Pub Date : 2016-03-14DOI: 10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V27I1/63-81
Yi-ching Pan
There has been an increased level of attention devoted to the consequences of test use in recent years; however, the majority of washback studies focused on teaching. In fact, little research has addressed learners’ perspectives to analyze possible determinants of test results. To address this issue, this study first compared the pre-and-post standardized English tests of two groups of Taiwanese university students, and six students from each of the groups were interviewed at a later date to investigate the possible factors that may influence their score gains. A control group of 140 Taiwanese university students at a school without any English proficiency certificate exit requirement was compared to a contrast group of 136 similar students at a school that required the students to pass an English certification test in order to graduate. The major finding indicates that the amount of time spent on language learning plays an essential role in determining the degree to which student scores improve. This study subsequently offers pedagogical implications for the instruction of English at institutes of tertiary education.
{"title":"LEARNERS’ PERSPECTIVES OF FACTORS INFLUENCING GAINS IN STANDARDIZED ENGLISH TEST SCORES","authors":"Yi-ching Pan","doi":"10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V27I1/63-81","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V27I1/63-81","url":null,"abstract":"There has been an increased level of attention devoted to the consequences of test use in recent years; however, the majority of washback studies focused on teaching. In fact, little research has addressed learners’ perspectives to analyze possible determinants of test results. To address this issue, this study first compared the pre-and-post standardized English tests of two groups of Taiwanese university students, and six students from each of the groups were interviewed at a later date to investigate the possible factors that may influence their score gains. A control group of 140 Taiwanese university students at a school without any English proficiency certificate exit requirement was compared to a contrast group of 136 similar students at a school that required the students to pass an English certification test in order to graduate. The major finding indicates that the amount of time spent on language learning plays an essential role in determining the degree to which student scores improve. This study subsequently offers pedagogical implications for the instruction of English at institutes of tertiary education.","PeriodicalId":37036,"journal":{"name":"Teflin Journal","volume":"27 1","pages":"63-81"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67149123","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2016-03-14DOI: 10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V27I1/82-100
Rojab Siti Rodliyah
This study investigates how social media, in this case Facebook, can be incorporated in ELT through e-dialogue journal writing shared in a Facebook closed group. Fifteen EFL students participated in this case study. They were second, third, and fourth year students of English Education Department of a university in Bandung, who voluntarily joined a Facebook closed group for about four months and contributed their journal entries. The content of the students’ journals and responses in this closed group were analyzed to identify the nature of the students’ journals, the patterns of interaction, and their responses to e-journaling through Facebook. The findings indicate that the students responded positively to this activity and perceived improvement in their writing especially in vocabulary and grammar. The power of learning and sharing from others is also emphasized.
{"title":"USING A FACEBOOK CLOSED GROUP TO IMPROVE EFL STUDENTS’ WRITING","authors":"Rojab Siti Rodliyah","doi":"10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V27I1/82-100","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V27I1/82-100","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigates how social media, in this case Facebook, can be incorporated in ELT through e-dialogue journal writing shared in a Facebook closed group. Fifteen EFL students participated in this case study. They were second, third, and fourth year students of English Education Department of a university in Bandung, who voluntarily joined a Facebook closed group for about four months and contributed their journal entries. The content of the students’ journals and responses in this closed group were analyzed to identify the nature of the students’ journals, the patterns of interaction, and their responses to e-journaling through Facebook. The findings indicate that the students responded positively to this activity and perceived improvement in their writing especially in vocabulary and grammar. The power of learning and sharing from others is also emphasized.","PeriodicalId":37036,"journal":{"name":"Teflin Journal","volume":"27 1","pages":"82-100"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67149135","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2016-03-14DOI: 10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V27I1/101-125
Ribut Wahyudi
This article discusses the second-language literacy practice of an ESL student in Australia. It firstly explores the literacy practices (reading and writing) exercised both in China (the subject’s home country) and in Sydney, Australia, where the subject was taking an academic preparation course prior to her master study. Secondly, this article delves into literacy practices conducted inside and outside the classroom in the same contexts. This research aims to contribute to the existing literature on literacy practices by expanding the focus of investigation beyond writing and by bringing up a specific case study, which is hardly addressed in the literature: a Chinese student in non-American education setting. Through analyzing the results of semi-structured interview, it is revealed that the participant adopted several different literacy practices in reading and writing due to different learning objectives and contexts.
{"title":"Second Language Literacy Practices: A Case Study of a Chinese Student in Australia.","authors":"Ribut Wahyudi","doi":"10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V27I1/101-125","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V27I1/101-125","url":null,"abstract":"This article discusses the second-language literacy practice of an ESL student in Australia. It firstly explores the literacy practices (reading and writing) exercised both in China (the subject’s home country) and in Sydney, Australia, where the subject was taking an academic preparation course prior to her master study. Secondly, this article delves into literacy practices conducted inside and outside the classroom in the same contexts. This research aims to contribute to the existing literature on literacy practices by expanding the focus of investigation beyond writing and by bringing up a specific case study, which is hardly addressed in the literature: a Chinese student in non-American education setting. Through analyzing the results of semi-structured interview, it is revealed that the participant adopted several different literacy practices in reading and writing due to different learning objectives and contexts.","PeriodicalId":37036,"journal":{"name":"Teflin Journal","volume":"27 1","pages":"101-125"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67148887","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2015-09-09DOI: 10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V26I1/85-96
M. Mokhtar
This research is to discover whether lecturers’ beliefs coincide with their practices in their daily teaching. The focus will be on the belief in the use of code-switching in the classroom. At the same time, it is also worthwhile to indicate whether there are differences in the beliefs between the lecturers and the students. For that purpose three lecturers from an engineering department of a polytechnic in a northern region as well as the students in the classrooms were chosen to participate in this research. The methods designed include classroom observations, questionnaires for both the lecturers and students, and interviews with the lecturers after the classroom observation. The findings showed that the lecturers mostly used reiteration and message qualification functions when code-switching. They believed that it was intended mainly to enhance their students’ understanding and to save their time from lengthy explanation whenever the students are in doubt. This was agreeable by most students as they believed that code-switching could help them understand the lessons better. Some recommendations are made based on the findings and analysis of the results, expecting that it would further improve the teaching of Mathematics, Science and technical subjects in the Malaysian polytechnics.
{"title":"LECTURERS’ AND STUDENTS’ BELIEFS IN CODE-SWITCHING: A MALAYSIAN POLYTECHNIC CONTEXT","authors":"M. Mokhtar","doi":"10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V26I1/85-96","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V26I1/85-96","url":null,"abstract":"This research is to discover whether lecturers’ beliefs coincide with their practices in their daily teaching. The focus will be on the belief in the use of code-switching in the classroom. At the same time, it is also worthwhile to indicate whether there are differences in the beliefs between the lecturers and the students. For that purpose three lecturers from an engineering department of a polytechnic in a northern region as well as the students in the classrooms were chosen to participate in this research. The methods designed include classroom observations, questionnaires for both the lecturers and students, and interviews with the lecturers after the classroom observation. The findings showed that the lecturers mostly used reiteration and message qualification functions when code-switching. They believed that it was intended mainly to enhance their students’ understanding and to save their time from lengthy explanation whenever the students are in doubt. This was agreeable by most students as they believed that code-switching could help them understand the lessons better. Some recommendations are made based on the findings and analysis of the results, expecting that it would further improve the teaching of Mathematics, Science and technical subjects in the Malaysian polytechnics.","PeriodicalId":37036,"journal":{"name":"Teflin Journal","volume":"26 1","pages":"85-96"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67148656","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2015-09-09DOI: 10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V26I2/228-246
Arnis Silvia
This article reports on English teachers‘ attitudes towards a professional development program run by Coursera (coursera.org). These teachers were participants of Foundation of Teaching for Learning 1: Introduction online course. Using a survey case study, the findings reveal that most of the participants perceive the course as a well-organized and effective platform to engage in professional learning. Coursera is an online learning platform offering various courses for teacher educators which are meaningful (closely related to their daily teaching practice) and vibrant (involves active collaboration among peer participants to review and assess their projects). Albeit this nature, another finding shows that the participants lament that their institutions do not provide professional development (PD) support. In fact, PD programs are not constrained to face-to-face encounters, since it can be designed using online platforms such as Coursera, a massive open online course (MOOC). Accordingly, the contribution of the article is to show how online platforms make meaningful and vibrant teacher professional development (TPD) possible. The implication of the study is that school administrators and policy makers should provide support for their teachers to take online PD programs. This professional learning should contribute to the best teaching practice and student learning attainment.
{"title":"\"Coursera\" Online Course: A Platform for English Teachers' Meaningful and Vibrant Professional Development.","authors":"Arnis Silvia","doi":"10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V26I2/228-246","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V26I2/228-246","url":null,"abstract":"This article reports on English teachers‘ attitudes towards a professional development program run by Coursera (coursera.org). These teachers were participants of Foundation of Teaching for Learning 1: Introduction online course. Using a survey case study, the findings reveal that most of the participants perceive the course as a well-organized and effective platform to engage in professional learning. Coursera is an online learning platform offering various courses for teacher educators which are meaningful (closely related to their daily teaching practice) and vibrant (involves active collaboration among peer participants to review and assess their projects). Albeit this nature, another finding shows that the participants lament that their institutions do not provide professional development (PD) support. In fact, PD programs are not constrained to face-to-face encounters, since it can be designed using online platforms such as Coursera, a massive open online course (MOOC). Accordingly, the contribution of the article is to show how online platforms make meaningful and vibrant teacher professional development (TPD) possible. The implication of the study is that school administrators and policy makers should provide support for their teachers to take online PD programs. This professional learning should contribute to the best teaching practice and student learning attainment.","PeriodicalId":37036,"journal":{"name":"Teflin Journal","volume":"56 1","pages":"228-246"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67148814","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2015-09-09DOI: 10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V26I2/247-264
N. Suryati
This article reports a study on teachers’ use of interaction strategies in English Language Teaching (ELT) in lower secondary level of education. The study involved eighteen teachers from Lower Secondary Schools in Malang, East Java. Classroom observation was selected as a method in this study by utilizing Self Evaluation Teacher Talk (SETT) as the instrument. SETT, developed by Walsh (2006), was adopted as the observation protocol as it characterises teacher-student interaction. Thirty lessons taught by 18 teachers were observed. The findings revealed that much of the teacherstudent interaction in Lower Secondary Schools centred on the material mode, skill and system mode. The most frequent strategies were initiation response feedback (IRF) patterns, display questions, teacher echo, and extended teacher turns, while students’ extended turns were rare. It is argued that in order to improve the Indonesian ELT, there is a need to provide an alternative to ELT classroom interaction. The article concludes by highlighting the importance of adopting some classroom interaction strategies that are more facilitative to students’ oral communicative competence.
{"title":"CLASSROOM INTERACTION STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY ENGLISH TEACHERS AT LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOLS","authors":"N. Suryati","doi":"10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V26I2/247-264","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V26I2/247-264","url":null,"abstract":"This article reports a study on teachers’ use of interaction strategies in English Language Teaching (ELT) in lower secondary level of education. The study involved eighteen teachers from Lower Secondary Schools in Malang, East Java. Classroom observation was selected as a method in this study by utilizing Self Evaluation Teacher Talk (SETT) as the instrument. SETT, developed by Walsh (2006), was adopted as the observation protocol as it characterises teacher-student interaction. Thirty lessons taught by 18 teachers were observed. The findings revealed that much of the teacherstudent interaction in Lower Secondary Schools centred on the material mode, skill and system mode. The most frequent strategies were initiation response feedback (IRF) patterns, display questions, teacher echo, and extended teacher turns, while students’ extended turns were rare. It is argued that in order to improve the Indonesian ELT, there is a need to provide an alternative to ELT classroom interaction. The article concludes by highlighting the importance of adopting some classroom interaction strategies that are more facilitative to students’ oral communicative competence.","PeriodicalId":37036,"journal":{"name":"Teflin Journal","volume":"26 1","pages":"247-264"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67148826","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2015-09-09DOI: 10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V26I1/36-58
Furaidah Furaidah, A. Saukah, Utami Widiati
This study examines how teachers teach English to prepare students for high-stakes English national examination in the Indonesian context. Data were collected from two high-achieving and three low-achieving schools with eleven teachers as the subjects of in-depth interviews and nonparticipatory classroom observations. The findings reveal that bi-directional washback was found in both groups of schools. The schools of low achievers were found to have more intensive negative washback than those of high achievers. The different intensity of negative washback is likely related to the teachers’ perspective about their students’ level of competence for passing the national examination and about the quality of their schools. The consistently unsatisfactory national examination scores of the low-achieving schools, despite their concerted efforts in the examination preparation program, suggest that the government should focus on supporting such schools with more empirically-based empowerment programs, which would become an indispensable follow-up actions regarding the implementation of the highstakes national examination.
{"title":"WASHBACK OF ENGLISH NATIONAL EXAMINATION IN THE INDONESIAN CONTEXT","authors":"Furaidah Furaidah, A. Saukah, Utami Widiati","doi":"10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V26I1/36-58","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V26I1/36-58","url":null,"abstract":"This study examines how teachers teach English to prepare students for high-stakes English national examination in the Indonesian context. Data were collected from two high-achieving and three low-achieving schools with eleven teachers as the subjects of in-depth interviews and nonparticipatory classroom observations. The findings reveal that bi-directional washback was found in both groups of schools. The schools of low achievers were found to have more intensive negative washback than those of high achievers. The different intensity of negative washback is likely related to the teachers’ perspective about their students’ level of competence for passing the national examination and about the quality of their schools. The consistently unsatisfactory national examination scores of the low-achieving schools, despite their concerted efforts in the examination preparation program, suggest that the government should focus on supporting such schools with more empirically-based empowerment programs, which would become an indispensable follow-up actions regarding the implementation of the highstakes national examination.","PeriodicalId":37036,"journal":{"name":"Teflin Journal","volume":"26 1","pages":"36-58"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67148648","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2015-09-09DOI: 10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V26I1/117-128
Debora Tri Ragawanti
Classroom management is commonly believed to be the key to the success of an instruction. Many student teachers, however, might find it very challenging to handle their classrooms. It is, therefore, necessary to advance their professional practice in the context of a real classroom such as through teaching practicum and reflective practice. This study is aimed at identifying classroom management problems of student-teachers as revealed in their reflective journal entries and to demonstrate how such journal can help them develop their classroom management skills. The participants were 10 student-teachers of the English Department, Satya Wacana Christian University, Salatiga, Central Java, who underwent their teaching practicum at SMP 2 Salatiga. Through the participants’ journals, it was found that the problems lie in managing critical moments, activity, techniques, grouping and seating, authority, tools, and working with people. Further in this study, both pre- and in-service tertiary teachers, curriculum designers, and policy makers will be taken to deeply examine how reflective practice can help cultivate the pre-service’s classroom management skills and to consider the implication for pedagogical practices and innovations in curriculum development.
{"title":"CULTIVATING PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT SKILLS THROUGH TEACHING PRACTICUM: A REFLECTIVE PRACTICE","authors":"Debora Tri Ragawanti","doi":"10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V26I1/117-128","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V26I1/117-128","url":null,"abstract":"Classroom management is commonly believed to be the key to the success of an instruction. Many student teachers, however, might find it very challenging to handle their classrooms. It is, therefore, necessary to advance their professional practice in the context of a real classroom such as through teaching practicum and reflective practice. This study is aimed at identifying classroom management problems of student-teachers as revealed in their reflective journal entries and to demonstrate how such journal can help them develop their classroom management skills. The participants were 10 student-teachers of the English Department, Satya Wacana Christian University, Salatiga, Central Java, who underwent their teaching practicum at SMP 2 Salatiga. Through the participants’ journals, it was found that the problems lie in managing critical moments, activity, techniques, grouping and seating, authority, tools, and working with people. Further in this study, both pre- and in-service tertiary teachers, curriculum designers, and policy makers will be taken to deeply examine how reflective practice can help cultivate the pre-service’s classroom management skills and to consider the implication for pedagogical practices and innovations in curriculum development.","PeriodicalId":37036,"journal":{"name":"Teflin Journal","volume":"26 1","pages":"117-128"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67148642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2015-09-09DOI: 10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V26I1/59-84
Karnedi
As part of discourse in the social sciences, economics textbooks written in English in which knowledge has been transferred to other languages through translation have brought a certain impact on both the target language and the target culture. In terms of ideology, this article argues about the hegemonic status of the dominant language or culture that creates socalled epistemicide or the erosion of knowledge, partly due to translation strategies adopted by the translator. Investigation is done using the corpusbased approach, theories of translation strategies and the comparative model. The study reveals that the translator in the macro-level text adopts the ideology of foreignising strategy rather than domesticating strategy when translating an economics textbook from English into Indonesian. This is supported by the use of the number of the source language-orientated translation techniques leading to two translation methods (i.e. literal translation and faithful translation) adopted in the micro-level text. This research strongly supports another relevant study pertaining to the globalisation of knowledge through translation and also the translation theories of equivalence (i.e. overt and covert translation). The research findings also have some pedagogical implications on teaching English for Specific Purposes in higher education.
{"title":"TRANSLATING ECONOMICS TEXTBOOKS: A CASE STUDY OF EPISTEMICIDE","authors":"Karnedi","doi":"10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V26I1/59-84","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V26I1/59-84","url":null,"abstract":"As part of discourse in the social sciences, economics textbooks written in English in which knowledge has been transferred to other languages through translation have brought a certain impact on both the target language and the target culture. In terms of ideology, this article argues about the hegemonic status of the dominant language or culture that creates socalled epistemicide or the erosion of knowledge, partly due to translation strategies adopted by the translator. Investigation is done using the corpusbased approach, theories of translation strategies and the comparative model. The study reveals that the translator in the macro-level text adopts the ideology of foreignising strategy rather than domesticating strategy when translating an economics textbook from English into Indonesian. This is supported by the use of the number of the source language-orientated translation techniques leading to two translation methods (i.e. literal translation and faithful translation) adopted in the micro-level text. This research strongly supports another relevant study pertaining to the globalisation of knowledge through translation and also the translation theories of equivalence (i.e. overt and covert translation). The research findings also have some pedagogical implications on teaching English for Specific Purposes in higher education.","PeriodicalId":37036,"journal":{"name":"Teflin Journal","volume":"26 1","pages":"59-84"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67148652","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2015-09-09DOI: 10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V26I2/129-154
Astuti Azis
Despite numerous quantitative studies on teachers’ conceptions and practices of assessment, little research exists regarding the unique assessment environment of Indonesia. This study uses both quantitative and qualitative data to examine how Indonesian junior high school teachers understand assessment and how their conceptions of assessment relate to their assessment practices. This mixed methods study adopted a participant selection model in which quantitative data was analysed to select participants for the qualitative phase. Participants of this study believed that the purpose of assessment was to improve teaching and learning and also to demonstrate the accountability of students and school. They tended to disagree with the view that assessment is irrelevant. Further analysis of the data revealed that teachers’ conceptions of assessment were conflicted. They were keen to use assessment practices to improve their classroom teaching, but felt that the state-wide examination policy requirements constrained their efforts. This suggests that government, policy makers, and curriculum developers must work to build a strong synergy among themselves in order to share consistent goals with teachers. If cultural expectations of school assessment and government policy were aligned, Indonesian teachers may be better able to resolve conflict between their beliefs and assessment practices.
{"title":"CONCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES OF ASSESSMENT: A CASE OF TEACHERS REPRESENTING IMPROVEMENT CONCEPTION","authors":"Astuti Azis","doi":"10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V26I2/129-154","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V26I2/129-154","url":null,"abstract":"Despite numerous quantitative studies on teachers’ conceptions and practices of assessment, little research exists regarding the unique assessment environment of Indonesia. This study uses both quantitative and qualitative data to examine how Indonesian junior high school teachers understand assessment and how their conceptions of assessment relate to their assessment practices. This mixed methods study adopted a participant selection model in which quantitative data was analysed to select participants for the qualitative phase. Participants of this study believed that the purpose of assessment was to improve teaching and learning and also to demonstrate the accountability of students and school. They tended to disagree with the view that assessment is irrelevant. Further analysis of the data revealed that teachers’ conceptions of assessment were conflicted. They were keen to use assessment practices to improve their classroom teaching, but felt that the state-wide examination policy requirements constrained their efforts. This suggests that government, policy makers, and curriculum developers must work to build a strong synergy among themselves in order to share consistent goals with teachers. If cultural expectations of school assessment and government policy were aligned, Indonesian teachers may be better able to resolve conflict between their beliefs and assessment practices.","PeriodicalId":37036,"journal":{"name":"Teflin Journal","volume":"26 1","pages":"129-154"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67148663","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}