ABSTRACT

This paper seeks to understand the contextual influences that were considered important for shaping teachers’ use of Assessment for Learning (AfL). Using the micro, meso and macro-level contextual framework, the content analysis of teachers’ propositions drawn from semi-structured interviews and three group discussions unveiled both internal and external-to-school factors. Internally, the factors were associated with the students, teachers, resources at school and admission issues. A lack of ongoing involvement and support from the government and parents was mentioned as an external determinant. Besides considering these influences as barriers to innovation, teachers reported some potential opportunities that enabled them to perform assessment innovation, but evidence for the barriers outweighed the opportunities, which led to the perception that the reform was difficult to carry out. This implies that teachers’ approach to the AfL initiatives would rely heavily on the shallow approach of implementation. The study recommends that the incremental approach to reform implementation and sustainable professional development would need to be promoted to address the implementation barriers.

摘要

本文旨在了解被认为对塑造教师使用学习评估 (AfL) 很重要的情境影响。使用微观、中观和宏观层面的语境框架，从半结构化访谈和三个小组讨论中提取的教师命题的内容分析揭示了学校内部和外部因素。在内部，这些因素与学生、教师、学校资源和录取问题有关。缺乏政府和家长的持续参与和支持被认为是一个外部决定因素。除了将这些影响视为创新的障碍外，教师还报告了一些使他们能够进行评估创新的潜在机会，但障碍的证据超过了机会，这导致人们认为改革难以实施。这意味着教师对 AfL 计划的态度将在很大程度上依赖于肤浅的实施方法。该研究建议，需要促进改革实施和可持续专业发展的渐进方法，以解决实施障碍。