Publication:

EXPLORING THE USE OF CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT IN SOCIAL STUDIES IN THE CONTEXT OF OUTCOMES-BASED EDUCATION IN MALAWIAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

The purpose of this study was to explore primary school teachers’ use of Continuous Assessment (CA) in supporting the teaching and learning of Social studies in the context of Outcomes-Based Education (OBE) in Malawi. This was in an effort to seek a deeper understanding of how CA is used to support learning. The study was informed by the following main research question: How do teachers use continuous assessment to realise learning outcomes in Social studies? The following specific research questions guided the study: What are the teachers’ practices of CA in the teaching of Social studies in the context of OBE? How are prevailing assessment practices supporting the principles of OBE? What opportunities and challenges does CA bring in the teaching of Social studies in primary schools? How do teachers cope with challenges associated with CA practices in Social studies? This was a qualitative case study of eight primary school teachers. Classroom observation was the main data generation tool. In addition, an in-depth interview and document analysis were done which sought to understand teacher CA practices as a tool for learning in the context of OBE. The results of the study revealed the dominant use of continuous testing practices by teachers at the expense of the use of CA as a learning tool. Even though the participants in the study had a good knowledge of the integration of CA into the teaching and learning process, the assessment practices showed little alignment with the curriculum intentions regarding its use. The findings imply that the reform regarding CA in the Primary Curriculum Assessment and Reform (PCAR) will not translate to its intended purpose if the systemic factors impeding it are not addressed. In this study, I contend that a comprehensive teacher re-education on CA and resolving the factors impeding CA would result in narrowing the gap between the intended and the actual implementation of CA in the education system in Malawi.