Browsing by Subject "yhdenvertainen arviointi"

This master's thesis aims to explore home economics teachers' perspectives on the revised final assessment criteria in home economics. Assessment is a significant part of a teacher's daily work, therefore it is important to develop assessment practices, and criteria, and equality of assessment. Assessment criteria allow for more accurate assessment, giving teachers a clear framework for assessing students' performance, and increasing the equality of assessment. The revised final assessment criteria were introduced on 1 August 2021 and applied for the first time in the final assessments conducted in schools in spring 2022. The criteria define the required level of knowledge and skill for grades 5, 7, 8, and 9 in each subject. The purpose of the criteria is to guarantee objectives common to all, within which teaching and learning are implemented in basic education. The thesis was carried out empirically using a qualitative research approach. The data were collected in September-November 2023 utilizing thematic interviews with seven (N=7) home economics teachers who had personal experience with the final assessment criteria in home economics. The data were analyzed through qualitative content analysis. The results of this thesis cannot be generalized quantitatively. The results show that the final assessment criteria were seen as practical, clear, and concrete, which facilitates assessment and promotes equality among students. Challenges were seen in the over-detailedness of the criteria as well as the lack of evaluation criteria to accommodate different learners. Teachers were seen as needing more resources, in-service education, and material to support their assessment work. The assessment criteria were felt to provide security in uncertain situations and to help justify the grades given. The high-level standard seen in the criteria raised concerns that teachers could balance the assessment by giving higher grades than students' actual competence according to the criteria would be. Gender was no longer felt to have a significant impact on assessment. The assessment was perceived to be subjective and there was variation in the interpretation of teachers' views and assessment criteria in the interviews. For example, the criteria for giving a grade of ten varied, weakening the equality of the assessment criteria. Cooperation among col-leagues was seen as important in the development of assessment expertise. In addition, the need for continuous education was emphasized to promote diverse assessment and consideration of the changing circumstances of students. The final assessment criteria were seen as a significant tool, but their practical functionality and equality should be evaluated and developed in the future. In the future, it would be important to study, among other things, the practical variation in the interpretation of teachers' own mental images and assessment criteria, and to identify factors that affect it. In this way, equality of assessment can be promoted nationally. The results of the study can be used in similar contexts, and the study brings current information on the functionality of assessment criteria to the field of home economics science and pedagogy.