In developing countries like Ethiopia, education is considered to be a means of development and a stepping stone toward the eradication of poverty. Effective education requires effective teaching, learning and assessment strategies, which, in turn, necessitate the use of effective pedagogical and psychological approaches to meet the demands of a new generation of learners. Effective education becomes possible when learners are properly assessed and empowered via various appropriate assessment techniques. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to investigate how instructors’ assessment practices at a university in Ethiopia influence/enhance student empowerment. In order to achieve this aim, I used a convergent parallel/triangulation mixed-method research design, which allowed me to collect both quantitative and qualitative data simultaneously. Instructors and students from the six colleges of Debre Markos University were the participants of the study. I employed questionnaires and interviews as a data-collection instrument. From a total of 5944 students and 450 instructors, 600 students and 210 instructors were selected, via probability sampling techniques, to complete questionnaires. Six department heads and six instructors were chosen, via non-probability sampling techniques, for the interviews. Before collecting the main data, a pilot study was conducted. The quantitative data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Moreover, the qualitative data were analysed according to themes and word descriptions. The results of the study indicate significant variations between the perceptions of students and those of instructors, across different colleges, with regard to the practice of assessment. In addition, instructors’ teaching experience, training backgrounds, and levels of education were found to influence their assessment practice to some extent. The qualitative data indicate that students face various problems in the assessment process. Most instructors are very much dependent upon written assessment methods. Moreover, instructors face challenges (such as large class sizes, time shortages, high workloads, poor student-achievement levels, insufficient resources, lack of awareness of different assessment methods, lack of commitment, and negative belief) in the attempts to employ different assessment methods. Finally, the study revealed that empowering students in their study areas is simply untenable if instructors continue to utilise their current assessment practices. Therefore, this study contributes to a large body of literature that acknowledges the contribution of effective assessment in empowerment of students in a more effective and educationally responsive manner. At the end, the study presents important information to decision makers who create policies related to assessment in higher learning institutions. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics and Curriculum Studies)

Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-08T17:06:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 118127.pdf: 5361518 bytes, checksum: b89d0c0168078f00f44c2c58951f9d96 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-06-23 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The objective of this research was to investigate how a guitar teacher organizes, represents and adapts his musical and instrumental knowledge in order to transform them into an apprehensible and comprehensible content to his learners. It is a case study of a teacher who for 29 years has been working at a music school located in Santa Catarina state, Brazil. Data was collected by observation of classes and also by a semistructured and a stimulated recall interview. The theoretical framework is mainly the conceptions of Shulman about the pedagogical content knowledge and about the processes of transformation, by which the personal repertory of a teacher s own comprehensions becomes a content that others can comprehend. The typology of contents adopted by Zabala and Tardif s discussions related to the constitution of teachers know how and know how to be were also relevant theorical grounds in this research. The results showed that the guitar pieces studied in the classroom constitutes at the same time means and goals. The learning of these pieces is a goal but at the same time they are used as pedagogical material for student s musical and instrumental development. Through them, the teacher approaches contents such as harmonic functions, melody conducting with the instrument, and a critical attitude towards the musical text. The representation of these contents took place in various ways, as demonstrations, explanations, analogies and metaphors. Adaptation to the 12 learners was highly valued by the teacher in the interviews. Teaching experience appeared as a main factor in the estabilishment of his capacity to understand the characteristics of the students and their difficulties. Experience also made possible a critical evaluation of his knowledge received from other sources, among which the guitarristic training stands out. This background was obtained with guitar classes when the teacher was a student. At that time, he learned a great deal of the contents he now teaches and could experience, as a student, the specific pedagogical practices that these contents involve. / O objetivo geral desta pesquisa foi investigar como um professor de violão organiza, adapta e representa o seu conhecimento musical e técnico-instrumental de modo a transformá-lo num conteúdo apreensível e compreensível para os seus alunos. Foi estudado o caso de um professor que atua há 29 anos numa escola de música em Santa Catarina. Os dados foram coletados mediante a observação de aulas e também por meio de uma entrevista semiestruturada e de uma entrevista de estimulação de recordação. A fundamentação teórica está principalmente nas concepções de Shulman sobre o conhecimento pedagógico do conteúdo e sobre os processos de transformação, através dos quais o conteúdo deixa de ser um elemento que compõe o repertório pessoal de conhecimentos do professor para tornar-se algo compreensível por outros. A tipologia dos conteúdos adotada por Zabala e as discussões de Tardif relacionadas à constituição do saber-fazer e do saberser dos professores foram também relevantes fundamentos teóricos neste trabalho. Os resultados mostraram que as peças violonísticas trabalhadas nas aulas constituem, ao mesmo tempo, fim e meio. Há, por um lado, o objetivo de que elas passem a compor o repertório aprendido pelo aluno e, por outro, uma utilização das mesmas para o desenvolvimento instrumental e musical do estudante. Por meio delas, foram abordados conteúdos como funções harmônicas, condução de vozes no instrumento e atitude crítica diante da partitura. A 10 representação desses conteúdos se deu de várias formas, com demonstrações, explanações, analogias e metáforas. O aspecto da adaptação aos alunos foi bastante valorizado pelo sujeito nas entrevistas. A experiência docente apareceu como um importante fator de constituição da capacidade de compreender as características dos estudantes e suas dificuldades, além de possibilitar a avaliação crítica de saberes provenientes de outras fontes, dentre as quais se destaca a formação violonística. Esta última foi obtida em aulas de violão vivenciadas na condição de aluno, onde o sujeito aprendeu grande parte dos conteúdos que ensina e teve contato com práticas pedagógicas específicas para esses conteúdos.