separate criterion will depend of the type of task the student is faced with. It is the overall evaluation which decides the mark given, in that each separate criterion does not have to have the same mark; for example, not all marks have to be A to achieve a final A. Discretional judgement is to be exercised across the board.
A – excellent
Best mark. The student gives an outstanding presentation which is clearly superior. Also, the student shows a high degree of independent reasoning. Knowledge: • The student can, in a convincing way, interpret the assigned texts and relate them to the theoretical positions and basic problem areas of the significant issues of gender and gender equality within the specific social and cultural contexts in the different Nordic countries. • The student shows a very high level of empirical knowledge of the status of gender equality in fields such as everyday life, education, working life, politics and ethnic relations and can relate this knowledge in a detailed manner to the assigned reading. • The student shows exceptional insight into the field of gender policy and theory with its different positions on gender policy, perspectives and strategies. Understanding and analytical ability: • The student has acquired a workable conceptual framework and shows outstanding ability in applying it in order to understand and analyse gender equality issues in Nordic countries within the theoretical and empirical framework of the assigned course readings. • The student shows especially good insight into how the significance of gender and gender equality issues are reflected in the subject area and in relevant contemporary debates. • The student has a superior grasp of and ability independently to see, analyse and problematise gender in texts, images, theories and methods in a way that can lead to surprising insights. • The student has got an especially good overview of and ability to reflect systematically upon central questions of gender policy and theory. Professional communicative ability, relevance and reliability: • The student shows a remarkable ability to formulate her/his knowledge and analytical insights in a precise and stringent manner. • The student has a good understanding of the significance of the tasks she/he faces and submits a product that is relevant in relation to the course of study as well as the tasks in question. • References and information about sources are presented in correct academic style.
B - very good
The second best mark. The student submits a very good presentation which is well above the average. This student also shows ability to think independently. Knowledge: • The student is able to give a comprehensive account of her/his course literature, and is able to relate the texts to theoretical positions and basic problem areas that are significant for gender and gender equality issues within the specific social and cultural contexts in the different Nordic countries. • The student demonstrates a considerable and sound empirical grasp of knowledge relevant to the status of gender equality in fields such as everyday life, education, working life, politics and ethnic relations and is able to relate this knowledge competently and persuasively to the course readings. • The student shows considerable insight in the field of gender policy and theory with its different positions, perspectives and strategies on gender policy. Understanding and analytical ability: • The student has acquired a considerable amount of the terminology of the field and puts this knowledge to good use when it comes to understanding and discussing gender equality issues in Nordic countries in the context of the theoretical and empirical contents of the course. • The student shows very good insight into how the significance of gender and gender equality issues are reflected in the subject area and in relevant contemporary debates. • The student demonstrates considerable insight into and understanding of gender in texts, images, theories and methods and an indubitable ability to independently see, analyse and problematise this knowledge in relation to some central problem areas in course readings. • The student has a very thorough overview of and ability to reflect systematically on central questions of gender policy and theory. Professional communicative ability, relevance and reliability: • The student demonstrates a very well developed ability to reason and avoids superficial use of subject jargon. • The student shows understanding of the significance of the tasks she/he is faced with, and submits a product that is relevant in relation to the course of study and the task presented. • References and source identification are on the whole worked out in accordance with standard academic practice.
C – good
An average mark. The student’s performance is average and as such satisfactory on most counts. Knowledge: • The student has acquired the most essential contents of the course readings, and can, by and large, relate this to the theoretical positions and basic problem areas that are significant for gender and gender equality issues within the specific social and cultural contexts in the different Nordic countries. There are no big “holes” in her/his knowledge, but the student lacks some of the deep and broad understanding of the topic that was evident in those with higher marks. • The student has good empirical knowledge of the status of gender equality in fields such as everyday life, education, working life, politics and ethnic relations and is able to relate this to the course contents. • The student can identify and explain the field of gender policy and theory with its different positions on gender policy, perspectives and strategies. Understanding and analytical ability: • The student demonstrates sufficient knowledge of the terminology of the field and demonstrates ability to use this knowledge when it comes to understanding and discussing gender equality issues in Nordic countries in the context of the theoretical and empirical contents of the course. • The student demonstrates insight into how the significance of gender and gender equality issues are reflected in the subject area and in relevant contemporary debates. • The student demonstrates a working knowledge of gender in texts, images, theories and methods and a certain independent ability to see, analyse and problematise this knowledge in relation to some central problem areas in course readings. • The student has an overview of and a good understanding of central questions of gender policy and theory, but may exhibit some uncertainty when it comes to precise use of terminology and ability to use her/his knowledge in an analytical context. Professional communicative ability, relevance and reliability: • The student communicates well, but her/his performance may be uneven when it comes to coherence and show vague or imprecise use of concepts. • The student responds well to assignments, but may show a tendency to lead the discussion towards subject areas where she/he feels more secure and thus make the response less relevant in relation to the task at hand and the contents of the course. • The student has understood the principles behind correct use of references and source materials, but may make the occasional error. D – partially satisfactory
A below-average mark. The student’s performance is below average, with some significant shortcomings. Knowledge: • The student can, in a partial way, explain the course readings, but without the necessary overview. She/he is uncertain when it comes to relating the reading matter to different theoretical positions and basic problem areas that are significant for gender and gender equality issues within the specific social and cultural contexts in the different Nordic countries. • The student shows some empirical knowledge of the status of gender equality in fields such as everyday life, education, working life, politics and ethnic relations and can to some degree relate this knowledge to the course contents. • The student can identify and explain some political positions, perspectives and strategies in the field of gender policy and theory. Understanding and analytical ability: • The student has not acquired the necessary knowledge of subject terminology, but can make reasonably good use of some relevant concepts necessary for understanding and discussing gender equality issues in Nordic countries within the theoretical and empirical contents of the course. • The student shows limited insight into how the significance of gender and gender equality issues are reflected in the subject area and in relevant contemporary debates. • The student shows a reasonably good understanding of gender in texts, images, theories and methods, but does not show sufficient independent ability to see, analyse and problematise this knowledge in relation to the main problem areas of the course readings. • The student has a reasonably good overview and understanding of the central questions of gender policy and theory, but shows limited ability when it comes to applying this for analytical purposes. The paper gives more indication of rote learning and less of discussion. Professional communicative ability, relevance and reliability: • The student reasons quite well, but the submitted papers can seem un-thought through, lack inner consistency or use wrong terminology. • The student responds to assigned tasks but lacks the ability to distinguish between what is important and what is unimportant or she/he may avoid giving precise answers to questions asked. • References, sources and quotations are listed but contain serious errors and other flaws.
E – sufficient
Lowest passing mark. The student’s performance is sufficient for the minimum requirements, but no more. Knowledge: • The student shows some knowledge of the course readings, but lacks an overview and demonstrates only a superficial familiarity with the theoretical positions and basic problem areas of the significant issues of gender and gender equality within the specific social and cultural contexts in the different Nordic countries. • The student has some empirical knowledge of the status of gender equality in fields such as everyday life, education, working life, politics and ethnic relations, but shows little ability in relating this to the contents of the course. • The student’s ability to account for the various political positions, perspectives and strategies in the field of gender policy theory is poor. Understanding and analytical ability: • The student has acquired a minimum of the necessary knowledge about the subject terminology, but has difficulties when she/he is to use relevant concepts to gain understanding of or discussing gender equality issues in Nordic countries within the theoretical and empirical framework of the course. • The student shows a bare minimum of insight into how the significance of gender and gender equality issues are reflected in the subject area and in relevant contemporary debates. • The student shows some understanding of gender in texts, images, theories and methods, but shows very little independent ability to see, analyse and problematise this knowledge in relation to the main problem areas of the course readings. • The student shows some insight into and some understanding of the central questions of gender policy and theory, but little ability when it comes to applying this for analytical purposes. The paper is characterized by rote learning and has no relevant discussion of the problem area. Professional communicative ability, relevance and reliability: • The student’s response is understandable, but has sequences of muddled and/or confused reasoning with little internal consistency. • The student’s response is only of minimal relevance to the task set. • References and source identification are unclear or inadequate. Texts are quoted without adequate reference. The bibliography has serious shortcomings or is missing entirely.
F – fail
The student submits a paper that does not come up to minimum requirements. Knowledge: • The student lacks completely basic knowledge of the course readings. Important texts have not been read or have left little trace of understanding of the different theoretical positions and basic problem areas of the significant issues of gender and gender equality within the specific social and cultural contexts in the different Nordic countries. • The student has an extremely superficial empirical knowledge of the status of gender equality in fields such as everyday life, education, working life, politics and ethnic relations and is unable to relate it to the contents of the course. • The student is unable to explain adequately certain political positions, perspectives and strategies in the field of gender policy and theory. Understanding and analytical ability: • The student has not demonstrated necessary knowledge of subject terminology and is unable to make use of relevant concepts when discussing gender equality issues in Nordic countries within the theoretical and empirical framework of the course. Concepts and theories are partly erroneously rendered. • The student shows little insight into how the significance of gender and gender equality issues are reflected in the subject area and in relevant contemporary debates. • The student shows little understanding of gender in texts, images, theories and methods, and shows no independent ability to see, analyse and problematise this knowledge in relation to the main problem areas of the course readings. • The student shows no ability when it comes to critical reflection about questions of gender policy and theory. Professional communicative ability, relevance and reliability: • The student’s response is often completely incomprehensible or confusing. • The student’s answer can show a complete lack relevance in relation to the task presented. • References and source identification are worthless or missing entirely.