Perceptual Differences in Classroom Assessment Practices among Lecturers and Pre-Service Teachers in Ghanaian Colleges of Education.

The discrepancies between Lecturers’ perceptual representations and trainees’ perceptions will undermine constructivist assessment in teacher education systems, but multidimensional gaps have not been examined in a resource-constrained setting. This study conducted a large-scale MANOVA to explore differences in perception across five assessment dimensions (student consultation, transparency, task authenticity, student capabilities, and procedural justice) by comparing 354 Lecturers and 3,520 pre-service teachers from Ghanaian Colleges of Education. Highly significant multivariate effects (Pillai’s Trace = .988, F (5, 3514) = 57,428.64, p < .001, ηp² = .988) emerged. Procedural dimensions ranked highest for Lecturers (consultation: M = 8.07 vs. 7.08; transparency: M = 8.21 vs. 9.63), consistent with implementer confidence, but trainees prioritized task authenticity (M = 10.18), consistent with global recipient preferences. The univariate effects were strongest among student consultation (F = 119.94, p < .001) and transparency (F = 168.31, p < .001). While T-TEL reforms encourage more learner-centered assessment, the Lecturer-trainee divides reflect real practice divides in resource-poor settings. Findings expand constructivist theory by positing perceptual divergence as a barrier to alignment in instructional evaluation and underpin Teacher Continuous Professional Development (TCPD) recommendations for collaborative assessment design. Theoretical contribution: Measures multidimensional perceptual obstacles in African teacher training. Practical implication: Realistic teacher licensure preparation requires teacher-trainee collaboration on assessment planning.

Classroom ,Practices ,Lecturers ,Pre-Service ,Teachers

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