Management of the implementation of internal continuous assessment at Western College in Gauteng

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Law and Management University of Witwatersrand, in 25% fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management (in the field of Public and Development), 2016The National Certificate: Vocational (NCV) qualification was introduced at Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges in 2007 to enable students to acquire necessary skills and knowledge that would prepare them effectively for the world of work. The NCV is an outcomes-based curriculum and its introduction was accompanied by a general shift to outcomes-based teaching and learning approaches, as well as a rigorous assessment and moderation regime, particularly with regards to the internal assessment (ICASS) component. The shift required lecturers to adopt multi-dimensional assessment of skills, knowledge, understanding, attitudes, values and dispositions when assessing students. The report released by Umalusi in 2014 pointed out a number of factors that negatively affect the implementation of ICASS at some TVET colleges. The aim of the study was to explore the factors that constrain or enhance the implementation of the ICASS component of the NCV at TVET colleges. Literature related to the research topic was consulted and, subsequently, document analysis and semi-structured interviews were used to determine ICASS practices applied at Western College (Westcol) for TVET. ICASS requirements as per NCV-related policies and the current ICASS practices at the college were compared to determine the factors that (including those cited by Umalusi) hinder or promote ICASS implementation. The findings reflected that lack of resources (mainly financial and physical resources, as well as under-qualified and unqualified lecturers at the college) hinder the effective implementation of the ICASS component in some subjects at the college. Furthermore, the quality of the assessment elements was of great concern. Most interviewees reported that: some of the ICASS tasks in various subjects were of poor quality; there was lack of or poor moderation of tasks; portfolios were incomplete and there was a lack of structured remedial intervention after tasks were conducted. Interviewees attributed the above situation to increased lecturers’ workloads and students’ poor class attendance. The research recommends that the college build capacity for ICASS implementation through the provision of resources, and the training and development of lecturers, as well as partnerships with industries and other institutions to complement and strengthen the college’s limited resources and to apply knowledge management practices so that the college can leverage and benefit from the knowledge it currently possesses, to improve the implementation of the internal assessment component.XL201