The experiences of teachers with continuous assessment in Grade 9 Geography classrooms

Abstract

The changes brought by the democratic government in South Africa in 1994 have also brought considerable changes to the different sectors of the government and education was not different. There was a need to redress the imbalances of the past and the education system was to be reviewed so as to bring about the new assessment methods and approaches that would improve teaching and learning in the schools. Whenever any new idea enters education, it is usually aimed at improving the old school of thought. The challenge now remains the creation of new knowledge. Continuous assessment (CASS) with its greater weight requires an in-depth understanding by the teachers for correct implementation. This study was undertaken to determine the experiences of teachers with CASS in grade 9 Geography classrooms, by determining and exploring the way through which the assessment policy guides and informs the teachers in the implementation of CASS in Geography, the way the teachers implement CASS in the teaching, the requirements for CASS in terms of the NCS as well as the impact of CASS on the teaching-learning process. CASS is a prominent component of assessment that requires the teacher to understand its implementation in the classroom. It is the responsibility of the individual teachers and schools to read and interpret the assessment policy to ensure the correct implementation of CASS. A qualitative research design was employed and data was collected through literature review, questionnaires and interviews. The experiences of the teachers with CASS in the teaching of grade 9 Geography learners were investigated. From the literature review, it surfaced that Geography offers some interesting and fulfilling careers that teachers and learners can pursue. Career guidance is necessary to expose learners to these opportunities. Open-ended questions were used in both the questionnaires and interviews with the aim of obtaining an in-depth understanding of their experiences. Based on the findings of the questionnaire and interview data, it appears that the teachers still need support in understanding the policy of the Social Sciences. Though teachers appear to have information about the policy, they often misinterpret its correct meaning. The following are the dominant key words in this dissertation: learning outcomes, assessment standards, continuity, continuous assessment, curriculum, outcomes-based education, national curriculum statement, policy, progression, teaching strategies, assessment strategies. From this investigation, it can be inferred that there is a need for the results of this investigation to be used to guide the development of policies and that future researches be done in the area of CASS at all levels of the senior phase.