TRAINING AND PERCEPTION OF ASSESSMENT PRACTICES OF EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHERS IN THE TEMA WEST METROPOLIS, GHANA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v9i2.4165Keywords:
assessment, practices, early childhood education, perception, trainingAbstract
The study sought to assess the training and perception of assessment practices of Early Childhood Education teachers in the Tema West Metropolis, Ghana. Two research objectives guided the study and they were to assess the training of Early Childhood Education teachers and examine the teachers’ perception about assessment during early years’ education as well as the professional qualification and gender differences of teachers’ perception in the Tema West Metropolis, Ghana. Again, two hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. A descriptive survey design was used for the study. The instrument for data collection was a self-constructed 4-point Likert-type scale questionnaire. The study covered 200 ECE teachers within 40 basic schools in the Tema West metropolis. The census technique was used to select the participants for the study. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) were used to analyze data obtained with respect to each research question. Again, One Way ANOVA and Independent sample T-test were used to test hypothesis 1 and 2 respectively. It was evidenced from the study that the teachers in the Tema West Metropolis have an understanding of Early Childhood Education (ECE) assessment practices which suggests an indication that the teachers have some level of training. Again, ECE teachers in the metropolis possess positive perceptions about the need for assessing children during their early years’ education. While the perception of ECE teachers differs significantly across their professional qualifications, there was no statistically significant difference in their perception about assessment in early years’ education and gender. The study concludes therefore that training and perception of ECE teachers were no deterrents nor challenges to the administration of effective assessment practices in the Tema West Municipality. Although the teachers possess some level of knowledge about assessment practices in ECE, it is recommended among others that the educational directorate in the metropolis through the help of the Ghana Education Service (GES) should ensure continuous professional development in the form of in-service training for the teachers. This will help abreast their knowledge and assessment practices in the metropolis.
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