Implementation of formative assessment in Estonian basic schools

Thesis

Assessment is integral to the process and outcomes of teaching and learning (Heitink et al., 2016). Broadly, it refers to all activities undertaken by teachers and students, which generate information that can be used as feedback to adjust teaching and learning activities (Black & Wiliam, 1998b). In most educational policy documents, a distinction is made between formative assessment that focuses on facilitating learning through a student-centred approach to instruction and feedback, and summative assessment which measures the achievement of learning outcomes (Dixson & Worrell, 2016). The aim of this study was to research formative assessment implementation in the context of the general education system of the Republic of Estonia.

To address the aim of the research, a multiple-case study was conducted in four schools in the city of Tallinn, the capital of the country, the Tallinn Education Department and the Ministry of Education and Research. The study participants involved headteachers and deputies, grade 7-9 Estonian and Russian language and literature teachers and their students, specialists from the Tallinn Education Department and leaders managing the field of general education at the Ministry of Education and Research. All together, the research was carried out with 78 participants.

The data collection procedure involved conducting 35 interviews and 13 classroom observations. Additionally, policy documents, examples of feedback given to students in their electronic daybooks, visual and digital teaching and administrative resources were gathered. The data was collected during the timeframe of June 2020 to April 2022. As this was the time of the Covid-19 pandemic, due to restrictions, some of the data was gathered online.

In order to answer the research sub-questions on what has enhanced and hindered formative assessment implementation in Estonian basic schools and what students perceive to be important for successful implementation, the results of cross-case qualitative thematic analysis of interviews with grade 7-9 language and literature teachers and their students were presented. The rest of the data collected for this study was used in the reporting selectively to contextualise the findings and to provide examples from additional sources.

The results of the study were presented in three chapters. These highlighted that positive teacher-student relationships, a student-centred approach to pedagogy, collaboration in professional learning communities and digital technology resources were considered to be enhancing formative assessment implementation. At the same time, the lack of a systematic approach to providing professional development and monitoring, and other systemic barriers, like teacher shortage, were perceived to be hindering. The study showed that Estonia is in the beginning stages with formative assessment implementation and a more systematic approach from policymakers is needed.

Authors: Popov, M

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-2a4ea1rqw
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: assessment for learning; school leaders; Estonian education system; policy implementation; language and literature lessons; formative assessment; grade 7-9 students; policymakers; grade 7-9 teachers
• Subjects: Education