Abstract

Due to COVID-19, art and design education is experiencing a major shift. This study aims to explore perceptions related to online assessment in the discipline of art and design. It was conducted to explore views of university art and design educators in the Middle East regarding their experiences with the online assessment methods that they used during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research also aims to explore the current global assessment practices in art and design distance education. The main research question is: what are art and design educators’ experiences, concerns, and perceived challenges and barriers to online assessment? The research argues that art and design-based online assessment methods will have to be customized to become adequate for assessing art and design students. The research adopted a mixed methodology approach by surveying fifty-three educators from several Middle Eastern countries. In addition, two focus groups were conducted with eleven art and design instructors in Bahrain in an attempt to investigate the most effective online assessment practices and feedback approaches in the art and design discipline. These findings may have implications for art and design educators in the Middle East and other parts of the world to help them utilize effective online assessment methods and feedback with art and design students based on their preferences and perceptions. Finally, the article provides international universities with proposed online assessment approaches in addition to insights and practices from experienced art and design educators.