Student Number: 9710860W
School of Education
Doctor of Philosophy / The study investigates the extent to which primary school teachers understood and implemented the
requirements of the continuous assessment programme that has been introduced in primary schools
in Swaziland. By focussing on teaching and learning activities that occurred during eight teachers’
lessons within the Salesian-Ekutsimuleni zone in Manzini, and what they expressed as intentions
and justifications for these activities, it tries to clarify, in particular, the relationship between their
assessment strategies and the broader educational principles promoted by the programme.
Classroom observations and stimulated interviews were used to capture, respectively, data on what
teachers did and principles that informed their behaviour. Codes abstracted from classroom
observations and grounded on the views expressed by teachers indicate that they followed slavishly
what was contained in the curriculum support materials with which they had been provided. Even
though they used assessment strategies promoted by the Continual Assessment (CA) programme,
their assessment strategies prioritized knowledge-retention rather than the cognitive development
advocated by the programme and, in a specific sense, implied by lesson objectives they had to
fulfil. The conclusion is that teachers could not translate the rhetoric of the CA programme into
relevant professional judgement, decisions and practices without exposure to meaningful
development programmes.
Key Words
Swaziland, Continuous Assessment, Criterion - Referenced Assessment, Mastery learning,
Fordism, Post-Fordism
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/2187 |
| Date | 01 March 2007 |
| Creators | Nsibande, Rejoice Ncamsile |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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