Feminist pedagogy within constraints: teaching reflective writing in a UK higher education institution

Feminists have long critiqued an overreliance on traditional assessment practices such as the essay or exam, highlighting that these can reinforce gendered or other hierarchies in education. Feminists have supported calls for a greater diversity of assessment in general, while valorizing reflective forms of assessment in particular. We identify three principles of feminist pedagogy: engaged pedagogy, addressing hierarchies, action-oriented learning and – using our own teacher feedback – analyse the realization of these principles in a feminist reflective journal assessment at a Russell Group University in the UK. We analyse 168 data points – formative and summative feedback across two yearly cohorts. We find that striking a balance between different principles of feminist pedagogy – each operating within tensions and constraints – should be reflected on and likely cannot be fully resolved. We present recommendations for teachers using a reflective journal assessment and consider what this assessment has taught us about our own feedback practices.