Differentiated assessment as an inclusive framework for equitable practices in Nigerian and South African schools

Abstract

Equity in mainstream schools has been declared the heart of the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda. The agenda expects mainstream schoolteachers’ assessment practices to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education that promotes lifelong learning opportunities for all. In line with the 2030 Agenda, this study investigated and compared how Nigerian and South African Foundation Phase (FP) mainstream schoolteachers understand and differentiate their classroom assessments to promote equitable practices for all learners. Additionally, the study examined the support mainstream schoolteachers require and get from the School-Based Management Committee (SBMC) in Nigeria and District-Based Support Teams (DBST) in South Africa to implement inclusive assessment policies in their classrooms. The theory based conceptual framework that guided this study comprised the Capability Approach, which served as the lens for understanding equity and fairness of assessment policies and practices in mainstream schools. Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences served as the lens to investigate how assessment can be differentiated to promote equitable practices for all learners, including learners with special education needs. Lave and Wenger’s Community of Practice (CoP) was used to elucidate teacher support and professional partnership in mainstream schools for the effective implementation of differentiated assessments. The study adopted a pragmatism paradigm within an explanatory, sequential mixed methods design and employed a convenience sampling strategy to select 100 FP mainstream schoolteachers from Nigeria and South Africa. In addition, 10 FP teachers were interviewed in each country, and important assessment policy documents such as the National Policy for Education in Nigeria and the Curriculum Assessment Policy in South Africa were analysed to answer the research questions. The study’s findings based on the participants’ perceptions and lived experiences were used to propose a framework to promote the implementation of differentiated assessment as an inclusive framework for each country.