Iranian pre-university English teachers' perceptions and attitudes towards the Iranian national university entrance exam: a washback study

The washback effect of high-stakes tests has been explored in different countries and various educational contexts. Washback generally refers to the influence of testing on teaching and learning (Alderson & Wall, 1993). This paper which is a part of a larger study seeks to report the perceptions...

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Main Authors: Mahmoudi, Leila, Abu Bakar, Kamariah
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Australian International Academic Centre 2013
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/14958/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/14958/1/14958.pdf
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author Mahmoudi, Leila
Abu Bakar, Kamariah
author_facet Mahmoudi, Leila
Abu Bakar, Kamariah
author_sort Mahmoudi, Leila
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The washback effect of high-stakes tests has been explored in different countries and various educational contexts. Washback generally refers to the influence of testing on teaching and learning (Alderson & Wall, 1993). This paper which is a part of a larger study seeks to report the perceptions and attitudes of Iranian pre-university English teachers towards the effect of Iranian National University Entrance Exam (hereafter the INUEE) on teachers’ English teaching and learners’ English learning. The participants were 6 female pre-university English teachers from two pre-university schools in the city of Ahwaz, Iran. To investigate their perceptions and attitudes towards the INUEE, a validated questionnaire was administered to the teachers and a semi-structured interview was also conducted in order to gain richer information, and to shed more light on the data collected through their questionnaires. The respondents answered questions on whether the test motivated the students to learn English, whether the INUEE evaluated students’ academic knowledge, etc. The descriptive and qualitative analysis of the data revealed that teachers’ perceptions towards the test were mixed. Two teachers held positive views about the test and four other teachers held negative perceptions about this high-stakes test. The findings of this study could be pedagogically significant to policy-makers, test designers, teachers, and students.
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spelling upm-149582019-05-08T07:44:23Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/14958/ Iranian pre-university English teachers' perceptions and attitudes towards the Iranian national university entrance exam: a washback study Mahmoudi, Leila Abu Bakar, Kamariah The washback effect of high-stakes tests has been explored in different countries and various educational contexts. Washback generally refers to the influence of testing on teaching and learning (Alderson & Wall, 1993). This paper which is a part of a larger study seeks to report the perceptions and attitudes of Iranian pre-university English teachers towards the effect of Iranian National University Entrance Exam (hereafter the INUEE) on teachers’ English teaching and learners’ English learning. The participants were 6 female pre-university English teachers from two pre-university schools in the city of Ahwaz, Iran. To investigate their perceptions and attitudes towards the INUEE, a validated questionnaire was administered to the teachers and a semi-structured interview was also conducted in order to gain richer information, and to shed more light on the data collected through their questionnaires. The respondents answered questions on whether the test motivated the students to learn English, whether the INUEE evaluated students’ academic knowledge, etc. The descriptive and qualitative analysis of the data revealed that teachers’ perceptions towards the test were mixed. Two teachers held positive views about the test and four other teachers held negative perceptions about this high-stakes test. The findings of this study could be pedagogically significant to policy-makers, test designers, teachers, and students. Australian International Academic Centre 2013 Article PeerReviewed text en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/14958/1/14958.pdf Mahmoudi, Leila and Abu Bakar, Kamariah (2013) Iranian pre-university English teachers' perceptions and attitudes towards the Iranian national university entrance exam: a washback study. International Journal of Education & Literacy Studies, 1 (2). pp. 47-53. ISSN 2202-9478 http://www.journals.aiac.org.au/index.php/IJELS/article/view/170 10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.1n.2p.47
spellingShingle Mahmoudi, Leila
Abu Bakar, Kamariah
Iranian pre-university English teachers' perceptions and attitudes towards the Iranian national university entrance exam: a washback study
title Iranian pre-university English teachers' perceptions and attitudes towards the Iranian national university entrance exam: a washback study
title_full Iranian pre-university English teachers' perceptions and attitudes towards the Iranian national university entrance exam: a washback study
title_fullStr Iranian pre-university English teachers' perceptions and attitudes towards the Iranian national university entrance exam: a washback study
title_full_unstemmed Iranian pre-university English teachers' perceptions and attitudes towards the Iranian national university entrance exam: a washback study
title_short Iranian pre-university English teachers' perceptions and attitudes towards the Iranian national university entrance exam: a washback study
title_sort iranian pre-university english teachers' perceptions and attitudes towards the iranian national university entrance exam: a washback study
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/14958/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/14958/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/14958/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/14958/1/14958.pdf