Teacher Evaluation and Teacher Effectiveness in the United Kingdom

An outline is given of the UK research situation for the knowledge bases of school effectiveness and teacher effectiveness, and the UK policy situation in terms of school and teacher evaluation, improvement and development. It is argued that the UK has seen a much greater use of school-level policies, reflecting its substantial school effectiveness research base, rather than teacher-level interventions, although there are currently some attempts at policy and practice level to focus upon teacher effects, teacher evaluation and related issues of professional development. Speculations are given concerning future policy and research needs.     

Teacher Evaluation in Cyprus: Some Conceptual and Methodological Issues Arising from Teacher and School Effectiveness Research

A critical analysis of policy on teacher evaluation in Cyprus identifies some weaknesses in current practice. It is argued that findings from teacher and school effectiveness studies could be a foundation upon which a more valid teacher evaluation system in Cyprus could be built. It is further argued that limitations in teacher and school effectiveness studies conducted discretely suggest that joint teacher/school effectiveness research should be conducted. Two complementary approaches to improving teacher evaluation in Cyprus are explored. The first is focused on the use of research findings and methodology to improve the existing policy. The second is to complement such an improved system with a school-based self-evaluation approach. Finally, the potential of a self-evaluation approach for locating some power and control over defining effectiveness in the schools and teachers, rather than exclusively in the government is discussed.     

Teacher Evaluation in The Netherlands and its Relationship to Educational Effectiveness Research

In this article, we describe the history, current practice and future of teacher evaluation in The Netherlands. After a short introduction describing the Dutch educational system, we present information about teacher evaluation practices performed by persons outside the school (the Inspectorate) and inside the school (the principal). We then pay attention to the progress of teacher and school effectiveness research in The Netherlands and the relatively weak links between research and evaluation practices in schools. Finally, we outline some potential future developments in the field of teacher evaluation in The Netherlands.     

西方国家教师效能研究发展述评

教师效能是教师特质、能力与行为的综合体。一直以来,研究者对教师效能的内涵存有争议,并形成了不同的研究范式,包括教师特质研究、教学行为研究、教师效能比较研究和教师效能多元研究。教师效能的评价主要涉及评价模型、评价体系、评价方法三个方面。教师效能的影响因素则从教师个性特征、教学过程以及从教师认同的视角进行探讨。教师效能具有复杂性、动态性、差异性和层级性,建构不同的教师效能评价模型,根据学生的分组归类,或根据具体学科和教学情境,或根据教师的进步程度评价教师效能,从而促进教师专业发展,是教师效能研究的发展方向。     

Differential Teacher Effectiveness: Towards a model for research and teacher appraisal

The article reviews the research on teacher effectiveness and develops the case for a model of teacher effectiveness in which differential effectiveness is incorporated. Five problems with current concepts of teacher effectiveness are identified: undue influence of available techniques upon the concept; emphasis on school, to the detriment of teacher, effectiveness; tenuous relationship to teacher improvement; narrowness of operational definitions in research; and the development of generic, rather than differentiated, models. In addition the failure of existing models to explain variance in pupil outcome at the classroom level, the neglect of teacher self-evaluation, and the restricted measures of pupil outcomes are noted. A differential model is proposed incorporating five dimensions of difference. These refer to teacher activity, outside as well as inside the classroom; curriculum subject; pupil background factors; pupil personal characteristics; cultural and organisational contexts of teaching. The developmental functions of such a model for research and for teacher appraisal are explored. Four problems for implementing a differentiated model are raised: complexity, stakeholder expectations, values, and policy acceptability. These are considered in the light of the controversial Hay McBer model in England and of models developed in Europe and the USA in the early decades of the last century.     

Teacher Educator Identity Development of the Nontraditional Teacher Educator

The development of a professional teacher educator identity has implications for how one negotiates the duties of a teacher, scholar, and learner. The research on teacher educator identity in the USA has been largely conducted on traditional teacher educators, or those who have started their careers as public school teachers and then went on to the collegiate level as teacher educators. This auto-ethnography considers the professional identity formation of a nontraditional teacher educator, one whose professional career did not include a career as a public school teacher. Although there are common influences on professional development between the traditional and nontraditional teacher educator, such as biography, institutional contexts, and personal pedagogy, there are significant differences in the process as those influences are experienced. This research proposes an extended process for nontraditional teacher educators, including the search for legitimacy and belonging in the community of educators.     

Generating Criteria for Measuring Teacher Effectiveness Through a Self-Evaluation Approach: A Complementary Way of Measuring Teacher Effectiveness

The article argues that the traditional conception of teacher effectiveness, focused on the teaching performance of individual teachers in relation to student cognitive outcomes, has limitations primarily because it does not recognise broader roles and responsibilities. A case study of a primary school staff attempting to generate criteria for effectiveness was conducted in order to develop a complementary approach. The criteria generated cover most of the characteristics of the effective teacher in the literature. Also the criteria generated in the case study school correlated strongly with those of a nationally representative sample. Implications for teacher effectiveness research are drawn.     

区分性教师效能的结构、功能和局限性

文章在回顾有关教师效能研究的基础上,评介了一种区分性教师效能模型,并且进一步探讨了这种模型对于未来研究和教师评价的发展功能。同时,对区分性模型可能包含的五个维度进行了阐述,它们分别是:教师在课堂内外的活动、学科类型、学生背景因素、学生个人特征、文化和组织的教学情境。最后,对区分性模型实践中的困难和解决措施进行了分析。     

Teacher Consultation to Enhance Implementation of School-Based Restorative Justice

ABSTRACT

Restorative justice (RJ) is an alternative approach to school discipline that has been gaining recognition in the public and academic spheres as a way to engage students who misbehave in school. RJ has promise to address racial/ethnic, gender, and disability disproportionality in school discipline. One aspect of school-based RJ that has received almost no attention in the literature is the professional development and ongoing support of teachers in schools using RJ. This article provides a review of extant literature on school-based RJ, teacher training, and consultation methods. Integrating the empirical literature on school consultation and teacher professional development, we argue that schools should implement a multitiered model of professional development to build teacher competency in RJ, specifically including the use of targeted teacher consultation. The proposed model is complementary to an RJ framework, systematic, and capable of evaluation; future research is needed to evaluate its effectiveness in practice.     

学校效能的增值评价——对河北省保定市普通高中学校的实证研究

学校评价在教育评价体系中处于核心地位,它直接影响着对教师评价和学生评价的原则以及学校的发展方向。运用增值评价学校效能是当前学校评价研究的重要内容。对河北省保定市普通高中学校效能进行实证研究结果表明60%~80%的高考成绩校际差距都不是学校本身所导致的,在提高学生进步幅度方面,不同学校间存在明显差异。增值评价结果与高考分数评价结果存在较大差异;学校效能在不同学科间没有显著差异;学校对不同学生群体的效能无差异。学校效能的增值评价对于创新学校评价体系具有重要的参考价值。     

Monitoring School Effectiveness in Developing Countries

Reviews on school effectiveness research in developing countries indicate that between-school variances are much larger than in industrialized countries. Resource input factors appear to have a larger impact in developing countries, while there are relatively few studies that have focused on instructional processes. Results at this level are not very clear at this stage. Local contexts may shape and interact with conditions that are expected to enhance effectiveness. Given the high stakes that are involved and the degrees of existing variation, school effectiveness studies in developing countries have the potential to be at the cutting edge of empirical school effectiveness research in the near future. Integration and application of the knowledge-base in evaluation and monitoring projects by means of school process indicators is seen as the most responsible way to use the research findings for improvement purposes.     

Teacher evaluation and school improvement: An analysis of the evidence

In recent years, substantial investments have been made in reengineering systems of teacher evaluation. The new generation models of teacher evaluation typically adopt a standards-based view of teaching quality and include a value-added measure of growth in student learning. With more than a decade of experience and research, it is timely to assess empirical evidence bearing on the efficacy of this school improvement strategy. This paper examines the new generation of teacher evaluation along three lines of analysis: evidence on the magnitude, consistency, and stability of teacher effects on student learning, evidence on the impact of teacher evaluation on growth in student learning, and literature from the sociology of organizations on how schools function. Although the trend towards focusing on teacher evaluation is increasingly evident internationally, most of the empirical research evaluated in this paper is from the USA. This critical evaluation of the empirical literature yields two key conclusions. First, we conclude that the policy logic supporting this reform remains considerably stronger than the empirical evidence. Second, we suggest that alternative improvement strategies may yield more positive results and at a lower cost in terms of staff time and district funds.     

Making the Case for Differentiated Teacher Effectiveness: An Overview of Research in Four Key Areas

Research into teacher effectiveness has traditionally attempted to uncover generic characteristics of effective teachers. However, recently the realisation that teacher effectiveness may be differentiated across different domains has gained recognition. In this article, we propose that researchers and policy-makers develop more differentiated models of teacher effectiveness. An overview of research is given that looks at whether there is evidence for differentiated effectiveness in four areas: different subject and curriculum areas, pupil background and ability, pupils' personal characteristics, and different teacher roles.     

International Comparisons of the Relationships among Educational Effectiveness, Evaluation and Improvement Variables: An Overview

This special issue of the Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education presents information from five countries related to the following constructs and/or literatures: teacher effectiveness research, school effectiveness research, teacher evaluation, staff development, teacher improvement, and school improvement. This overview article presents brief summaries of five major issues that are addressed throughout the issue. A conceptual framework is introduced that presents links among the aforementioned constructs/literatures. While these links are theoretically viable, their actual existence varies widely by country, with several countries lacking many of the links. Implications of these missing links are discussed, as well as strategies for more tightly joining these literatures/constructs. Original research from each of the countries is also introduced.     

论提高教师培训有效性的途径和方式

促进中小学教师的专业发展是开展教师培训的核心工作。教师培训应从培训理论、培训目标、培训内容、培训模式与方式、考核与评价、组织与管理等方面进行深入研究和实践,大力构建具有科学性、针对性、实效性和前瞻性的有效教师培训体系,为提高中小学教师整体素质和专业发展服务,办学员满意的培训。     

Teacher Evaluation and Effectiveness in Hong Kong: Issues and Challenges

This article first provides an overview of teacher effectiveness and evaluation in Hong Kong. Several studies related to classroom environment and teacher behavior in selected subjects are referenced, as are recent studies of teachers instructional leadership. Finally, the preliminary use of the Revised Classroom Observation Instrument (RCOI) from the Louisiana School Effectiveness Study in three secondary schools is reported. The results from using the RCOI in Hong Kong indicate that some items may be irrelevant in the Hong Kong context (e.g., physical characteristics), while more items may be needed to reflect good teaching in Hong Kong (e.g., questioning skills). In addition, the potential use of teacher profiles to drive staff development and school improvement is explored.     

Learning More About Learning Improves Teacher Effectiveness

The present study examines the possibility that teacher knowledge about learning may have an impact on the effectiveness of a school. Thirty-two secondary qualified teachers engaged in a professional development program that provided a framework for reflective study of the learning process, analysis of key aspects of learning in their classes, and identification of the implications for teaching. Changes in teacher effectiveness were monitored in several ways: (1) changes in the display of effective teacher behaviours consistent with a social-constructivist model of learning, (2) changes in perceived ability to facilitate learning in classes, and (3) changes in student performance. The findings support the prediction that involvement in a systematic exploration of the learning process, with teachers explicating their knowledge of learning, has an direct impact, on the display of effective teaching behaviours and on teachers' personal explicit theory of learning.     

主体有限性视角下提升教师培训实效的策略

中小学教师培训,要科学认知教师主体的有限性及其对教师培训的影响。基于对教师培训主体有限性的认知,教师培训实效的提升应发挥智慧努力降低学员主体有限性的负向影响,抓住核心关键发挥学员主体有限性的正向作用,营造良好政策环境,提升学员学习积极性。     

农村初级中学学校效能的增值性评价——基于我国西部五省调研数据的实证分析

随着学校效能研究的深入和统计技术的进步,学校效能增值评价日益成为学校效能评价的主流。以学生学业成绩和学生适应性为学校效能评价的指标,运用两水平线性模型对我国西部地区85所农村初中进行增值评价,发现:在提高学校效能方面,学校间存在明显差异;按原始分数获得的学校排名与按增值评价获得的排名存在较大差异;不同学科间的学校效能显著相关;学校效能在不同省份间存在较大差异;学生学习基础仍然是造成学生成绩差距的主要原因;学校基本条件对学生学业成绩作用明显等。据此,提出有利于提高学校效能的建议,如以增值评价为手段,建立增值评价指标体系;合理制定学校发展规划,走学校特色发展之路;教师应针对不同起点学生因材施教等。     

Teacher stress interventions: A systematic review

Due to the increased pressure from test‐based accountability practices, teachers have reported high levels of stress and burnout. High teacher stress has an impact on school outcomes, including links to absenteeism, burnout, school climate, and teacher behavior management. Teacher stress interventions may be an important first step toward reducing these negative outcomes. Although there have been several recent intervention studies in the domain of teacher stress, there has been no systematic review to compare the type and effectiveness of teacher stress interventions. Included within this review are interventions from a variety of modalities such as knowledge‐based, behavioral, cognitive‐behavioral, and mindfulness approaches. Results indicated that the most effective interventions were in the mindfulness, behavioral, and cognitive‐behavioral domains. Interventions which delivered solely informational content were among the least effective.