Turkish EFL Teachers’ Assessment Preferences and Practices in the Context of Constructivist Instruction

Abstract

The Ministry of Education in Turkey has been launching education programs based on constructivist learning since 2005 and this approach has led to innovation and renewal in education and teaching environments. This shift in education applications may have caused some changes in the education process, in educational tools and materials, in the design of learning environments and in testing and assessment. With a constructivist approach, multiple assessments for multiple learning applications are required to evaluate the extent to which the goals of an education program are being realized. However, assessment practices and purposes are mostly affected by teachers’ beliefs and attitudes about assessment. In this sense, the aim of this school survey is to investigate the assessment practices and habits of Turkish teachers of the English language. Further, this study investigates the teachers’ preferences, views, thoughts and feelings about assessment. This study was conducted with the participation of 95 Turkish EFL teachers working at primary and secondary schools in different districts of a city in Turkey. The data was collected through a questionnaire. The descriptive results showed that the teachers give less importance to listening and writing skills and also that speaking is perceived as the most challenging skill to assess. Furthermore, the inferential statistical results showed that male and female teachers have similar assessment preferences in their teaching process. Class size impacts upon the teachers’ assessment preferences significantly. Further, the teachers do not change their assessment preferences even if they receive assessment training during or before service and they frequently rely upon their personal assessment preferences. Finally, teaching hours and the number of quizzes did not affect their assessment preferences. The implications for education policy and practices are highlighted.