Drawing on a research study of formative assessment practices in Irish schools, this
paper traces the design, development and pilot of the Assessment for Learning Audit
instrument (AfLAi) - a research tool for measuring teachers’ understanding and
deployment of formative teaching, learning and assessment practices. Underpinning the
paper is an extensive body of international research connecting assessment for learning
pedagogy with student self-regulation, mental health and well-being. Reflecting on the
potential of the AfLAi as a research tool, an activity systems framework is advanced as a
mechanism to engage researchers and teachers in meaningful site-based continuous
professional development that supports teachers’ interrogation of aggregated school data
derived from their responses to the AfLAi. It is argued that by de-privatising classroom
practice in this way and challenging teachers to examine self-reports of their
understanding and use of assessment for learning pedagogy, the extent to which students
are afforded opportunities to develop as self-regulating learners is laid bare. In turn, the
teaching, learning and assessment conditions that serve to create and sustain selfregulation
by students emerge. The paper is premised on a commitment to a
biopsychosocial approach to mental health and to an inter-disciplinary, multi-lens,
research agenda that will yield comprehensive, dynamic insights and understandings to
inform future practice.peer-reviewe
