Problems experienced by practitioners in implementing continuous assessment and common task for assessment in the General Education and Training Certificate in the North West Province

[摘要] This study reports on the findings of a research project into the problemsfacing the General Education and Training Certificate (GETC) for Grade 9learners in the North West Province. To do this, the views of schoolmanagement staff, teachers and professional support staff were sought. Thisstudy confined itself to the North West Province, South Africa. The samplesize was two hundred individuals, comprising professional support staff,school management staff and teachers who are directly involved with GETCand Outcomes-Based Assessment (OBA). Three main problem areas wereselected for the purpose of this study. l)lese are (a) OBA assessment training(b) follow-up activities needed for teachers (c) challenges facing the schoollevel implementation. The study culminated in recommendation of aprofessional support model for teachers.The findings of this study revealed that teachers in the province were notadequately trained for the General Education and Training Certificate (GETC)implementation. Professional Support Staff did not offer enough follow-upactivities to support the teachers during the implementation period and thereafter. Lack of this monitoring and supporting mechanism adversely affects theschool level implementation of the GETC for Grade 9 learners. It was alsorevealed that schools are experiencing challenges regarding time management,implementation of CASS and CTA and in the processes and proceduresfollowed in the GETC administration. The final recommendation is that thereis a need to include in the pre-service training programmes, CASS and CTAassessment and develop an on-going professional support plan for teachers whoare in the service.

[发布机构] North-West University