The Relationship Between Demographic and Attitudinal Characteristics of Primary-School Teachers and Implementation of the Continuous Assessment Program in Swaziland
Problem. The purposes of this study were to determine the extent to which primary school teachers were implementing the Continuous Assessment Program (CAP) and to examine personal and institutional factors that may be related to the implementation of the program. Method. A questionnaire designed to measure degree of implementation and attitude toward the Continuous Assessment Program was administered to a stratified random sample of 600 Grade 1 to Grade 7 teachers from 54 schools. Personnel from the National Curriculum Center (NCC) delivered and collected the questionnaires from each school. Completed questionnaires were then forwarded to the researcher. Data were coded and entered into the computer. Data analysis was done using the Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Frequency distribution, means and standard deviation were used to summarize the data. Null hypotheses were tested using Chi-Square test of association, Pearson product - moment correlation and multiple regression analysis. Level of significance was set at 0.05. Results. Six of the null hypotheses were rejected. One was retained. Three major findings are that the Continuous Assessment Program is being partially implemented by teachers. The least qualified teachers are implementing Continuous Assessment more than their more highly qualified colleagues. Second, there are significant relationships between implementation and the variables of Educational Attainment, Attitude Toward the CAP, Perceived Role of the Head-Teacher, Perceived Adequacy of Support of Ministry of Education (MoE), and Perceived Adequacy of Initial and Ongoing Training. Third, the two most important factors that account for degree of implementation of CAP are attitude toward the CAP and perceived adequacy of initial and ongoing training. Major problems teachers faced included oversized classes that made it difficult for them to do appropriate remediation and enrichment. Conclusion. Continuous Assessment Program is being partially implemented by the teachers. The problems that teachers face may imply that unless the Ministry of Education provides teachers with resources with which to implement the Continuous Assessment Program the program may not be thoroughly implemented and of benefit to the students.
Education, Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research
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