Assessment practices of teachers in kindergarten classrooms within the Nandom municipality

Gyibkuu, V.

Assessment practices of teachers in kindergarten classrooms within the Nandom municipality

Gyibkuu, V.

URI: http://41.74.91.244:8080/handle/123456789/4913

Date: 2023-07

Abstract:

A thesis in the Department of Early Childhood Education, Faculty of Educational Studies, submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Philosophy (Early Childhood Education) in the University of Education, Winneba

Description:

The purpose of the study is to investigate the Assessment Practices of Teachers in Kindergarten Classrooms within the Nandom Municipality. The study was guided by Sadler’s theory of assessment. The study however employed sequential explanatory design. The study used census and simple random sampling technique to select one hundred and twenty (120) kindergarten teachers as the sample size for the study. Questionnaires were used to collect the quantitative data while observational check list was used to collect the qualitative data. The quantitative data was analyzed using frequency tables, means and standard deviations. The qualitative data was also analyzed using frequency tables and percentages to support the quantitative data. The study found that class exercises and test, testing (paper and pencil test) and class test were frequently and dominantly used by kindergarten teachers in assessing students in their classrooms. Notwithstanding these, some other assessment tools such as portfolio building, performance of tasks and observation were also identified. In relation to the second objective of the study which was to, “examine the perspectives of kindergarten teachers within the Nandom municipality about the use of assessment tools” the study found that, majority of the teachers have some level of perspective of each measure of assessment. However, the assessment practises which kindergarten teachers have more experience on was summative assessment followed by criterionreferenced assessments. Formative assessment, norm-referenced assessment and diagnostic assessments were also assessment practices they have moderate experience on. It was found from the study that, majority of the teachers relied heavily on class exercises and class tests, Project Work, observations and oral questions. It is therefore recommended that, to sustain and maintain the knowledge base and skills of the instructors in assessment methods, the Teacher Education Division within the Nandom Municipality organize refresher courses on contemporary trends in assessment so as to remove overreliance on some selected assessment types. The Ministry of Education and Teacher Education Division should regularly educate teachers on the significance of their assessment processes in order to properly implement the assessments conducted on students. For instance, while creating a portfolio for students, instructors must include all of the students' work rather than just the best pieces so that parents who are invited to Parent Teacher Interaction (PTI) sessions may be adequately informed about the growth or regression of their children. Except for the fact that the participating instructors were unable to apply numerous assessment tools to evaluate the students, the data point to favourable experiences teachers have with the usage of the assessment tools. Because they may just utilize one source of assessment tool, the instructors might not get full information on their students as a result. Teachers are able to give appropriate feedback to students due to their experience in assessment. The study concludes that, the teachers have some level of perspectives of each measure of assessment. However, the most well understood assessment practises were summative assessment followed by criterion-referenced assessments. Formative assessment, norm-referenced assessment and diagnostic assessments were also well understood although moderately.

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