Teachers’ competencies in the development of economic and management sciences formal assessment tasks.

Abstract

The main purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine competencies of Grade 7 Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) teachers in designing formal assessment tasks in the Umzinyathi District. The study was conducted in five primary schools. Five Grade 7 EMS teachers and two Departmental Heads were sampled for the study. Purposive sampling was used to select the five teachers and the two Departmental Heads. This was done because these participants would be representative of the population and would provide valuable information about the phenomenon that was examined. This study was located in the interpretive paradigm as it examined the competencies of Grade 7 EMS teachers in the development of formal assessment tasks. Data was generated using three data generation methods, namely, document analysis, semi–structured interviews and questionnaires. Data was analysed using an inductive and thematic methods of data analysis. This study was underpinned by two conceptual frameworks: Bloom’s (1956) theory of educational objectives, which classified thinking according to six cognitive levels of complexity and Grossman (1990) Model of teacher knowledge, outlining four categories of teacher knowledge. Findings of the study revealed that teachers designed diverse formal assessment tasks and also developed informal assessment tasks to prepare learners for formal assessment. The study also found that both teachers and Departmental Heads made an effort to comply with both Bloom’s Taxonomy of cognition as well as CAPS. Findings revealed that the tasks teachers designed were not balanced, did not cover a range of cognitive levels as outlined by Bloom’s Taxonomy and did not comply with the recommendations of CAPS in terms of the spread of cognitive levels in an assessment task. It was also evident that there was a lack of or inadequate moderation of these tasks. Finally, the study found that teachers faced several challenges which resulted in them not designing balanced assessment tasks. Several recommendations were made by this study to develop and strengthen teacher knowledge on both content and development of assessment tasks. Both findings and recommendations of this study may assist the Department of Education to ensure and maintain effective teaching and assessment practices in schools.