Student Teachers’ Attitudes and Perceptions towards Assessment during an Initial Teacher’s Education Programme in Cameroon

Abstract

This study investigated the attitudes and perceptions of student teachers towards assessment as they completed their teacher education training programme in a government teacher training college. Data were collected from 52 final year (end-of-course) student teachers using semi-structured questionnaires designed with the assumption that assessment and learning intersect during training. The results revealed that student teachers perceived learning experiences and assessments as opportunities to construct and reconstruct some of their core images about teaching. Various elements of teacher education assessment were valued by student teachers as helping them ‘feel like’ or ‘perform as’ teachers. To student teachers, assessment is seen as a means to validate their identity as future certified teachers. As demand for teacher quality is getting higher, there is also need to improve and enhance the pedagogic role of assessment in initial teacher education programmes. DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2015.v5n1p1