Exploring Learners’ Experiences of Receiving Formative Written Assessment Feedback in Business Studies as a Subject in South Africa

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to understand Grade 10 Business Studies learners’ experiences of receiving written formative assessment in the South African school context. This exploratory qualitative study employed a case study design and was conducted with 12 Grade 10 learners from two public secondary schools, located in Johannesburg East, Gauteng. The study sample was purposefully and conveniently selected and data were collected through semi- structured interviews via WhatsApp voice calls. Thematic analysis was employed to make sense of the data. Findings of the study generated two themes to describe the learners’ experiences, namely timing, and specificity of formative feedback. The learners disclosed that they received delayed feedback that did not specify their individual progress, areas of work that was well done, and areas that needed improvement. This study suggests that if classroom teachers are to become effective ‘mediators’ of formative assessment, they must be provided with a better theoretical and practical grounding in the nature of formative assessment feedback. The Department of Education needs to provide more guidelines, practical demonstrations, and workshops to assist to teachers to understand and implement formative assessment feedback practices effectively. Teacher and student feedback literacy also has the potential to facilitate principled, research-informed feedback processes in the future.