THE EFFECTS OF END-OF-COURSE EXAMINATIONS ON TEACHERS’ LIVED EXPERIENCES

This phenomenological study explored the role of end-of-course examinations on teachers’ decision-making on curriculum and instruction through a comparative analysis of teachers who taught courses with end-of-course examinations and teachers who taught courses with locally created assessments (LCA). This study examined the experiences of nine teachers in a small school district located on the east-central coast of Florida.
The study’s theoretical framework drew on Bourdieu’s (1972/1977) tools of habitus, capital, practice, and fields to explain the role of education in the reproduction of social system. The study examined how standardized testing shaped teachers’ use of habitus and capital to determine their practice in their curriculum, instruction, relationships in different educational fields, morale, and perspectives on teacher evaluation.