Examining Attitude towards Continuous Assessment Practices among Nigerian Preservice STM Teachers

Abstract

The study investigated the attitudes of 339 preservice Science, Technology and Mathematics (STM) teachers towards continuous assessment practices in Nigeria within the blueprint of a descriptive survey research design in a conventional university. Data were collected using an instrument tagged preservice STM teachers’ attitudes toward CA questionnaire in which respondents were to indicate the extent of their agreement or otherwise, on a modified five–point Likert attitude measuring scale, to a set of 39 statements made on various assessment practices. Results showed that a higher proportion of the preservice STM teachers seemed to display positive attitudes toward most of the continuous assessment practices while their attitudes toward some assessment practices tended to be either negative or neutral. Although gender and age might not be factors in preservice STM teachers’ attitudes toward continuous assessment practices, discipline of study was the only potent predictor of preservice STM teachers’ attitudes towards CA practices.

Keywords: Attitude, continuous assessment practices, preservice science, technology, and mathematics teachers, Nigerian.