Perceptions of college lecturers and students towards the assessment of student teachers with special needs in inclusive contexts: A case of one college of teacher education in Zimbabwe
Keywords:
Assessment, Students with special needs, Inclusive contextsAbstract
Assessment processes are critical in educational practice since quality education can be measured through these processes. The purpose of this study was to explore perceptions of college lecturers and students on the nature of assessment procedures obtaining for students with special needs in inclusive contexts. The study is grounded in Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences and the social model of disability. The observation that teachers’ colleges in Zimbabwe often have no inclusive policy guidelines on the assessment of students with special needs motivated the study. A case study was conducted within the qualitative paradigm. Semi structured questionnaires and focus group discussions were used as the main data collection instruments for 15 lecturers and 20 students chosen using simple random and purposive sampling respectively. The main findings revealed that there were challenges of assessing students with special needs together with their peers without special needs. It was observed that extra time given to students with special needs was done ad hoc as there were no policy guidelines. The results further revealed that it was not clear whether the bases for assessment were premised on the student’s level of disability, educational skills, competences or concepts. Ultimately, the study concluded that there was no equality of opportunities in the assessment of students with disabilities at the teachers college. In view of these findings, the study recommended the need for modifications whose decisions should be based on agreed policy guidelines and a national framework for the assessment of tertiary education students with special needs.
References
American Psychological Association, 2016. Reasonable accommodations explained. Washington: APA.
Bauer, A., Brown, G., 2001. Adolescents and inclusion: Transforming secondary schools. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.
Booth, T., Ainscow, M., 2002. Index for inclusion: Developing learning and participation in schools. London: CSIE
Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education, 2003. Index for inclusion: Developing learning and participation in schools. http://inclusion.uwc.ac.uk/csic/indexlaunch.htm
Delors, J., 1996. Learning the treasure within: Report to UNESCO of the international commission on education for the twenty first century. Paris: UNESCO.
European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education, 2005. Assessment issues in non-European countries. Brief Lit. Rev., http://www.europeanagency.org/site/themes/assessment
Gartner, A., Dorothy, K.L., 1997. Inclusion and school reform. Transforming America’s Classrooms. New York.
Gregory, G., Chapman, C., 2002. Differentiated instructional strategies: One size doesn’t fit all. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press.
Hallahan, D., 2012. Exceptional learners. Boston: Pearson.
International Consultative Forum on EFA, 2005. Global monitoring report: The quality imperative. Paris: UNESCO.
Keeves, J.P., 1994. National examinations: Design, procedures and reporting. Fundamentals of Educational Planning No. 50. Paris: UNESCO.
Marzano, R., 2000. Transforming classroom grading. Alexandria: Association for supervision and curriculum development.
Meijer, C.J.W., 2003. Special education across Europe in 2003: Trends in provision in 18 European countries. Middelfart: European Agency for Development in SNE.
Munk, D., Bursuck, W., 2003. Grading students with disabilities. Educ. Leader., 61(2), 38-43.
Nevada Partnership for Inclusive Education, 2016. The promise of inclusive education. http://nvpie.org/inclusive
No Child Left Behind Act, 2002. PL 107-110, 115 Stat. 1425. http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/107-110.pdf
Operttie, R., Belalcfizar, C., 2008. Trends in inclusive education at regional and interregional levels. Issues and Challenges. Geneva: IBE.
Pepper, D., 2007. Assessment for disabled students. An International Comparison. London: Qualifications & Curriculum Authority; Regulation & Standards Division.
Peters, S., 2004. Inclusive education: An EFA strategy for all children. Washington DC. World Bank Disability Group.
Philips, S., Clarke, A., 2010. Pathways for students with disabilities to tertiary education and employment project. Case Stud. Res., Dublin: HEA.
Reeves, D.B., 2008. Leading to change/effective grading practices. Educ. Leader., 65(5), 85-87.
Salend, S.J., 2001. Creating inclusive classrooms: Effective and reflective practices (4th Ed). NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.
Salend, S.J., 2005. Report card models that support communication and differentiation of instruction. Teach. Except. Child., 37(5), 28-34.
Salend, S.J., Duhaney, L., 2002. Grading students in inclusive settings. Teach. Except. Child., 37(5), 8-15.
Sharp, K., Earle, S., 2000. Assessmen, disability and the problem of compesation. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 22(2), 85-99.
Snell, M.E., Brown, F., 2011. Instruction of students with severe disabilities (7th Ed). Madrid: Pearson.
Tomlinson, C., 2001. How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms (2nd Ed). NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.
UNESCO, 1994. The Salamanca statement and framework for action on special needs education. World Conference on Special Needs Education; Access and Quality. Salamanca: UNESCO.
UNESCO, 2003. Overcoming exclusion through inclusive approaches in education. A Challenge and a Vision; Conceptual Paper. Paris: UNESCO.
UNESCO, 2005. Guidelines for inclusion: Ensuring access to education for all. Paris: UNESCO.
UNESCO, 2009. Policy guidelines on inclusion in education. Paris: UNESCO.
UNESCO, 2015. Teaching children with disabilities in inclusive settings. Paris: UNESCO.
UNICEF, 2003. Inclusive education initiatives for children with disabilities. Lesson from the East Asia and Pacific Region. Paris: UNICEF
Watkins, A., 2007. Assessment in inclusive settings: Key issues for policy and practice. Odense: European Agency for Development in SNE.
Wood, J., 1998. Adapting instruction to accommodate students in inclusive settings. NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.
Wray, M., 2002. Modification of examination and assessment arrangements for disabled students. Additional support or added advantage? http://www.demos.ac.uk/course/assessment/welcome.html.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2020 Patrick Sibanda, Mlungisi Moyo, Royal Ntini
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
