TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page i
Approval ii
Certification iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgements v
Table of Contents viii
List of Tables xi
Abstract xii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study 1
Statement of the Problem 14
Purpose of the Study 15
Significance of the Study 16
Scope of the Study 18
Research Questions 18
Hypotheses 18
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Conceptual Framework 20
Concept of Continuous Assessment 21
Rationale for Continuous Assessment 26
Characteristics of Continuous Assessment 27
Techniques of Continuous Assessment 28
Concept of Essay Writing 31
Types of Essay 33
Assessment of Essay 34
Relevance of Continuous Assessment in Essay Writing 36
Concept of Gender 39
Concept of Location 39
Theoretical Framework 40
Behavioural Theory 41
Constructivist Theory 41
Review of Empirical Studies 43
Studies on students’ performance 43
Studies on Essay Writing 44
Studies on Continuous Assessment 51
Summary of Literature Review 57
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHOD 61
Design of the Study 61
Area of the Study 61
Population of the Study 62
Sample and Sampling Technique 62
Instrument for Data Collection 62
Validation of the Instrument 63
Reliability of the Instrument 64
Method of Data Collection 64
Method of Data Analysis 64
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS 65
Research Question 1 65
Research Question 2 66
Research Question 3 68
Research Question 4 70
Hypothesis 1 71
Hypothesis 2 71
Summary of Major Findings 75
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION OF RESULTS, CONCLUSIONS,RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUMMARY
Discussion of Results 77
Conclusion 82
Implications of the Findings 82
Recommendations 83
Limitations of the Study 83
Suggestions for Further Research 84
Summary of the Study 85
REFERENCES 86
APPENDICES
Appendix A: Population Distribution of the Study 93
Appendix B: Questionnaire 95
Appendix C: Reliability of the Instrument 101
Appendix D: Result of Analyzed Data 107
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Mean rating of respondents oncontinuous assessment practices
of senior secondary school English language teachers in essay writing..65
Table 2:Mean Rating of respondents on the extent of teachers’ assessment of senior secondary students in essay writing. 66
Table 3: Mean Rating of respondents on the factors militating against teachers’ effective assessment of students in essay writing 68
Table 4: Mean Rating of respondents on the measures for improving teachers’ continuous assessment practices in essay writing. 70
Table 5: t-test analysis of the significant difference in the mean ratings of male and female teachers as regards continuous assessment practices in essay writing. 71
Table 6: t-test statistics summary table 72
Table 7: t-test statistics analysis of the significant difference in the mean ratings of urban and rural teachers as regards continuous assessment practices in essay writing 3
Tabe 8: t-test statistics summary table 74
Table 9: Mean and Standard deviation of English Language teachers on the observation check list on teachers’ continuous assessment practices in essay writing. 74
ABSTRACT
The main purpose of this study was to investigate the continuous assessment practices of senior secondary school English language teachers in essay writing in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State. Three Local Government Areas make the zone for the study; Igboetiti, Nsukka and Uzo-Uwani. The population comprised all the male and female English teachers in senior secondary classes. Two instruments developed by the researcher were used for data collection are questionnaire and observation checklist titled;” Teachers’ Continuous Assessment Practices in Essay Writing’’ respectively. Instruments were face validated by three experts from Language Education and Measurement and Evaluation all from University of Nigeria Nsukka. The questionnaire was trial tested on twenty (20) teachers in Onitsha North Local Government Area and its reliability was established using Cronbach Co-efficient Alpha Formula. Mean and Standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while t-test statistics was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. Four (4) research questions were posed to guide the study and two hypotheses on gender and location were formulated for the study. The findings of the study revealed that teachers rarely assess students on vital assessment practices in essay writing such as; giving my students class tests (p. 74). The findings further showed that gender and location are significant factors in the continuous assessment practices of English language teachers in essay writing. Based on the findings, recommendations were made which include that teachers should intensify efforts in adequate use of continuous assessment practices to diagnose students’ needs and adopt the practices for effective evaluation of students to improve students’ performance. Also, the ministry of education should ensure that teachers are well equipped with relevant instructional materials and other assessment tools for effective assessment.
