EFL Teachers’ Conception and Choice of Assessment Task: The Focus of Age, Gender and Level of Teaching

Abstract

This study sought to investigate changes in EFL teachers’ conceptions and choices of assessment in terms of their level of teaching, age and gender. To this end, from the population of EFL university instructors teaching in different EFL contexts at English language institutes, Islamic Azad, state, and PNU universities in Mazandaran province, Iran, a sample of Two hundred EFL university teachers based on convenience sampling method was selected. They comprised both male (n=100) and female (n=100). In order to ascertain the assessment task preferences of educators, Brown's (2008) Teachers' Conceptions of Assessment (TCA) scale was employed. Subsequently, an independent t-test, Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), and Pearson correlation were conducted to scrutinize the collected data. The outcomes of the analysis indicated a notable alteration in TCA dimensions (specifically pertaining to school accountability, student accountability, improvement, and irrelevance) in conjunction with variations in teachers' age and gender. Furthermore, the Pearson correlation analysis underscored a significant positive association between the utilization of formative assessment strategies and the gender and age of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instructors. These results underscore the intricate nature of TCA transformation, which appears to be influenced by additional variables such as gender and age. The implications of this research are far-reaching, encompassing implications for students, educators, and curriculum developers.