Kurebwa mercy thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for doctor of philosophy
TEACHER PERCEPTIONS OF ASSESSMENT
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2.9 TEACHER PERCEPTIONS OF ASSESSMENTTeacher perceptions act as a framework though which a teacher views, interprets and interacts with the teaching environment (Marton, 1981).Teachers' conception of assessment is important because evidence exists that teacher' conceptions of teaching, learning, and curricula influence strongly how they teach and what learners learn or achieve (Clark & Peterson, 1986; 1992; Calderhead, 1996). Teachers assessment practices are directly related to instruction and learner learning (Elkader, 2008:25). According to Good and Brophy ,(1995) teachers perceptions of assessment modify procedures teachers use for lesson planning, delivery, instruction and teacher interaction throughout the school term. Research suggests that teacher’ perceptions of teaching and learning strongly influence how they teach and what learners learn or achieve (Brown, 2004; Marshall & Drummond, 2006). Research also suggests that changes in teachers’ attitudes are associated with changes in classroom assessment (Dekker & Feijs, 2005; Lee & Wiliam, 2005). Tittle (1994:51) proposed that teachers 'construct schemas or integrate representations from assessments into existing views of the self, of teaching and learning, and of the curriculum, broadly construed’. Indeed, teachers' beliefs about learner self-confidence, morale, creativity, and work are ‘closely linked to one's choice of evaluation techniques' (Asch, 1976: 18). There has been a robust measurement through questionnaires on teacher conceptions on assessment (Brown (2004, 2007); Hargreaves (2005)), but one weakness in this body of research is the lack of quality data. Brown et. al’s (1997)questionnaire on teachers’ conceptions on assessment has been used with New Zealand, Australia and Hongkong primary teachers and secondary school teachers and the data obtained from these teachers revealed the following four purposes of assessment as perceived by teachers: It improves teaching. It makes learners accountable for learning. It makes schools and teachers accountable for learner learning. It should be rejected because it is invalid, irrelevant, and negatively affects teachers, learners, curriculum and teaching (Brown 2004; Shonany, 2001; Torrance & Pryor, 1998). Studies have shown that, to a certain degree, teachers are satisfied with their classroom assessment practices (Yildrin,2004). Unfortunately, some teachers’ perceptions included poor teaching assessment training, not enough time to properly assess their learners (Bensur 2000; Metller, 2005) and a large amount of teaching conceptual material in their courses (Beal & Bearka, 1998). Brown (2003:1) provides a strong argument that, “All pedagogical acts are affected by conceptions teachers have about the act of teaching, the process and purpose of assessment practices and the nature of learning”. Teachers influence their classroom practices (Thompson, 1992). In turn teachers’ actions significantly impact on pupil learning (Muigs, 2006). Research has shown that learner assessment is one of the most important tasks of a classroom teacher Race (1995) and that it has the greatest influence on learners perception of assessment (Brookhart & Delan, 2003). Perceptions can lead a teacher to interact with learners in a unique manner (Gutierrez, 2000). Teachers, who view assessment as a useful means of gathering data upon which to base their decisions about learning and their teaching, attempt to make assessment an integral part of teaching. They emphasise formative rather than summative assessment, frequently use informal means of assessment; encourage learners to take risks and reward academic effort as well as good results. They tend to take responsibility for learning that takes place in the classroom. The improvement conception, promoted by researchers Black & William (1998); Black, Harrison, Lee, Marshal & William (2003), under the ‘rubric assessment for learning’ is underpinned by the premise that assessment’s primary role should be for learner improvement. This may occur directly by giving learners useful feedback and by using effective peer and self-assessment practices or indirectly through teacher modifications of instruction to better suit diagnosed learner needs. Teachers who view assessment as a mechanism for making learners accountable for learning will favour formal summative high stakes assessment to formally determine learner abilities and achievements. This kind of information can be reported to the community and stakeholders like other schools and employers. Teachers tend to absolve themselves from the responsibilities of learners’ failure by blaming the learner’s socio- economic conditions or lack of ability (Delandshire & Jones, 1999). Teachers who view assessment as a necessary part to education and school accountability will favour summative and quasi-formative assessment to generate marks that can be reported to external agencies (Vanderyor & Killen, 2003). This kind of assessment should be used to publicly demonstrate teacher and school effectiveness (Firestone, Shorr & Monfills, 1998). Finally, the conceptions that reflect feelings that evaluation has no legitimate place within teaching and learning, will probably avoid formative assessment and take a harphazard approach to summative assessment, thus, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy that assessment is a waste of time (Vanderyor & Killen, 2003). When the system emphasises content, conformity and high stakes summative assessment as it did in South Africa during the apartheid era, teachers’ conceptions of assessment are unlikely to be immune to the system within which they work (Jansen, 1999). In the same vein, post independence Zimbabwe’s assessment procedures may be influenced by the pre-colonial assessment methods, which also emphasised content and high stake summative assessments. It should therefore be noted that the way teachers perceive assessment definitely impacts on the manner in which they carry out assessment in the classroom. Several researchers argue that educators’ conceptions of assessment are strongly interwoven with their views on broader issues of learning/teaching (Brown 2003). To evolve within new assessment practices, it of paramount importance for teachers to embed their perceptions into the following emerging models of assessment. 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