CMG3701
Assignment 1
2023
, Read the following scenario and answer questions below. Changes in assessment theory and practice
have become commonplace in many education systems across the globe. Many changes are evident in
state education polices, which have implications for the ways in which teachers/lecturers perform their
duties. Calls have been made for more authentic ways of assessing learning. and for assessment to
become an integral part of the teaching and learning processes. However, shifts in assessment theory and
practice remain framed in a Western paradigm, and increasing globalization might lead to greater
homogenization of assessment practices. In this scenario we need to examine whether current shifts in
assessment theory and practice provide space for accommodating the solo-cultural backgrounds of
African learners. We further invoke the notion of ubuntu to explore its potential to provide a more nuanced
understanding of authentic/alternative forms of assessment and examine ways in which the spirit of
ubuntu might contribute to disrupting the hegemony of contemporary assessment theory and practice,
given its strong Westem base. We will specifically look at implications that the Africanization of
assessment might have for teacher education practices in South Africa. Understanding how assessment
was practiced in traditional African contexts within Ubuntu philosophy could assist educators in doing
assessment more effectively in their diverse classrooms such as informal and formal assessment
completely integrated with education, learning and life; the content of traditional education in communities
included a variety of knowledge, skills and values. Assessment judgements were made directly by
observing conduct; and feedback was immediate, specific and contextualized and given verbally;
assessment was predominantly done by educators, yet peer-and self-assessment were also common. and
assessment points of reference were varied; the assessment of learner conduct was done with specific
focus on the community and not the individual learner; assessment was predominantly formative, holistic
and collaborative, yet also summative and individualized in specific contexts; and the standards used in
assessment focused on human qualities and character rather than formally and objectively stated aims or
outcomes.
Assignment 1
2023
, Read the following scenario and answer questions below. Changes in assessment theory and practice
have become commonplace in many education systems across the globe. Many changes are evident in
state education polices, which have implications for the ways in which teachers/lecturers perform their
duties. Calls have been made for more authentic ways of assessing learning. and for assessment to
become an integral part of the teaching and learning processes. However, shifts in assessment theory and
practice remain framed in a Western paradigm, and increasing globalization might lead to greater
homogenization of assessment practices. In this scenario we need to examine whether current shifts in
assessment theory and practice provide space for accommodating the solo-cultural backgrounds of
African learners. We further invoke the notion of ubuntu to explore its potential to provide a more nuanced
understanding of authentic/alternative forms of assessment and examine ways in which the spirit of
ubuntu might contribute to disrupting the hegemony of contemporary assessment theory and practice,
given its strong Westem base. We will specifically look at implications that the Africanization of
assessment might have for teacher education practices in South Africa. Understanding how assessment
was practiced in traditional African contexts within Ubuntu philosophy could assist educators in doing
assessment more effectively in their diverse classrooms such as informal and formal assessment
completely integrated with education, learning and life; the content of traditional education in communities
included a variety of knowledge, skills and values. Assessment judgements were made directly by
observing conduct; and feedback was immediate, specific and contextualized and given verbally;
assessment was predominantly done by educators, yet peer-and self-assessment were also common. and
assessment points of reference were varied; the assessment of learner conduct was done with specific
focus on the community and not the individual learner; assessment was predominantly formative, holistic
and collaborative, yet also summative and individualized in specific contexts; and the standards used in
assessment focused on human qualities and character rather than formally and objectively stated aims or
outcomes.
