Abstract
The present study concerns a field research aiming to investigate the stances of primary and secondary school teachers in Greece about alternative assessment methods (AAM). For this purpose, 181 language teachers answered an e-questionnaire. In addition, the curricula for Greek and foreign language courses taught in compulsory state education were analysed in order to explore the type and the extension of references to AAM in them. Data analysis showed that teachers of secondary education use AAM on a more frequent basis and a larger variety of them than those of primary education. Furthermore, from data analysis resulted a strong preference of the respondents for self-assessment, portfolio, and project methods. The curricula analysis revealed extensive reference to AAM in foreign language curricula, mainly to portfolio and project. As the regression analysis indicated, teaching experience was not related to the AAM usage. However, teachers' training on AAM appeared correlated with their positive stances towards it.
TopIntroduction
Today, the educational landscape in Greece finds itself in a state of constant change and the diversity of its students is increasing. The growing number of migrants and refugees1 over recent decades and Greece’s transition to a multicultural country has led to the need for a greater inclusive educational policy in recent years. Thus, classes in Greek schools have become socially and culturally diverse reflecting the composition of the student population (Unisef, 2017).
Student heterogeneity is associated with gender, language, ethnicity, disability, religion, age, physical characteristics, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, or any other characteristic (Lumby & Coleman, 2007). However, these students are often treated not only as “different,” but also as inferior to the dominant group of the population; they represent the “others,” those different to those perceived as “normal” (Lumby & Coleman, 2007). In this context, inclusive education could be seen as the new perspective of diversity management, a process of continuously enhancing the ability of the education system to meet the different educational needs of students (UNESCO, 2017) and a means to offer better learning conditions for all concerned (Brown, 2020).
In light of these issues, the implementation of an alternative evaluation system2 as a means of inclusion in the school environment could be worthwhile since it helps to effectively assess students’ learning outcomes specifically with respect to various learning styles. When implementing this alternative assessment, language teachers collect data on the strengths and weaknesses regarding the use of language, whether that be the student’s first, second or foreign language inside and outside the classroom, based on specific criteria (Council of Europe, 2001, p. 186).
As McNamara states, alternative evaluation is a key factor in proposing a different approach of evaluative practice, away from traditional standardized tests. “This approach stresses the need for assessment to be integrated with the goals of the curriculum and to have a constructive relation with teaching and learning. Standardized tests are seen as too often having a negative, restricting influence on progressive teaching. Instead, for example, learners may be encouraged to share in the responsibility for assessment and be trained to evaluate their own capacities in performance in a range of settings […]” (McNamara, 2000, p. 7). In this particular context, it is possible for evaluation to be more understandable for students, while also addressing their needs. As a result, it promotes learning and increases equality in and access to education (Yildirim & Orsdemir, 2013). In his effort to provide a broader definition of alternative evaluation, Kohonen stresses that alternative evaluation “…emphasizes the communicative meaningfulness of evaluation and the commitment to measure that which we value in education. It uses such forms of assessment that reflect student learning, achievement, motivation and attitudes on instructionally-relevant classroom activities [...] Its results can be used to improve instruction, based on the knowledge of learner progress” (Kohonen, 1997, p. 6).
The advantages of alternative assessment outweigh the disadvantages of traditional evaluation forms. According to Tsagari (2011) and Vogt and Froehlich (2018), alternative evaluation reduces competition among students, and ensures equal treatment, since each student is evaluated individually. Furthermore, according to Atifnigar et al. (2020) alternative evaluation is also preferred by students.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Assessment: The measurement of the ability of a person, the quality or success of a training course, or the compliance of a person’s outcome with certain standards or requirements.
Integrated Language Curriculum: A program regarding multiliteracy development and facing language learning as a procedure out of the barriers of a specific language. This procedure uses as a base teachers’ and students’ prior knowledge and experiences and connects them to other fields of human action or scientific areas.
Alternative Assessment: A concept concerning a holistic, multifaced and ability-focused practice gathering information about an assessee. Alternative evaluation focuses on the quality of information resulting from the evaluative practice, in order to provide the proper feedback to the stakeholders and to permit accurate decisions.
Evaluation: An overall judgment and decision-making expression about an evaluee, based on an organised set of data, composed through an observation procedure. Evaluation includes assessment as a practical step of the evaluative procedure.
Language Curricula: A guide including educational policy, language theory adopted and indications about the ways in which this theory and policy can be implemented through a program of action.
Inclusive Assessment: An assessment process during which teachers need to move their work forward to enable and promote the learning and participation in the learning process of all students. The underline goal of this assessment practice is the promotion of assessees’ improvement, taking into account their characteristics and needs.
Alternative Assessment Methods: Methods that differ from conventional testing and examining practices, offering the possibility of a dynamic and global action of both assessor and assessee. Some of them are portfolio, project, and take-home assessments.