Exploring classroom assessment practices: the case of teachers of English as a foreign language

Abstract

The research investigated the factors which underlie the perceptions and usage of alternative assessment procedures among EFL teachers in Israel. The research was conducted within the framework of an earlier model by Hargreaves and colleagues comprising four perspectives – technological, cultural, political and postmodern – to account for teachers’ assessment practices and beliefs. The sample included 113 EFL teachers who responded to a self‐report questionnaire. The model’s four perspectives were validated using a two‐stage factor analysis. Results show that the predominant factor related to the usage of alternative assessment is the technological one, followed by the cultural and postmodern perspectives. The political perspective yielded mixed results. The findings highlight the complexity of teachers’ assessment practices reflecting not merely a testing approach but a social and educational paradigm encompassing micro constraints (technological), macro influences (political), ideologies and commonly‐held beliefs (cultural) as well as evidence of critical pedagogy (postmodern).

Notes

1. The overall percentage of women in the Israeli teaching force is high (around 90%, depending on the level of education) and remains stable over the years (Zuzovsky and Donitsa‐Schmidt 2004).

2. In a pilot study, the questionnaire was administered to 27 EFL teachers (91% female, ages ranging from 20 to 55, 48% native speakers of Hebrew, 29% Arabic speakers, 4% Russian speakers and 19% English speakers, all teaching in junior‐high schools). Based on the pilot, the questionnaire was slightly modified.