Newfoundland teachers' perceptions of formative teacher evaluation: relationship to quality of evaluation, teacher commitment and professional involvement

Mills, Leon A. (1997) Newfoundland teachers' perceptions of formative teacher evaluation: relationship to quality of evaluation, teacher commitment and professional involvement. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

[English] PDF - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Download (4MB)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to measure Newfoundland teachers' perceptions of the relationship between formative teacher evaluation practices and the overall quality of the evaluation experience, the perceived levels of teachers' commitment to their schools and teachers' professional involvement in their work and professional development. At the time of this study, there were 29 school districts (since reduced to 10), with each having their own teacher evaluation policies. The Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association (NLTA) has placed an emphasis on formative teacher evaluation since 1982; however, a review of policies from districts across the province indicated that formative teacher evaluation practices are carried out to varying degrees. -- Data were collected from a random sample of Newfoundland teachers (n=229) and subjected to multiple regression analysis. This study found that statistically positive relationships existed between the use of formative teacher evaluation practices, the overall quality of the teacher evaluation experience, teacher commitment, and professional involvement (p < .0005). All three of the hypotheses chosen for the study were supported. -- The results suggest that variations of practice existed between individual school's and/or district's teacher evaluation policies. Some teachers reported that while their school districts had policies that promoted formative teacher evaluation practice, in reality, these policies were not emphasized in practice. As well most teachers reported that they were evaluated by either their superintendent/assistant superintendent and/or their principal/vice principal; however, the majority of teachers felt that the best person to evaluate them and to determine the degree of teacher growth and professionalism was either themselves or a fellow teacher which may suggest that teachers prefer formative teacher evaluation practices. -- The results of this study reinforce the validity of formative teacher evaluation practices as a viable alternative for teacher evaluation in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. These findings suggest that, if formative teacher evaluation policies were chosen for implementation, some school districts and/or individual schools would need major changes to their evaluation policies. However, in schools and districts where formative evaluation policies already exist, some would only need to be reviewed and improved upon. The same is also true for any provincial teacher evaluation model that may be considered by government and/or the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association. These results support other studies completed in this area and suggest that formative teacher evaluation may lead to improved teaching through increased teacher commitment and professional development. The research literature reviewed for this study suggested that such a result would lead to improved achievement by students and greater accountability by teachers which is desired by the public.

Actions (login required)

View Item