Practices and challenges of school leaders’ in supporting in the assessment of pre-primary students’ learning in Kembata Tembaro Zone

Abstract

The study was conducted to assess the Practices and challenges of school leaders’ in supporting in the assessment of pre-primary students’ learning in Kembata Tembaro Zone. To conduct the study, a descriptive survey design, with a quantitative and qualitative approach was applied. Then, 229 pre-primary schools were total population in Kemebata Tembaro Zone, the researcher used multistage sampling techniques for sampling; a purposive sampling technique was employed to select the sample of 40 schools and 84 teachers. By simple random sampling, 6 woredas, 40 department heads, and 10 CRC were selected. Finally, 40 school principals were selected by availability sampling. To this end, 40 pre-primary schools, 84 teachers, 80 school leaders (department heads and school principals), and 10 cluster supervisors (CRC) were included in the study. Questionnaire, interview, and documents review were the main data-gathering instruments for the study. The data gathered through questionnaires were analyzed with statistical tools percentage, mean, standard deviation and two-group T-test, and then supported by SPSS virsion-23. A qualitative analysis was in used to triangulate with the quantitative findings relation to each research question. Consequently, the findings of the study indicated that school leaders’ practices were poor in supporting teachers in assessing pre-primary students' learning. Also, school leaders were found to perform their supporting roles like motivating, monitoring, and leading. Furthermore, principals give low attention for pre-primary education, less time scheduled trend; less properly use their knowledge and skills as their full potential. Finally, school leaders spend more time on non-instructional tasks. It also concluded in school leaders practices in supporting pre-primary assessment implementation gaps were incomplete set methods, set expected vision, timely evaluate assessment, giving feedbacks, and promote assessment literacy, as facilitating assessment were insufficient and as challenges low attention for pre-primary class, low applying their knowledge, believe assessment leadership as teachers role and low scheduled their time in Kambata Tembaro zone. Finally, recommendations such as school principals have given attention by their leadership practice. School rules and regulations revised by policymakers to provide appropriate training and workshops for teachers and school leaders, distinguish instructional and none-instructional tasks, and providing develop assessment leadership trend in a systematic manner.