Promoting Children Potential and Social Abilities: A Qualitative Study of Nursery Assessment Practices in Malaysia

This study aims toidentify the frequency of assessments at TASKA (nursery) centres and how the assessments are conducted. The study involves 20 teachers from TASKA (nurseries) who conduct early education programs for children aged birth to 4 years old. In-depth interviews were conducted with the teachers based on instruments from the early childhood care and education (ECCE) Research Project which included two main standards, an element of children’s learning and assessment. There are various frequencies of each assessments for each TASKA such as two times a year; three times a year; every three months, monthly, weekly and daily. The frequencies of assessment are depending on the TASKA needs such as a reporting to other teachers when they progress. The result also shows that the observation conducted with checklist, anecdotal record, running records and portfolio. Observation records as mentioned by the teachers to monitor children development and to show the quality of the TASKA. In conclusion, the frequency of observation gives benefit to the children and for teachers’ preparation and future plan for the program. The continuation of child observations carried out by parents or guardians at home can help identify the child's development more accurately. Keyword: early childhood education, children, nursery, assessment