English Teachers’ Experiences of Conducting Assessment in the Integrated Curriculum

Abstract

This dissertation examined English language teaching faculties’ experience of assessment following the introduction of integrated curriculum for community schools in Kavrepalanchock and Bhaktapur districts. The new curriculum, which was implemented in 2019, was designed to be progressive and aimed at developing 21st￾century learning goals for learners. This curriculum emphasized continuous assessment, assessment for learning, and competency development through interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary integration of subjects. The new assessment system measured student competency through non-traditional examinations, i.e., students’ progress was assessed through regular classroom instruction and performance. Prior to the proposed new approach, the majority of educators believed that evaluations are the tests used for summative purposes. The most overlooked aspects in such assessments were the students’ engagement in class, the records of assignments, their communication, their projects, and their involvement in extracurricular activities. While the former curriculum system did not address comprehensive components of assessment using the Continuous Assessment System (CAS), the new curriculum succeeded in assessing many of the left-out aspects using an integrated evaluation system. This context positioned this inquiry as a suitable fit for study. I adopted non-positivist worldview, constructivist paradigm, and Gadamerian Hermeneutic phenomenological approach to bring the lived experiences of the participants of my study. Three teachers teaching in community schools were my participants. I employed a qualitative data collection method, including in-depth interviews, field notes, observations, and document analysis, to gather information from the participants. I transcribed the recorded information from the participants and employed the nine steps of data analysis process as suggested by Gadamer (1960), further elaborated upon by Fleming et al. (2003) and Ajjawi and Higgs (2007). The analysis process involved identifying the participants’ horizon through interviews and determining the researcher’s horizon through pre-understanding of the topic, observation, and document analysis. Other steps included identifying ‘second order’ where both participants’ and the researcher’s horizons were integrated to find emergent themes. Emergent themes were further used for finding subordinate and superordinate themes. Five superordinate themes emerged from the analysis. They were initial understanding of Integrated Curriculum, varied but irregularly integrated classroom practices, fragmented assessment practices, challenges in implementing assessment, and the necessity of timely orientation and training. These five themes were further utilized in the meaning-making process, drawing on the participants’ lived experiences as expressed in the interviews. Furthermore, the themes were seen in the light of the reviewed literature, as well as with the theory of transformative learning and the constructivist paradigm. The findings highlight that the teachers had a basic understanding of the integrated curriculum and its assessment. Practically, they still relied on a traditional pen-and-paper-based summative type of examination system rather than a continuous assessment. They demanded proper guidance and oversight from the governing body, and timely workshops and training regarding their proper execution. The study suggests future research and practical implications for policymakers, teachers (with larger and more diverse samples), students, guardians, and school leaders, encouraging further exploration in the field of Integrated Curriculum and assessment practices.