DIGEST 2006 - Sabita

Assessing
Teachers are often unclear on how
to assess and cannot differentiate
between different types of
assessment. As a result of poor
English proficiency, they struggle
in setting assessments in which
learners understand what they are
required to do. Their
administration of assessments is
also poor, often not adhering to
specific departmental criteria.
Exam papers are generally poorly
balanced, with repetition and poor
mark allocation. They do not cover
the correct material and questions
are not of the correct standard.
Teachers are not capable of
moderating each other’s papers.
Heads of Department are not able
to judge the standard of others’
papers, as they often do not know
the syllabus.
Knowledge transfer
problems
Other factors affecting knowledge
transfer include:
• Class discipline: is not a
problem, but many learners
are not punctual;
• Learners’ work discipline:
Teachers feel they are
powerless with learners,
therefore seldom discipline
them or enforce work;
• Invigilation: There is little
teacher control during the
exams.
• Organisation and Resources:
General organisation and
control of textbooks and
resources is exceptionally
poor (teachers and
management alike);
• Use of media: Many teachers
do not know how to utilise
the media resources, if the
schools have them;
• Utilisation of laboratories:
Very few educators conduct
experiments during the term;
they either cannot perform
them, or a suitable
laboratory is not available;
• Computer facilities: Some of
the schools actually have
computer rooms, but they
are generally unused.
Support and operational
issues are often overlooked
when donors open these
facilities.
Teachers were asked to evaluate
themselves on six items, and
these were compared with the
mentors’ evaluations of them. Of a
total of 174 items, teachers
evaluated their abilities as higher
than the mentors’ evaluations on
93 counts, and this self-rating was
frequently two points (on a 5-point
scale) higher than that of the
mentors. The indication here is
that the teachers have a poor
frame of reference by which they
judge themselves and their own
teaching practise.
Attitudes
• Teachers show no sense of
urgency dictating their
general approach to
teaching: they showed
enormous time wastage in
terms of actual teaching time
(teachers miss periods to
smoke, mark during periods,
are slow in getting going, and
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