scholarly journals Knowledge and Practice of Assessment: Empirical Evidence from Early Childhood Teachers in the Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-18
Author(s):  
Samuel Oppong Frimpong ◽  
Dorigen Osei
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Teachers ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Assessment Practice ◽  
Sequential Explanatory Mixed Method ◽  
Knowledge And Practice ◽  
Level Of Understanding ◽  
Sampling Procedures

Sound assessment fosters learning, improves teaching, and provides information about what has been done or achieved by learners. Children cannot develop without them being assessed. However, information available to the researchers suggests that researches is done or are not done specifically at the early childhood level. This sequential explanatory mixed method was used to examine knowledge and assessment practices in some selected ECE centres in the Kumasi Metropolis. Two hundred and forty-two trained early childhood teachers were selected using table of random numbers and purposive sampling procedures. Self-developed questionnaire and a structured interview were used for data collection. The findings show that most of the participants had some level of understanding on assessment practices. It was found that, the majority of the teachers used assessment tools such as class exercise, portfolio building, in assessing their children. It was further found that most of the teachers had some level of experiences as they use the assessment tools, although they couldn’t use multiple tools in their assessment. To maintain and improve the teachers’ level of understanding on assessment practice, it is recommended that refresher courses on modern trends of assessment should be frequently organised to keep and maintain the knowledge base and skills of the teachers in assessment practices. It is also recommended that teachers should be sensitized on regular basis on the importance of their assessment practices to effectively practicalize the assessment done on pupils.

Being “in” assessment: the ontological layer(ing) of assessment practice

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Giles ◽  
Kerry Earl
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Educational Assessment ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Assessment Practice ◽  
Phenomenological Inquiry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge And Practice

Purpose – Current discourses on educational assessment focus on the priority of learning. While this intent is invariably played out in classroom practice, a consideration of the ontological nature of assessment practice opens understandings which show the experiential nature of “being in assessment”. The purpose of this paper is to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Using interpretive and hermeneutic analyses within a phenomenological inquiry, experiential accounts of the nature of assessment are worked for their emergent and ontological themes. Findings – These stories show the ontological nature of assessment as a matter of being in assessment in an embodied and holistic way. Originality/value – Importantly, the nature of a teacher's way-of-being matters to assessment practices. Implications exist for teacher educators and teacher education programmes in relation to the priority of experiential stories for understanding assessment practice, the need for re-balancing a concern for professional knowledge and practice with a students’ way of being in assessment, and the pedagogical implications of evoking sensitivities in assessment.

scholarly journals DISCIPLINE STRATEGIES PRACTISED IN EARLY CHILDHOOD SETTINGS IN MAURITIUS

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Belle Louis Jinot ◽  
Moraby Munirah
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Early Childhood Teachers ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Emotion Coaching ◽  
The Public ◽  
Positive Discipline ◽  
Petite Enfance ◽  
Disruptive Behaviours ◽  
Early Childhood Settings

<p>This research was conducted to identify and examine the discipline strategies that early childhood teachers may adopt to deal with disruptive behaviours of toddlers. The research was a qualitative research design and a case study. Five early childhood teachers were selected using purposive sampling and 30 toddlers in a private early childhood centre. The data about the practice of discipline strategies by the teachers were gathered by a semi-structured interview schedule and non-participant observation was used to collect data from the toddlers. According to the results of the study, it was found that early childhood education teachers were adopting positive discipline to prevent behaviour problems. The strategies adopted are guidance, autonomy, creating positive relationships, effective planning of the learning environment, and emotion coaching. This research shed light on the shift in the discipline paradigm in the early childhood setting in Mauritius. Instead of adopting reactive and punitive strategies, the practitioners are adopting proactive and discipline which is more humanistic and egalitarian, particularly when the child should be given the best learning opportunities for their holistic development. The findings may serve as an eye-opener especially for the policy and decision-makers like the Ministry of Education, to rethink the current practices in the public early childhood settings. For further research, a comparative study may be done to examine the extent to which positive discipline may be implemented in the public early childhood centres of the country.</p><p> </p><p>Cette recherche a été menée pour identifier et examiner les stratégies disciplinaires que les enseignants de la petite enfance peuvent adopter pour faire face aux comportements perturbateurs des tout-petits. La recherche était une conception de recherche qualitative et une étude de cas. Cinq enseignants de la petite enfance ont été sélectionnés à l'aide d'un échantillonnage raisonné et 30 enfants en bas âge dans un centre privé de la petite enfance. Les données sur la pratique des stratégies disciplinaires par les enseignants ont été recueillies par un calendrier d'entretien semi-structuré et l'observation non participante a été utilisée pour recueillir des données auprès des tout-petits. D'après les résultats de l'étude, il a été constaté que les enseignants en éducation de la petite enfance adoptaient une discipline positive pour prévenir les problèmes de comportement. Les stratégies adoptées sont l'accompagnement, l'autonomie, la création de relations positives, la planification efficace de l'environnement d'apprentissage et le coaching émotionnel. Cette recherche met en lumière le changement de paradigme de la discipline dans le cadre de la petite enfance à Maurice. Au lieu d'adopter des stratégies réactives et punitives, les praticiens adoptent une discipline proactive et plus humaniste et égalitaire, en particulier lorsque l'enfant doit bénéficier des meilleures opportunités d'apprentissage pour son développement holistique. Les résultats peuvent ouvrir les yeux, en particulier pour les responsables politiques et les décideurs comme le ministère de l'Éducation, pour repenser les pratiques actuelles dans les milieux publics de la petite enfance. Pour des recherches plus poussées, une étude comparative peut être menée pour examiner dans quelle mesure une discipline positive peut être mise en œuvre dans les centres publics de la petite enfance du pays.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0743/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

scholarly journals Young Gifted Girls and Boys: Perspectives through the Lens of Gender

2002 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 383-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Libby Lee
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Early Childhood Teachers ◽  
Research Problem ◽  
Talented People ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
Level Of Understanding ◽  
Gifted Girls ◽  
Mathematics And Science

In contemporary society we have become highly dependent on a technological, scientific and mathematically literate population. There has been considerable debate for many years about the lack of talented people entering professions associated with these literacies and about the level of understanding of science and technology in the general community. Since perceptions of and interest in mathematics, science and technology begin in early childhood, teachers of very young children play an important role in fostering and supporting these interests. The research problem investigated in this article emerged when the researcher became aware that teachers in Brisbane, Australia nominated as many as five times more boys than girls for a mathematics and science enrichment programme for gifted young children. Hence, teachers' conceptions of what it means to have high ability in mathematics and science in early childhood appeared to be influenced by teacher beliefs about gender. Single in-depth interviews were conducted with 16 early childhood teachers who nominated children for the above mentioned enrichment programme. Based on interview data, a model of teachers' conceptions of giftedness was developed, comprising seven categories of description or ways that teachers see the phenomenon of giftedness in relation to young children. A latter interpretative analysis of this model found that teachers' conceptions of giftedness are indeed gendered and that each of the seven categories of giftedness guides teacher behaviours or actions that directly disadvantage girls. This article explores this latter analysis and concludes that gender is a significant influence on teachers' conceptions of giftedness in young children.

scholarly journals Improving early childhood teachers’ formative assessment practices: Transformative role of collaborative action research

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-240
Author(s):  
Selda Aras
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Formative Assessment ◽  
Early Childhood Teachers ◽  
Collaborative Action Research ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Systematic Observation ◽  
Collaborative Action ◽  
Children's Development ◽  
Children’S Development

The aim of this study is to investigate the change process of early childhood teachers’ formative assessment practices via collaborative action research. Formative assessment contributes to children’s development and learning process and also guides teachers on instructional decisions. Although research emphasizes the importance of formative assessment, teachers encounter difficulties while implementing it in their classrooms. Three early childhood teachers participated in this qualitative study, and the data were gathered through interviews and observations. The findings about the teachers’ change processes revealed that despite the difficulties experienced; teachers began to conduct systematic observation, document children’s development and learning, and use assessment data for their further plans. The transformative power of action research in changing teachers’ practices is highlighted in this study.

scholarly journals Pemahaman Guru PAUD Tentang Pembelajaran Berbasis STEAM dengan Penggunaan Media Loose Parts di Desa Bukit Harapan

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-52
Author(s):  
Nurul Qomariyah ◽  
Zahratul Qalbi
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Early Childhood Teachers ◽  
Modern Learning ◽  
The Times ◽  
Level Of Understanding ◽  
Loose Parts ◽  
Learning By Using

This study aims to describe the level of understanding of PAUD teachers or PAUD educators about loose parts games. The research method used is qualitative, using the method of direct interviews with early childhood teachers in Bukit Harapan Village, Pinang Raya District, North Bengkulu Regency. The sample used is 3 teachers who teach in one of the PAUD schools. From the results of the interview, it was found that the teacher did not understand the loose parts game. And schools have not applied STEAM-based learning by using learning media in the form of loose parts. So that to overcome the lagging behind modern learning, the teachers at these schools will try to find information about STEAM-based learning so that they can keep up with the times and children's creativity can also be maximized.

scholarly journals Mathematical knowledge and overall practice in initial teacher education of early childhood teachers

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana Cecilia Goldrine Godoy ◽  
Pamela Reyes-Santander ◽  
Raimundo Olfos Ayarza
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Concept Maps ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Early Childhood Teachers ◽  
Pedagogical Knowledge ◽  
Initial Teacher Education ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
Knowledge And Practice

ABSTRACT This paper presents an instrumental multiple-case study composed of two representative cases selected from a Mathematics Initial Teacher Education course. Data collected include concept maps, classroom observations, and interviews, which were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. Differences in knowledge and practices were compared between pre-service early childhood teachers: one with greater content and pedagogical knowledge, and appropriate teaching practices; and another, with insufficient content and pedagogical knowledge, and repetitive mathematics activities. Findings from these two cases indicate a relationship among content, pedagogical knowledge, and good practice; and thus, support the existence of a dialogical and integrative relationship between knowledge and practice in teaching. Accordingly, the teacher practice dimension from the Mathematics Teaching Capability framework should play an important role in the initial teacher education of early childhood teachers.

Physical Education Teacher Training in Fundamental Movement Skills Makes a Difference to Instruction and Assessment Practices

2015 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 548-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie Jayne Lander ◽  
Lisa Michele Barnett ◽  
Helen Brown ◽  
Amanda Telford
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Physical Education ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Physical Education Teacher ◽  
Assessment Practice ◽  
Movement Skills ◽  
Fundamental Movement Skills

The purpose of this study was to investigate instruction and assessment of fundamental movement skills (FMSs) by Physical Education (PE) teachers of Year 7 girls. Of 168 secondary school PE teachers, many had received little FMSs professional development, and although most assessed student FMSs proficiency, the quality of assessment was variable. Neither years of experience nor confidence influenced the quality of assessment tools used; however, greater FMSs training improved assessment practice regularity. Teachers more recently out of preservice were more confident in demonstrating FMSs. The results suggest that FMSs education for teachers should be a priority inclusion in both the training of preservice teachers and the ongoing professional development of in-service teachers.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document