Mark(ing) your own homework (where "your" is often substituted with "their", "one's", "its", "his" or "her") is a British expression used in
political discourse
Discourse analysis (DA), or discourse studies, is an approach to the analysis of written, vocal, or sign language use, or any significant semiotic event.
The objects of discourse Analysis (discourse, writing, conversation, communicative event) ...
, the study of
organisational behaviour and in everyday life. The expression implies that whenever a person or group self-assesses and/or
self regulates their own work they will usually treat it more favorably than if it were assessed by an independent person or group.
Examples
* UK
MPs have been criticised for marking their own homework by self-regulating their own expense claims and behaviour.
*
Lord Justice Leveson said the
Press Complaints Commission
The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) was a voluntary regulatory body for British printed newspapers and magazines, consisting of representatives of the major publishers. The PCC closed on Monday 8 September 2014, and was replaced by the Indep ...
had failed and must be replaced. Newspapers should not be allowed to mark their own homework.
* UK
Home Secretary
The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...
and former
prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Theresa May
Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...
said, in the context of a perceived lack of diversity in
fire and rescue
A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...
crews, "It is not so much marking your own homework as setting your own exam paper and resolving that you've passed – and it has to change."
* According to UK MP
Ann Clwyd
Ann Clwyd Roberts (; born 21 March 1937) is a Welsh Labour Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Cynon Valley for 35 years, from 1984 until 2019. Although she had intended to stand down in 2015, she was re-elected in tha ...
, hospitals in the UK are still marking their own homework. Many hospitals do not yet have clear protocols about how complaints are handled and investigated.
* The Scottish health regulator,
Healthcare Improvement Scotland
Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) is the national healthcare improvement organisation for Scotland. It is a Scottish public body, public body which is part of the Scottish National Health Service, created in April 2011.
History
NHS Quality I ...
, has itself been accused of marking its own homework.
* The
CQC said, in the context of a proposal to introduce
coregulation
Co-regulation (or coregulation) is a term used in psychology. It is defined most broadly as a "continuous unfolding of individual action that is susceptible to being continuously modified by the continuously changing actions of the partner". An imp ...
of NHS health providers to encourage them to develop their own systems and processes for understanding quality, it will be able to protect against providers marking their own homework by checking self-assessments against its own data.
HSJ Live 28.10.2015
''Health Service Journal'' 28 Oct 2015
See also
* Collective narcissism
In social psychology, collective narcissism (or group narcissism) is the tendency to exaggerate the positive image and importance of a group to which one belongs. The group may be defined by ideology, race, political beliefs/stance, religion, sexu ...
* Homework
Homework is a set of tasks assigned to students by their teachers to be completed outside the classroom. Common homework assignments may include required reading, a writing or typing project, Exercise (mathematics), mathematical exercises to b ...
* In-group favoritism
In-group favoritism, sometimes known as in-group–out-group bias, in-group bias, intergroup bias, or in-group preference, is a pattern of favoring members of one's in-group over out-group members. This can be expressed in evaluation of others, ...
* Self-serving bias
A self-serving bias is any cognitive or perceptual process that is distorted by the need to maintain and enhance self-esteem, or the tendency to perceive oneself in an overly favorable manner. It is the belief that individuals tend to ascribe succe ...
References
{{Reflist, 2
British English idioms
English phrases
Figures of speech
Group processes
Metaphors
Organizational behavior
Political concepts