The nature of assessment tasks in secondary Business Studies textbooks in Eswatini, Lesotho and Botswana.
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Date
2022
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Abstract
This research study focused on assessment tasks in junior secondary Business Studies
textbooks in three Southern African countries: Eswatini, Lesotho and Botswana (ELB), thus
addressing a gap in the scholarship on Business Studies textbook analysis. Business Studies
is part of a new curriculum introduced in these countries and entrepreneurship, a significant
thematic focus. The study analyzed the nature of assessment tasks against a background of
problem-solving and critical thinking skills development for secondary school learners. This
study analyzed two chapters in each of the three Business Studies textbooks from the three
mentioned countries. Textbook content analysis was thus at the core of the study where the
assessment tasks in the Business Studies textbooks were analysed. Two key themes of
Entrepreneurship and Business Ownership were selected for analysis as the selected
countries indicated high levels of unemployment and their new curricula showed a
commitment to fostering entrepreneurship and business ownership amongst learners in the
hope of building the economy. Whilst the study used a mixed-method approach, it leaned
more towards a qualitative approach as the analysis involved an interpretation of the
complexity of the assessment tasks in the Business Studies textbooks
Literature related to textbook assessment tasks were reviewed for a general conceptual,
theoretical and methodological foundation for the exploration. The study used a conceptual
framework adapted from Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy and Umalusi and then further
developed a Multi-Dimensional Framework (MDF) for this study to analyse the cognitive
demand in the assessment study's findings highlight several gaps in postcolonial education
in the two sections providing theoretical insights into the aim of Business Studies as a subject
in order to ensure the sustainability of an entrepreneurial spirit in learners. Textbook quality
was at risk in these two chapters for several reasons. The chapters demonstrated extensive
short answer tasks that test lower order thinking skills (LOTS) facilitating superficial
learning. Therefore, there is dissonance between the objective of including specific chapters
in the textbooks (such as entrepreneurship and business ownership, which are innovations to
the curriculum linked to neoliberalism) and the nature of the assessments and the kind of
learner that would be developed in these chapters. The few essay type tasks in the textbooks,
promote deep learning by assessing higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) like problem-solving
and critical thinking skills which enhance the development of entrepreneurial skills.
Additionally, tasks in the textbooks were sequenced in a manner that enhance continuity and
progression of learning. Also, some essay tasks were authentic as they do simulate the real world situation but authentic assessment tasks did not dominate the two sections in all three
textbooks. The research concludes with a framework called ‘Integrated Assessment
Framework’ (IAF) to guide future analysis of end of chapter tasks.
It is recommended that these chapters (Entrepreneurship and Business Ownership) be
reviewed by the relevant education authorities and refined to foster greater critical thinking
and problem-solving skills, to promote authentic, fit for purpose, context-driven deep
learning which can serve as a germination bed for entrepreneurial activity and business
ownership.
Description
Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.