Exploring students' perception on fairness in English writing

This study aimed to investigate learners' fairness perceptions regarding writing assessment in an English Language Preparatory Program and whether EFL learners' fairness perceptions differ regarding their proficiency level and gender. Another goal of the study was to determine whether there is a way to foster fairness perceptions in writing assessment according to the student and instructor participants. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected in this study. While the quantitative data were collected from 64 intermediate and 73 upper-intermediate students through the Fairness Barometer (FB), the qualitative data were gathered through interviews in which 13 students were involved and through survey questions responded to by 10 instructors in a written way. The quantitative data were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics. Content analysis was carried out to analyze the qualitative data. The findings revealed that there were no significant statistical differences between intermediate and upper-intermediate students, as well as male and female students, in their fairness perceptions regarding writing assessment. Finally, the qualitative research findings regarding fairness perceptions from student interviews and teacher reflections unveiled some common themes that can foster fairness perceptions. Based on these findings, the study suggested pedagogical implications and offered recommendations for further research.