EFL Learners’ Attitudes toward Peer and Self-Assessment of Descriptive Type of Writing: An Exploratory Sequential Mixed-Methods Study

Abstract

This study investigated the attitudes of Iranian female and male elementary English as a foreign language (EFL) learners toward peer and self-assessment of descriptive writing. It also attempted to find any gender-specific differences in their attitudes toward peer and self-assessment of descriptive writing. In so doing, the study relied on exploratory sequential mixed-methods procedures including qualitative and quantitative phases. The first group of participants was 40 EFL teachers (20 males and 20 females). The second group of participants was 50 individuals (25 males and 25 females) who took part in a five-session descriptive writing course, participated in interviews, and filled out the questionnaires. The content of the course was a combination of Bartlett's (2015) peer and self-assessment methods and Spencer's (2005) models of assessing composition. In the qualitative phase, a thematic analysis of the interviews, known as the constant comparative method of analysis, helped to extract four main themes shaping the participants’ attitudes, namely ‘Cooperation’, ‘Knowledge’, ‘Motivation’, and ‘Practice’. In the quantitative phase, exploratory factor analysis and a one-way MANOVA test were carried out to examine any gender-specific impacts on the learners’ attitudes toward peer and self-assessment of descriptive writing. Finally, the results of the study implied that the participants had positive attitudes towards the descriptive writing course, although females were more positive than males. This study has some educational implications for those involved in peer and self-assessment.

Keywords

• attitudinal scale
• descriptive writing
• mixed-methods research
• peer assessment
• self-assessment