STUDENT-CENTERED APPROACHES IN PRESERVICE TEACHER ASSESSMENT: VOICES AND EXPERIENCES FROM ZIMBABWEAN TEACHER-TRAINING COLLEGES

The concept of educational assessment in the digital age has practitioners grappling with what works for the current era.This paper explores the implementation of student-centered approaches in pre-service teacher assessments, focusing on the experiences and voices of student teachers in Zimbabwean teacher-training colleges.As teacher education evolves towards the demands of 21st-century classrooms, an increasing emphasis on participatory and reflective assessments that align with diverse needs of student teachers is evident globally.This study explores student-centered assessments vis--vis its contribution to professional growth and alignment with Zimbabwe's Education 5.0 framework, which emphasizes innovation and competency-based education.A hybrid framework that combined connectivism and transformative learning theory informed the study.Using a qualitative research design, the study gathered data through semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and document analysis involving preservice teachers and administrators from five teacher training institutions in Zimbabwe.The findings reveal that while student-centered assessments, such as peer reviews, self-assessments, and portfolio-based evaluations, foster critical thinking, self-reflection, and collaborative learning, challenges such as inadequate resources, lack of consistency, and resistance to change, hinder their effective implementation.