Abstract:

This article is an empirical contribution to the research of the educational evaluation of pupils’ achievements through the examination of the practical realization of the activities of monitoring and examining pupils’ knowledge and skills. Monitoring is the central aspect of teaching, since teachers can provide feedback to pupils in order to encourage learning and interest, and make decisions about the very course of the teaching process. Examination is a process of systematic gathering of information focused on the process of adoption of the teaching content, i.e. on the manner in which the pupils approach the educational goals defined in the form of desired achievements. The empirical research was conducted to investigate the teaching practice of monitoring and examining pupils by school teachers using a questionnaire created for the purposes of the research. The aim of the research was to examine the views and personal experiences on the monitoring and examining pupils in educational practice on a sample of elementary and secondary school teachers (N=135) in the cities of Zadar and Metković (Croatia). The research tasks included determining the regularity of monitoring the activity of pupils and their progress, determining the most often used, preferred and most useful forms of examination by teachers, determining the teachers’ views on the advantages and disadvantages of oral and written examination of pupils’ knowledge and skills, and at the end determining different types of exercises in written exams used by teachers and their most often combination. Research results illustrate the school practice of evaluating pupils’ knowledge and skills based on their teachers’ experiences and opinions. Although it was shown that a developed practice of monitoring and examining of the pupils’ achievements exists, the need for further improvement has also been established. Given the autonomy of teachers in designing their own educational activities and original pedagogical practices aligned with existing legal frameworks and contemporary pedagogical knowledge, this kind of view on teaching practice of monitoring and examining could be a significant source for shaping and improving the existing pedagogical practices. Teachers’ experiences, opinions and suggestions can be a valuable basis, as well as point to directions for further development of a culture of continuous evaluation of pupils’ achievements through interdependent activities of systematic monitoring and examination of primary and secondary school pupils.

Keywords:

Croatia, examination, monitoring, pupils’ achievements, teachers.