Abstract:
The purpose of the study was to explore the knowledge and practice of schoolbased
assessment of pre-service teachers at Komenda and Foso Colleges of
Education in the Central Region. The study was guided by the following
research objectives; examine the level of knowledge of pre-service teachers on
SBA, investigate the attitudes on the implementation of SBA principles,
examine the impact of SBA on instructional methods of pre-service teachers
and identify the challenges of pre-service teachers in the implementation of
SBA. The respondents were chosen from two colleges in the Central Region
using the multi-stage sampling procedure because the study involved a very
large population. The cluster of population was divided into smaller clusters in
several stages which made primary data collection more manageable. The
sample size for the study was 381. A quantitative descriptive research design
was used for the study and the study was guided by two hypotheses and five
research questions. A questionnaire was employed to acquire data for the
study. The questionnaire's Cronbach's coefficient alpha was 0.876. The study
revealed that pre-service teachers had knowledge about SBA. It was also
observed that pre-service teachers had positive attitude towards the application
of SBA in schools. Pre-service teachers had adequate time for SBA
implementation. SBA was further seen to have impact on pre-service teachers‘
methods of instruction. Pre-service teachers used SBA to identify the learning
needs of students. Teachers further indicated that they faced challenges such
as non-availability of SBA guidelines, truancy, irregular pupil attendance and
shortage of materials when implementing SBA in schools.
It was discovered that there was no significant difference in pre-service
teachers' attitudes toward SBA based on their gender. It is recommended that
public school teachers and pre-service teachers undergo timely in-service
training on SBA-related topics and tasks in order to remain current. Even if
teachers have a positive attitude about using SBA principles, regular in-service
training and seminars must still be provided to them. Additionally, the Ghana
Education Service and other stakeholders should budget money for workshops
and seminars for teachers and pre-service teachers on the difficulties with
SBA.
