Abstract
Formal formative assessment (FA) has been introduced into the Malaysian classroom to better promote student learning and evaluate student progress, following similar developments internationally. A specific school-based assessment policy was implemented by the Malaysian government in 2011, however the success of this policy in terms of promoting and supporting FA in schools is not clear (Hasim, Di, & Barnard, 2018). Therefore, this exploratory small-scale study seeks to investigate how primary school science teachers in Malaysia conceptualise and implement formative assessment (FA) strategies to improve student learning in their classrooms, looking across three different types of school – the Transformation School, Trust School and Non-Transformation School - which vary in resources and support. This study took place in six government primary schools within three districts in Sabah state: Kota Kinabalu, Tuaran and Papar. It utilises Wiliam and Thompson’s (2007) five FA strategies as a theoretical framework, and the research design was shaped by a pragmatic philosophical approach. The methodology is informed by a phenomenographic method in terms of the what and how aspects of FA to show the range in teachers’ conceptions of FA purposes, strategies and improvement of student learning outcomes. The methods of data collection comprise 23 classroom observations and 35 interviews with a variety of teachers, school administrators and policymakers. Classroom observation data is analysed using simple quantitative measures, and field notes, interviews and classroom observation transcripts are analysed deductively using thematic analysis.Observational data analysis contrasted teachers’ approaches to FA across three categories: teacher (within schools), school (within school types) and the three types of school. The strategies and conceptions of FA observed vary across teachers (within schools), schools (within school type) and types of school. The observation findings reported that the implementation of FA strategies by science teachers in Malaysian primary schools was typically weak overall. FA strategies not being implemented in a frequent and strong way suggest the need for immediate intervention in order to promote better student learning and they include sharing the learning objective, sharing the criteria for success, questioning and classroom discussion, peer assessment, self-assessment and using evidence of learning to adapt instruction. The interview findings reported that teachers’ conceptions of FA purposes involved seeing it as a tool to continuously assess students’ learning, a tool to move students’ learning forward, and a tool to foster active involvement in the learning process among the students. However, the conceptions critical to enabling the students to become autonomous learners are lacking, such as peer and self-assessment strategies. The teachers also believed that the learning outcomes improved by FA strategies included understanding, metacognitive and affective skills. The implications of these findings suggest that science teachers in primary schools in Malaysia need to attend comprehensive continuous professional development courses in order to transform their conceptions of FA and the strategies used to implement it. Transformation and Non-Transformation School policies should be refined and standardised so that teachers’ FA conceptions and implementation of FA strategies are more uniform. Otherwise, the current assessment reform in Malaysia is very likely to fail. Overall, the new evidence presented in this study provides an original contribution by highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of FA policy and practice in Malaysian science primary classrooms, and provides recommendations for improvement.
| Date of Award | 20 Jun 2023 |
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| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | Sally M Thomas (Supervisor), Neil D Ingram (Supervisor) & Angeline M Barrett (Supervisor) |