Teachers’ Attitudes towards Using Individualization in Descriptive Assessment

Abstract

In this paper we deal with individualization in student evaluation from the perspective of the process of descriptive assessment. The aim of our research is to investigate if there are differences in the attitudes of primary school teachers towards the implementation of individualization in the process of descriptive assessment. We examined whether and to what extent individualization is present in the assessment, i.e. identification of individual differences among students, continuous monitoring of the students’ development, implementation of individualized teaching, cooperation among parent s, school counselors and educational institutions, as well as the work on professional development. Five three-step scales were developed for the purpose of this research. We used descriptive method and scaling as the research technique. The sample included 144 primary school teachers from the city of Niš in the school year 2012/2013. The results showed that teachers with developed awareness of the need for professional development have more positive attitudes towards individualization in the descriptive assessment. The results also indicate that the attitudes about the quality of descriptive assessment, as opposed to numerical one, affect the implementation of individualization in the descriptive assessment of students. In general, teachers apply individualization in descriptive assessment. Тhis research contributed to determining the current attitudes of teachers in the first cycle of education towards the implementation of individualization in the process of descriptive assessment.

Keywords

• individualization
• descriptive assessment
• monitoring of students’ development
• cooperation
• professional development.