Students’ and Teachers’ Perceptions of Formative Assessment in Kenya: the Case of Bukura Agricultural College
Abstract
This research sort to investigate teachers’ and students’ perceptions of formative assessment.
Perceptions are a person’s views and outlooks emanating from experience as well as interaction
with their environment. Students and teachers optimistic expression of formative assessment
improves their self efficacy leading to improved learners’ performance. The purpose of the study
was to determine perceptions of students and teachers on formative assessment. The objectives of
the study were; (a) To determine students’ perceptions on formative assessment, (b) To determine
teachers’ perceptions on formative assessment, (c) To determine whether there was significant
variation in the perception of students and teachers towards formative assessment practices across
departments, and (d) To determine formative assessment practices used. Data was collected using
the questionnaire and structured interview schedule. The study applied a combination of
quantitative and qualitative (mixed research) designs. Purposive sampling technique was used
where 63 lecturers and 321 students were obtained from a population of 1384 students and 74
lecturers were selected. Data analysis involved computation of statistics, descriptive statistics,
tables and graphs, and One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Content analysis was done on
the open-ended questions. The results indicated that students and teachers had a more positive
perceptions towards formative assessment. Overall, there were no significant variation in the
perception of students and teachers on formative assessment practices across departments. Results
from the study revealed that a variety of formative assessment practices are being utilized, which
comprised of portfolios, projects, continuous assessment tests, peer assessment, student self
assessment, and student own production. The conclusion shows that both teachers and students
favored formative assessment as an effective method of classroom assessment. However, there is
a need to enhance transparency as a way of achieving the goals of formative assessment.
Publisher
university of Nairobi
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United StatesUsage Rights
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/Collections
- Faculty of Education (FEd) [5964]
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