Abstract

Evaluation constitutes an integral part of the learning process, and it seeks to improve the education provided. It makes evident children’s knowledge, skills and interests, describes their progress in specific learning goals, and documents their development in time. When the assessment well applies, it becomes a powerful contributor to the kindergarten teachers’ effectiveness, reinforces children’s learning and constitutes the keystone of meaningful discussion between families and kindergarten teachers. The present study aimed to examine kindergarten teachers’ perceptions about the assessment, which is described in the “Cross-thematic Curriculum Framework for Kindergarten,” with respect to its aim, implementation, process and techniques (mainly, portfolio). A total of 284 kindergarten teachers participated in this research, who, randomly, came from the region of Western Macedonia of Greece. The results revealed that assessment is not a simple formal process. While kindergarten teachers were aware of the pedagogical benefits of the application of the assessment in Kindergarten, they were not aware of applying it effectively, particularly the portfolio technique. Also, teaching experience, and pro and on-service training had significant effects on the observed findings.