Constructive Alignment in the Learning and Teaching of Economics at a Comprehensive University

Abstract

There are challenges in the process of aligning teaching and learning with assessment methods available, especially in the transformation phase of South African universities. It is believed that there is either an improper implementation of the process of constructive alignment in the Economics modules or improper module design in aligning teaching with assessment. This paper intends to investigate if the lecturers complied with the principles of constructive alignment (CA) as a case study in Economics education at a comprehensive university in South Africa. A qualitative investigation of 13 out of 19 Economics lecturers from four campuses of the comprehensive university participated in three focus group discussions. To these focus groups discussions, an interview guide was designed based on the study. The instructional materials and assessment tasks designed by these lecturers were also analysed by means of a checklist containing important elements of CA. The major findings of the investigation included the following: In most of the Economics modules, objectives were still used; lecturers were not consciously working towards aligning the ILOs/objectives, TLAs and ATs but mostly relied on intuition and rather focused on prescribed content, textbooks and conventional TLAs as a basis for planning their teaching and assessment. Some of lecturers interviewed clearly did not think it was necessary to educate the students in terms of the relevant ILOs or objectives and did not use assessment criteria and rubrics for assessment, indicating a lack of transparency in the assessment process. The university also still uses a quantitative approach in assessing the knowledge and skills of students. It is advisable that Economics Lectures plan together and use common guides, teaching, and learning material for effective constructive alignment of the Economics subject.