Assessment practices of tutors in the nurses’ training colleges in the western and central regions of Ghana

Abstract

The assessment practices of tutors affect the performance of their students. There are different categories of tutors teaching in the nursing schools and this may affect their way of student assessment. This study was conducted to examine the assessment practices of tutors in the nurses’ training schools in the Western and Central regions of Ghana. The study sought to find the knowledge of tutors in assessment, the effect of tutor academic qualification and the number of years of teaching on the assessment practices and the differences in the assessment practices of the tutors in different nursing schools. A descriptive survey, where the whole of the accessible population was involved in the study (census) was conducted. The instruments used in the data collection were a Likert scale questionnaire and an observation checklist. Results from the study indicated that 68.75% of the respondents had a certificate in professional education and also have teaching experience of between 0-7 years. The number of years of teaching had a higher influence on assessment practices than the qualification in professional education. Statistically, there was no significant difference in the knowledge of all tutors in assessment. There was, however, a significant difference in the assessment practices of the tutors in terms of all the indicators used except with test administration. There was also a significant difference between the tutors’ assessment practices in certificate-only trained nursing schools and certificate and diploma trained nursing schools.