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Factors influencing assessment practices among academic staff in universities in Uganda
International Islamic University Malaysia
Institute of Education, International Islamic University Malaysia
This research analysed the factors influencing assessment practices among academic staff in Ugandan universities. An Assessment Practices Inventory Modified (APIM) scale was distributed to a sample of 350 academic staff selected from both private and public universities in Uganda. A purely quantitative approach with a stratified random sampling technique to select the participants was adopted for this study. The objectives of this study were; to test the psychometric properties of the APIM scale, to find out the differences in assessment practices of academic staff in Ugandan universities, to find out the significant predictors of assessment practices among academic staff in Ugandan universities and also, to find out whether the extended hypothesised model explains the assessment practices among academic staff in universities in Uganda. The collected data for this research was analysed using Rasch measurement analysis, three-way MANOVA, multiple regression analysis, and structural equation modelling in respect to the research questions. The results of the psychometric properties revealed that the APIM scale is an adequate instrument in measuring assessment practices among university academic staff. The hypothesised model was found to be adequate in explaining assessment practices among academic staff in universities; χ² = 902.619, χ²/df = 1.842, df = 490, p = .000, CFI = .906, RMSEA = .052, and SRMR = .050. Also, differences were revealed in academic staff's assessment practices according to their academic levels and specialisations, and not in the type of university. Differences in academic levels cut across all the assessment practices sub-scales (design, administration, interpretation, and application) while in specialisations differences were only in assessment interpretation. Additionally, this study has found out that academic levels and assessment courses are the only significant predictors of the academic staff's assessment practices among the many hypothesised predictors (type of universities, specialisations, academic levels, class size, and assessment course). Generally, from the descriptive results of this study it has been noted that academic staff in Ugandan universities lack appropriate assessment skills in assessing students. This has led to a recommendation that formal assessment training programmes should be made mandatory to all academic staff in universities in Uganda in order to improve their assessment skills, and to ensure quality in the way they assess students.
Thesis (Ph.D)--International Islamic University Malaysia, 2013.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 207-236).