Dr. Florence Kyaruzi, Mr. Rajabu Shafii and Mr. Rashid Mzambili from University of Dar es Salaam explain that assessment accommodation has received increased attention in higher education over the past three decades as a deliberate adjustment to the examination process to ensure that assessments are easily accessible for students with disabilities. The implementation of assessment accommodations for students with disabilities at the university level promotes fairness and minimizes the impact of disability on their academic performance. Nevertheless, most of the available studies focus on assessment accommodations for students with visual impairment, and less attention is paid to students with offer forms of disabilities. This study aims at contributing to the gap by examining perceptions of students with disabilities on the effectiveness of the existing assessment accommodations in universities. The study draws on the medical and social models of disability to adopt the five principles of Assessment for Inclusion as the guiding philosophy. Specifically, the study seeks to answer the following questions, (a) What are the existing assessment accommodations for students with disabilities at the university? (b) What perceptions do students with disabilities have about the existing assessment accommodations offered at the university? (c) What are the assessment accommodations barriers for students with disabilities at the university, and how could they be addressed (if any)? The study employs a mixed design to collect quantitative and qualitative data from the two campuses of the University of Dar es Salaam. Data will be collected from at least 30 students with different disabilities such as deaf, albinism, visual impairment, and physical impairments. Data collection is in progress and findings will be shared during the festival of disability advocacy.
Presentation held at the YDAR Festival 2023, Day 3
Presentation Video
Presentation Slides
Kyaruzi et al._230407_Assessment Accommodations in Higher Education in Tanzania
Bios
Dr. Florence Kyaruzi is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Educational Psychology and Curriculum Studies at the Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE), University of Dar es Salaam. He holds Ph.D (Learning Sciences) from the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU). His research expertise includes mathematics education, perceptions of assessment, feedback and learning from errors, and assessment accommodations.
Mr. Rajabu Shafii is an Assistant Lecturer in Assessment, Measurement and Evaluation, and Educational Psychology in the Department of Educational Psychology and Curriculum Studies at DUCE. He holds a Master of Education (Assessment Measurement and Evaluation) from Aga Khan University. He researches teachers’ perceptions and practices of Assessment for Learning, and assessment accommodations.
Mr. Rashid Mzambili is an Assistant Lecturer in Language Pedagogy and Educational Measurement and Evaluation in the Department of Educational Psychology and Curriculum Studies at DUCE. He has a Bachelor of Arts with Education from the University of Dodoma and a Master of Science in Education Measurement and Evaluation from Mersin University. He researches missing data in test score analysis, measurement invariances, and assessment accommodations.
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