A Follow-up Study on Teacher Evaluation in China: Historical Analysis and Latest Trends

This research study follows up on previous investigations of the ongoing curriculum reform in China and its repercussions (actual and potential) on the effectiveness of the teacher evaluation process there (Liu & Teddlie, 2004, 2005). With the full implementation of the new curriculum reform throughout the country, teacher evaluation is becoming more and more important in today’s China. Practitioners are exploring new methods for making practical reforms in teacher evaluation in individual districts and schools. There are two sources of information for this article, which focuses on events that have transpired in China beginning in 2004: a content analysis of academic sources related to teacher evaluation and interviews conducted with Chinese teachers at different sites and grade levels. Six themes were derived from an analysis of the academic sources. Interview results focus on issues such as (1) the utilization of student test scores in the evaluation of teachers and (2) “teaching to the test.” The article ends with eight suggestions for improving practices currently associated with teacher evaluation in China.

教师评价研究的缘起、问题及发展趋势

教师评价研究作为教师管理制度建设的首要环节,其发展经历了一个长期的过程。目前,这一领域的研究表现出的主要问题有:不同功能类型的评价常常被混用;教学效能评价仍然占主导地位;评价内容结构不明确;评价内容的理论依据不足;过度注重学生学习结果等。教师评价研究的发展过程可以概括为三个阶段,其发展表现出一个基本趋势:更加重视教师在教育教学过程中的行为,并且更关注教师的教学反思过程和工作中的主动性等方面。     

A new tool for practitioner-led evaluation of teacher professional development

Schools and education systems are being challenged to improve the evaluation of teacher professional development, yet there is a lack of practical tools for doing so. This article describes the development and validation of a new instrument to assess teachers’ perceptions of the impact of professional development. This instrument, designed to be time- and cost-effective, was theoretically grounded and, as evidenced by the results reported in this article, psychometrically sound. The instrument was completed twice (examining different types of professional development) by 393 teachers. The results for both data-sets demonstrated a strong factor structure with good internal consistency for all scales. Further data analysis indicated that the scales could effectively distinguish between the experiences of different groups of teachers. The finalised instrument, named the Impact of Teacher Professional Development Questionnaire, is presented in full, and the practical advantages and limitations of the instrument are discussed.     

Conceptualizing and exploring the quality of teaching using generic frameworks: A way forward

Empirical studies and meta-analyses conducted during the past 35 years led to the development of a number of theoretical frameworks of teacher effectiveness. In this paper, we aim to summarize the main characteristics of three dominant frameworks within the field of educational effectiveness and discuss both their conceptual differences and their similarities, as well as, the different observational instruments used by each one to capture instructional quality. Specifically, the three frameworks are: a) the dynamic model of educational effectiveness; b) the International System for Teacher Observation and Feedback (ISTOF); and c) the Three Basic Dimensions of Teaching Quality (TBD). These frameworks were also used to analyze three videolessons for comparing the quality of teaching through the lens of each respective framework. Based on the results of the three lesson analyses, possibilities for combining different generic frameworks of effective teaching to provide a more complete view of teaching quality are discussed.     

Teacher effectiveness and teacher growth from student ratings: An action research of school-based teacher evaluation

Teacher effectiveness evaluations are considered an effective mechanism for promoting teacher growth. We implemented teacher effectiveness evaluations in three Chinese secondary schools over two years and (a) developed an action research framework for school-based teacher evaluations composed of five links, i.e., purpose and consensus, data collection and analysis, data interpretation and feedback, data use, and evaluation of the actions and (b) found that “school-based” instruments of student ratings have valid statistical properties, and teacher effectiveness can be regarded as a single-factor holistic concept in different schools. We also (c) analysed 2-year longitudinal data and identified changing trajectories of teacher effectiveness as an example for data feedback and use. Teacher effectiveness presents changing trajectories for different subgroups, representing different ecologies in three schools and provides insights for teacher growth. A (d) meta-evaluation of the actions shows that most teachers are positive about this evaluation, although differences are observed between schools.     

Perception of the accomplished teacher among teacher educators in “research oriented” and “teaching oriented” institutes in Israel

The purpose of this study is to examine the perceived components of effective teachers among teacher educators in research and teaching-oriented institutes in Israel.     

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。     

Viewing students consistently: how stable are teachers’ expectations?

ABSTRACT

Over the past 50 years, research has shown that teacher expectations can influence student outcomes. Many studies have examined within-year effects. There is, however, a paucity of research that has investigated the stability of teachers’ expectations across a single year, and there are no studies that have examined stability beyond 1 year. The current study examined the stability of 94 teachers’ expectations within 3 separate years and across 3 years in mathematics and reading. In both subject areas, teachers’ expectations remained relatively stable from beginning to end-of-year for each separate year and also across 3 years. Additionally, teachers who under- or overestimated their students by more than half a standard deviation continued to do so across all periods in the study. This was despite the teachers having different students each year. The study suggests that teachers view students’ capabilities similarly despite having different student cohorts.     

Mentoring beginning primary teachers for exemplary teaching practices

In exploring the potential for mentoring to support novice teachers’ use of effective teaching practices, we conducted a grounded theory analysis about change potential. Themes emerging from cross-case analysis of survey, interview, and observation data from six beginning primary teachers in the US and their mentors revealed factors, other than type of mentoring programme, that related to beginning teachers’ success in improving classroom practices. More effective beginning teachers’ mentors had more experience as mentors and were more effective teachers than other mentors. More effective beginning teachers communicated more with mentors, more accurately self-reported use of effective teaching practices, and were more open to mentoring.     

Changing Primary Students’ Perceptions of Teacher Interpersonal Behaviours in Science

The paper reports on part of a large-scale study aimed at examining students’ perceptions of teacher–student interactions. This paper will report on a study utilising mixed methodology in 12 Queensland primary classrooms. After the students’ perceptions were established, the teachers, through a consultative process, developed strategies to change the students’ perceptions of their classroom over a 3 month period. The paper reports on what strategies these teachers utilised and what changes in students’ perceptions resulted. The classroom teachers were interviewed about the change in students’ perceptions, what changes they had sought to promote in their classrooms, and what they felt had been achieved in their classrooms. The study found that students were able to articulate what changes the teacher had implemented, what their reaction was to these changes and their perception of the classroom environment as a result of these implemented strategies.