Continuous assessment is an integral part of the instruction as it determines whether the goals of education are being met during or at the end of the instructional period. The updated curriculum (2015-2022) in the Zimbabwean Primary and Secondary Schools introduced the continuous assessment which was abandoned a few months after its inception. This study sought to evaluate from the teachers’ perspective the challenges which led to premature abandoning of the continuous assessment aspect. Qualitative approach was employed and the case study design. Questionnaires and focus group discussions were used as the data generation tools. A total of 55 in-service teacher education students at a University in Zimbabwe were conveniently sampled to participate in the study since they were the information rich cases. The study revealed that teachers were not prepared to implement the continuous assessment for various reasons. There was poor planning, preparation and implementation of the curriculum innovation. In the light of these findings, the study recommends that staff development programs for teachers as well as adequate consultations should be done before implementing new curriculum innovations.

Zimbabwe is a patriarchal society characterized by gender dichotomy and male domination that permeates through social, educational and domestic spheres resulting in numerous challenges for art teacher education students. Expanding critical consciousness within art teacher education programmes is an imperative step towards developing art teachers who are self-aware and reflexive concerning the intersections of gender, art and education. This study investigated how engagement with visual art can provoke a heightened critical awareness about gender bias, stereotyping and equity among Zimbabwean art teacher education students. Sixteen selected art teacher education students (eight males and females) at the Great Zimbabwe University participated in the study. Participants were guided by researcher-constructed prompts for purposes of image making, interpretation and dialogue. Visual discourse analysis of the students’ visual narratives and discourse analysis of focus group transcriptions revealed several themes as well as evidence of critical reflection and expanded critical awareness related to gender issues. Visual and dialogic methods offer promise for critical engagement and reconciliation of tensions surrounding issues of gender amongst art teacher education candidates.

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