Measuring EFL Teachers’ Assessment Identity: Development and Validation of a Questionnaire

Subject Areas : All areas of language and translation

Qotboddin Jan-nesar Moqaddam ¹ , Hossein Khodabakhshzadeh ² , Khalil Motallebzadeh ³ , Gholam Hassan Khajavy ⁴

1 - PhD Candidate, Department of English, Torbat-e-Heydarieh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Torbat-e-Heydarieh, Iran
2 - Assistant Professor, Department of English, Torbat-e-Heydarieh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Torbat-e-Heydarieh, Iran
3 - Associate Professor, Department of English, Torbat-e-Heydarieh branch, Islamic Azad University, Torbat-e-Heydarieh, Iran
4 - Assistant Professor Department of English, University of Bojnord, Bojnord, Iran

Received: 2021-01-29 Accepted : 2021-01-29 Published : 2021-01-01

Keywords: Iranian EFL Teachers, Development and Validation, Assessment Identity questionnaire, Disposition,

Abstract :

This paper investigated the quantitative phase of an exploratory sequential mixed methods research. The main purpose of this study was to develop and validate a Teachers‟ Assessment Identity (TAI) question- naire based on the dimensions and factors found in the first part of the study. The extracted factors from interviews along with the theoretical framework formed the basis for the generation of the pool of items, which later reduced to 46 items for eventual inclusion in TAI questionnaire. This initial draft of the scale was revised and re-worded based on the comments offered by assessment experts and teachers. The de- signed questionnaire was then distributed to 384 EFL teachers. Normality and reliability of data were measured using SPSS. Construct validity of the designed scale was assessed through CFA with AMOS 24. The results derived from the statistical analysis indicated that TAI questionnaire had a good model- data fit, and the factor loadings and reliability values were at a satisfactory level. The findings showed that the Teachers‟ Assessment Identity (TAI) questionnaire contained three dimensions i.e. assessing as- sessment literacy, dispositions, and contextual factors. This questionnaire could be used as a valid and reliable scale for teachers as assessors.

References:

Adie, L. (2013). The development of teacher assessment identity through participation in online Moderation. Assessment in Education: Principle, Policies, & Practice, 20(1), 91-106.

Arthur, M.B. (2008). Examining contemporary careers: A call for interdisciplinary inquiry. Human Relations, 61(2), 163–186.

Arvaja, M. (2016). Building teacher identity through the process of positioning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 59, 392–402. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2016.07.024

Baird, J. A. (2013). The currency of assessments. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 20(2), 147e149.

Bayat, K., & Rezaei, A. (2015). Importance of teachers’ assessment literacy. International Journal of English Language Education, 3(1), 139-146.

 Beijaard, D., Meijer, P., & Verloop, N. (2004). Reconsidering research on teachers' professional identity. Journal of Teaching and Teacher Education, 20(2), 107-128.

Borg, S. (2003). Teacher cognition in language teaching: A review of research on what language teachers think, know, believe, and do. Language Teaching, 36(4), 81-109.

Brown, A., & McNamara, T. (2004). " The devil is in the detail": Researching gender issues in language assessment. Tesol Quarterly, 38(3), 524-538.Brown, G. T. L. (2011). Teachers’ conceptions of assessment: Comparing primary and secondary teachers in New Zealand. Assessment Matters, 3, 45–70

DeLuca, C., Coombs, A., MacGregor, S., & Rasooli, A. (2019). Toward a Differential and Situated View of Assessment Literacy: Studying Teachers’ Responses to Classroom Assessment Scenarios. In Frontiers in Education (Vol. 4, p. 94). Frontiers.

Campbell, Y., Murphy, J. A., & Holt, J. K. (2002). Psychometric analysis of an assessment literacy instrument: applicability to preservice teachers. In Paper presented at the meeting of the Mid-Western Educational Research Association, Colombus,

Cheng, L., Rodgers, T., & Hu, H. (2004). ESL/EFL instructors’ classroom assessment practices: purposes,

Cowie, B., Cooper, B., & Ussher, B. (2014). Developing an identity as a teacher-assessor: Three student teacher case studies. Assessment Matters, 7(6).

Cummins, L., & Asempapa, B. (2013). Fostering teacher candidate dispositions in teacher education programs. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 13(3), 99-119.

Elwood, J., & Murphy, P. (2015). Assessment systems as cultural scripts: A sociocultural theoreticallens on assessment practice and products.Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice,22(2), 182–192.https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594X.2015.1021568

Farhady, H. (1999). Ethics in language assessing . A paper presented at the Summer Institute on The Social Responsibility of Language Assessors, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.

Farhady, H., & Tavassoli, K. (2018). Developing a Language Assessment Knowledge Test for EFL Teachers: A Data-Driven Approach. Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research, 6(3), 79-94.

Friesen, M.D., & Besley, S.C. (2013). Teacher identity development in the first year of teacher education: A developmental and social psychological perspective. Teaching and Teacher Education, 36, 23–32

Fulcher, G. (2012). Assessment literacy for the language classroom. Language Assessment Quarterly, 9(2), 113-132.

Hill, P., & Barber, M. (2014). Preparing for a renaissance in assessment, Pearson, New York.

Inbar-Lourie, O. (2008). Constructing a language assessment knowledge base: A focus on language assessment courses. Language Testing, 25(3), 328e402.

Izadinia, M. (2013). A review of research on student teachers’ professional identity.British Educational Research Journal, 39(4), 694–713.

Jan-nesar, M. Q., Khodabakhshzadeh, H., Motallebzadeh, K. & Khajavy G. (2020). Teachers as Assessors, a Model of Assessment Identity among Iranian EFL Teachers: A Qualitative Study Manuscript submitted for publication.

Jan-nesar, M. Q., Khodabakhshzadeh, H., & Motallebzadeh, K. (2020). Assessment Literacy of Iranian EFL Teachers: A Review of Recent Studies. Journal of Asia TEFL, 17(2), 689.‏

Kafi, Z., Motallebzadeh, K., & Ashraf, H. (2018). Developing, localizing & validating code of professional ethics through PLS-SEM: EFL university instructors’ perspectives. Cogent Education, 5(1), 1492340.

Kremmel, B., & Harding, L. (2020). Towards a comprehensive, empirical model of language assessment literacy across stakeholder groups: Developing the Language Assessment Literacy Survey. Language Assessment Quarterly, 17(1), 100-120.

Lam, R. (2015). Language assessment training in Hong Kong: Implications for language assessment literacy. Language Testing, 32(2), 169e197.

Leung, C., & Lewkowicz, J., (2006). Expanding Horizons and Unresolved Conundrums: Language Testing and Assessment. TESOL Quarterly 40(1), 211–234.

Looney, A., Cumming, J., van Der Kleij, F., & Harris, K. (2017). Reconceptualising the role of teachers as assessors: teacher assessment identity. Assessment in Education, 25, 442–467.

Malone, M.E. (2013). The essentials of assessment literacy: Contrasts between testers and users. Language Testing, 30(3), 329-344.

Mertler, C. A. (2002). Classroom assessment literacy inventory. Impara, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, in cooperation with The National Council on Measurement in Education & the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Mertler, C. A., & Campbell, C. (2005). Measuring teachers’ knowledge and application of classroom assessment concepts: development of the assessment literacy inventory. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Research Association, Montreal, Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED490355.

Miller, J. (2009). Teacher identity. In A. Burns & J. C. Richards (Eds.), The Cambridge guide to second language teacher education (pp. 172–181). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Mockler, N. (2011). Becoming and ‘being’ a teacher: Understanding teacher professional identity. In N. Mockler & J. Sachs (Eds.), Rethinking educational practice through reflexive inquiry (pp. 123-138). Dordrecht: Springer.

Mpofu, N., & Nthontho, M. (2017). Connecting the dots: Exploring dispositions in teacher education. Gender and Behaviour, 15(4), 10290-10303.

Ölmezer-Öztürk, E., & Aydin, B. (2018). Toward measuring language teachers’assessment knowledge: Development andvalidation of Language Assessment Knowledge Scale (LAKS). Language Testing in Asia, 8(1), 20-35.

Olsen, B. (2008). How reasons for entry into the profession illuminate teacher identity development. Teacher Education Quarterly, 23–40.