Teachers' Perceptions of Teacher Evaluations at Small Schools: A Qualitative Case Study
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2022-05-06
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Abstract
Each year in the United States, school district officials spend significant time and effort evaluating teacher effectiveness. Teacher evaluation procedures have evolved through the years from a process by which local officials monitored teacher practices to assure conformity to one in which teachers and administrators work collaboratively using research-based methods to measure teacher performance. The problem was administrators often do not know how teachers feel about the effectiveness of the evaluation process. Although researchers have measured teacher perceptions of the evaluation process, scant research has been conducted on teacher perceptions of the process at small schools, creating a research gap this study aimed to address. Using the concept of self-efficacy as a framework, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand better how teachers perceived the effectiveness of the teacher evaluation process at a small school. Participants in the study included 20 teachers at a small, rural, central Illinois school who had been evaluated at least once at the time of the study. Interviews were conducted and recorded for thematic analysis and reporting. Data were uploaded into NVivo, and initial codes and final themes were developed. The investigation revealed the following: (a) teachers understand the need to be evaluated, (b) the evaluation process is too formal with excessive paperwork, and (c) the teacher evaluation process is ineffective. The research informs school administrators of the need to reevaluate teacher evaluation processes to improve effectiveness. Additional research is needed to determine administrators’ perceptions of the effectiveness of teacher evaluation processes.
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Citation
Fuller, T. C. (2022). Teachers' perceptions of teacher evaluations at small schools: A qualitative case study (dissertation).