Alternative assessment challenges of teachers in inclusive senior high schools in Northern Ghana

Abstract

The paper presents findings of teachers’ challenges in using alternative assessment procedures to assess learners with visual impairment in two purposively sampled inclusive senior high schools in the Northern part of Ghana with particular reference to Sirugu and Wa Senior High Schools in the Upper East and Upper West Regions, respectively. The study’s population comprised teachers in inclusive senior high schools in Ghana. Experts in authors’ institutions reviewed and validated the content and construct validity of the instrument. The reliability was established by pilot testing the instrument using respondents from Wenchi Methodist Senior High School, an inclusive school in the Bono Region of Ghana. The Cronbach’s coefficient alpha derived for the questionnaire was 0.79. The study used a cross-sectional descriptive survey design and a sample size of 136 teachers selected using the simple random sampling technique. Data were collected using the authors’ self-developed questionnaire after pilot-testing for its refinement. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) were used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that most teachers had constraints using alternative assessment methods to evaluate learners who are visually impaired in the classroom due to their inadequate expertise. Overcrowded classrooms leading to large teacher-learner ratios, lack of assessment materials and logistics also posed formidable challenges to using alternative assessments. The study recommends the expansion of existing infrastructure and equipping teachers in inclusive schools with the requisite skills and competencies to use alternative assessment methods effectively. It is also imperative for the government and stakeholders to provide the required logistics to facilitate effective teaching, learning and assessment of learners with visual impairment in schools.