Conference Agenda

This study presents a quantitative analysis of empirical research on the objectivity of evaluation throughout the term's summative assessment in specialized schools.

In the field of education, evaluation is the process of determining the efficacy, caliber, or performance of curriculum, instructors, pupils, or organizations. The purpose of evaluation is to collect data that will enable decision-makers to make well-informed choices on the efficacy and enhancement of educational initiatives. Evaluation criteria may include time, purpose, evaluator, focus, criteria, kind of data, and level. The assessment based on timing is the main topic of the work.

In Kazakhstan's educational system, examinations are always very important. While each academic has given their own explanation of the importance of assessment, it is important to note the observations of S. Mirseitova, who supplied three definitions of assessment:

Evaluation: To make well-informed judgments, evidence must be gathered, analyzed, and interpreted. A wider range of tasks are included in evaluation with the goal of determining how well educational procedures and results work.

Assessment (Monitoring): This phrase refers to the ongoing monitoring and assessment of students' academic performance as they move through the learning process. Evaluation aids in monitoring modifications and modifying instructional tactics for improved outcomes.

Grade (Mark or Grade): This is the phrase used to describe the final assessment of a student's academic performance. A grade is an evaluation, either numerical or letter-based, that shows the student's degree of knowledge and proficiency in a certain area.

For the purpose of comprehending and evaluating the efficacy of Kazakhstan's educational system, each of these concepts is crucial. (2004)

In the event of examining the data and literature of researchers who have already defined and conducted studies regarding objective assessment of learners, it’s clear to observe that their conclusions match. “Although academics, instructors, and students are interested in this issue, the current method for measuring knowledge is far from flawless.” stated G. Romashkina (2005) and A. Slobodin (2002). “There is no absolutely objective evaluation.” concluded B. Walvoord (1998). When it came to defining objectivity as fairness or honesty, Robin Dee Tierney provided an expanded definition that was considered a crucial finding of the study. Fairness in educational evaluation is required by several imperatives, including pedagogical, technological, and democratic imperatives. Since fairness is neither binary nor a characteristic of an evaluation task or instrument, it is comparable to the measurement attributes of validity and reliability. (2013)

Two years ago, a new school in Kazakhstan opened its doors for the purpose of conducting the research. Overestimating the present school evaluation was a concern during the first academic year. In this sense, the current academic year saw the coding of summative works. We may make the following deductions after examining the acquired average indicators of quality and learning accomplishment throughout a two-year period of study: Learning success is at 100%. The degree of knowledge lies between excellent and acceptable. However, in the second academic year, the caliber of knowledge declines. In the first quarter the quality of knowledge amounted to 42.03%, in the second quarter it amounted to 62.55%. While in the last academic year it amounted to 70.19%.

The study's significance is defined by the necessity to enhance the present evaluation technique for students' knowledge and to identify students' current knowledge and abilities in dynamics.

Due to the large range of assessment methods, the research problem—the absence of impartiality in the evaluation of students' summative work—is pervasive.

The objective of this research is to quantify the development of evaluation objectivity and academic outcomes to the previous year after introducing and implementing new assessment methods, in particular “coding”, that can increase impartiality.

The demographics of students in schools are more diverse than ever in today’s globalized world due to the growing cultural, linguistic, and developmental diversity in classrooms (Florian, 2017).1994 Salamanca Statement and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has started international movement for inclusion to be norm and promoting all students to have equal rights to access to education. Within growing advocacy and policy reforms, inclusive education has been recommended as the most practical way to educate students with needs (Chow et al.). Teachers are seen as key figures/ agents to implement inclusive education and determine the success of inclusion in mainstream schools (de Boer et al., 2011; Feng, 2012; Moberg et al., 2020; Robo, 2014; Shevchenko et al., 2020). In other words, the success of inclusive education heavily relies on teachers using appropriate methods to be able to address to different needs of learners. Yet, teachers reporting lack of competence, insufficient knowledge and not being supported raise an issue (Seo, 2020).

In view of the fact and considering that higher education institutions are offering Teacher Education (TE) programmes for pre-service teachers to be qualified to teach in mainstream classes which in turn raise concerns about how adequate teacher education programmes are and how pre-service teachers should be prepared sufficiently respond to students with diverse needs. TE is divided into two main stages: Initial teacher education and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in which this research will based on ITE for Inclusion in two divergent contexts: Republic of Azerbaijan and Scotland.

This comparative research will discuss the teachers’ role in shaping inclusive education in two contrasting cultural settings: Republic of Azerbaijan and Scotland with a focus on ITE for Inclusion. The research aims to present latest situation of inclusive education, introducing ITE programmes and how inclusion is embedded in the programs. Furthermore, information on how/ what pre-service teachers are being taught to be prepared to teach students with needs in both given contexts will be provided.

The research will employ two theoretical framework: Amarta Sen's capacity approach to explore how ITE programs contribute to building capabilities in pre-service teachers for inclusive practices, and a cross-cultural comparative analysis approach to illuminate factors that foster similarities and differences in ITE programs for inclusion between two countries characterized by divergent educational and cultural norms.

The research question and sub-questions guiding the study are:

1. How does initial teacher education (ITE) programmes prepare pre-service teachers for inclusive practices in the Republic of Azerbaijan and Scotland?

1.1 What differences and similarities exist between Azerbaijani and Scottish’s ITE programmes for inclusion?

1.2 What are experiences of senior pre-service teachers in their involvement with ITE programmes for Inclusion?

1.3 What are the experiences of teacher educators in the context of ITE programs for inclusion?

In the past 10 years, the Further Education and Training (FET) sector in Ireland has undergone fundamental reform (Rami & O’Leary, 2017). FET in Ireland is now an umbrella term to describe all post-compulsory education and training outside of Higher Education. SOLAS (An tSeirbhis Oideachais Leanunaigh agus Scileanna which translates as Further Education and Skills Service) was formed in 2013 as the state organisation responsible for funding, planning and coordinating FET in Ireland.

This study is driven by the question, ‘What impact has sectoral reform has had on the professional identity and practice of teachers in Ireland’s FET sector?’ As the first phase of wider multi-phase study, this systematic literature review will provide the initial groundwork for mapping the activity system (Engeström, 2016) of teachers in FET. This mapping will inform conceptual and theoretical frameworks for subsequent study phases.

Ireland’s national FET strategy (SOLAS, 2020) proposes an evolution of the FET sector in Ireland, prioritising agility and responsiveness to changing societal and economic needs. Owing to the separate evolution of ‘Further Education’ and ‘Training’ sectoral components, reform has raised ideological tensions within FET. Criticism from those within adult and further education traditions have claimed reforms represent a neo-liberal paradigm-shift (Glanton, 2023) with a bias towards training traditions. A top-down re-organisation of the sector and the acceleration to align education with employability is noted by O'Neill and Fitzsimons (2020) as contributing to a "contested profession" of FET teacher.

The current Irish FET sector will be explored through the Three-Perspectives Model of VET (Cedefop, 2023), representing overlapping and competing perspectives of Socioeconomic/Labour Market, Education System and Pedagogical/Epistemological. This lens allows comparative analysis of the Irish FET system reforms and other relevant national VET systems in Europe.

A Socioeconomic/Labour Market perspective focuses on FET’s place in Irish society. The SOLAS sectoral reforms have prioritised an outcome-based approach to FET and prioritised jobs creation. This has led to a perceived commoditisation and marketisation of education, leading to FET being subservient to the interests of the economy rather than being driven by emancipatory educational goals (O'Brien, 2018).

From an Educational System perspective, we will examine the infrastructure that has developed under sectoral reform. The role of FET within the wider education system will be reviewed. A performative funding model has been criticism as contributing to a shift from a flexible learner-centred approach to a simplified funder-centred system-driven model (O'Brien, 2018), similar to the new public management approach to further education in England (Smith & O’Leary, 2013).

The role of the FET teacher will be examined from a Pedagogical/Epistemological perspective. Terms such as ‘adult education’ have disappeared from the FET narrative, while others such as ‘inclusion’ and ‘lifelong learning’ have been redefined within an FET driven by a neo-liberal training agenda (Glanton, 2023). The reframing of ‘Teachers’ in FET as ‘Learning Practitioners’ (SOLAS & ETBI, 2017; SOLAS & ETBI, 2020) further demonstrates the contested professional status of teachers (O'Neill & Fitzsimons, 2020) within a reformed sector.

Finally, building from the Pedagogical/Epistemological perspective findings, the Activity System (Engeström, 2016) of FET teachers will be mapped. This unit of analysis helps to frame the professional identity and practice of teachers in FET, and identify inner contradictions and tensions stemming from sectoral reform.