Assessment in Early Childhood Education Classrooms

Abstract

Early childhood assessment is crucial to a child’s overall growth and development. It is a comprehensive framework that helps in evaluating a student’s present level of knowledge and skills. The purpose of this study was to explore perceptions of ECE teachers regarding the current assessment practices and challenges of teachers of Early Childhood Education (ECE) programs of district Peshawar. The study was carried out employing qualitative methods with two main objectives. One, to explore 
perceptions of ECE teachers regarding the purpose of assessment at ECE level Two, to explore the challenges faced by ECE teachers. The study was guided by constructivism, a theory which explains how people learn and acquire knowledge. The Population of the study comprised all ECE teachers of district Peshawar. A total of eight ECE teachers, four from public and four from private schools of Peshawar comprised the sample. These teachers were selected using purposive sampling technique. The study was delimited to schools that offered ECE program. The data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interview and analysed by thematic 
analysis technique. Findings of the study revealed that for majority of ECE teachers, the purpose of assessment was to get information about student’s learning for promotion purpose. The study also revealed that time constraint, dealing with parents, engaging students and lack of resources to be the main challenges faced by ECE teachers. The study recommends providing in-service training to ECE teachers in assessment. Based on the data, the study also suggests formative assessment techniques for assessing children of ECE programs.