User manual | EDUCATOR EXPERIENCES AND PERCEPTIONS OF THE INTEGRATED QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND

EDUCATOR EXPERIENCES AND PERCEPTIONS OF THE
INTEGRATED QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND
ITS EFFECT ON EDUCATOR PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT IN SCHOOLS
by
Abram Mphuphuthane Mahlaela
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree
MAGISTER EDUCATIONIS
in the
Department of Education Management and Policy Studies
University of Pretoria
at the
Faculty of Education
Supervisor
Dr. I. J. Prinsloo
PRETORIA
November 2011
© University of Pretoria
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wish to acknowledge the assistance that I received from my supervisor, Dr Izak
Prinsloo. His assistance and tireless support in this research cannot be
overemphasized.
I must also acknowledge the family support that I got from my two wives, Marike
Ngato (Ngwana‟ Matsepe) and Martha Baphelile (Ngwana‟ Mokone). They
allowed me to utilize the precious time which should have been set aside for
them so as to make this study a success.
Mphuphuthane Abram Mahlaela
i
SUMMARY
IQMS (Integrated Quality Management System) is a national policy agreed upon
in 2003 between the National Department of Education of South Africa and the
teacher organizations, such as SADTU, NAPTOSA, and other unions collectively
known as the SAOU. IQMS has three sections which are integrated into one
policy, i.e. Developmental Appraisal (DA); Performance Measurement (PM) and
Whole School Evaluation (WSE). This study seeks to explore the perceptions
and experiences of teachers on IQMS. The researcher will thus concentrate on a
sample of teachers who have completed two and more cycles of IQMS process.
The reason for this sample is to establish the experiences of only teachers who
have run the course and possess more information on the advantages and flaws
(if any) of the process. The responses from such teachers form an important part
of the study.
Chapter One is the orientation of the study, followed by Chapter Two which is the
study of a number of international educator appraisal processes. Chapter Three
explains the educator appraisal process in South African schools. Chapter Four
explains the research methodology of this study. Chapter Five consists of the
research findings, while the last chapter, Chapter Six details the conclusion and
recommendations.
ii
KEY WORDS
Integrated
quality
management
system;
Educator
appraisal;
Educator
professional development
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
AM:
Assistant Master
APPSP:
Association of Public Primary School Principals
BAPPSS:
Barbados Association of Principals of Public Schools
BSTU:
Barbados Secondary Teachers‟ Union
BUT:
Barbados Teachers‟ Union
CM:
Certified Master/Mistress
CPD:
Continuous Professional Development
DA:
Developmental Appraisal
DAS:
Developmental Appraisal System
DEB:
Department of Education and Manpower Bureau
DfES:
Department for Education and Skills
DHM:
Deputy Headmaster
DoE:
Department of Education
DSG:
Developmental Support Group
EIP:
Educator Improvement Plan
ELRC:
Education Labour Relations Council
EMB:
Education and Manpower Bureau
GM:
Graduate Master/Mistress
IQMS:
Integrated Quality Management System
MEHRD:
Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development
NAPTOSA: National African Professional Teachers‟ Organisation
iii
NPFTED:
National Policy Framework for Teacher Education and
Development
PAM:
Personnel Administrative Measures
PDAS:
Professional Development and Appraisal System
PGM:
Principal Graduate Master/Mistress
PGP:
Personal Growth Plan
PM:
Performance Measurement
PR:
Performance Review
SADTU:
South African Democratic Teachers‟ Union
SAOU:
Suid Afrikaanse Onderwysers Unie
SDT:
Staff Development Team
SGM:
Senior Graduate Master/Mistress
SIP:
School Improvement Plan
SMI:
School Management Initiative
SMT:
School Management Team
STA:
School Teacher Appraisal
STP:
Summary of Teacher Performance
TCO:
Teacher Classroom Observation
TPM:
Teacher Performance Management
TTAS:
Texas Teacher Appraisal System
WSE:
Whole School Evaluation
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 ............................................................................................................1
Orientation .............................................................................................................1
1.1
INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................1
1.2
RATIONALE OF THE STUDY ..................................................................3
1.3
THE PROBLEM STATEMENT .................................................................5
1.4
THE AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ....................................6
1.4.1 Aim .............................................................................................................. 6
1.4.2 Objectives .................................................................................................. 6
1.5
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ...................................................7
1.6
THE RESEARCH DEMARCATION .........................................................7
1.7
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ......................................8
1.7.1 Research methodology ............................................................................ 8
1.7.2. Population and sampling techniques................................................... 10
1.7.3 Data collection methods ........................................................................ 11
1.7.3.1
Narrative interviews ...................................................... 11
1.7.3.2
Narrative frames ........................................................... 11
1.7.3.3
Open-ended questions .................................................. 12
1.7.3.4
The follow-up or post-narrative interview ...................... 12
1.7.4 Data analysis strategies ........................................................................ 13
1.7.5 Ethical consideration .............................................................................. 14
1.7.6 Limitations ................................................................................................ 15
1.8
THE STRUCTURE OF THE RESEARCH.............................................15
1.9
CONCLUSION ...........................................................................................16
CHAPTER 2 ..........................................................................................................18
How staff appraisal and development practices are applied in
schools on an international level ...................................................................18
2.1
INTRODUTION ..........................................................................................18
2.2
INTERNATIONAL STAFF APPRAISAL PROCESSES
IN SCHOOLS .............................................................................................20
2.2.1 England .................................................................................................... 20
2.2.1.1
Fundamental principles of the appraisal process .......... 20
2.2.1.2
Method of the appraisal process ................................... 21
2.2.1.3
The purpose of the appraisal process ........................... 26
v
2.2.1.4 Critical view of the appraisal process ............................ 27
2.2.2 Hong Kong ............................................................................................... 29
2.2.2.1 Fundamental principles of the appraisal process .......... 29
2.2.2.2 Method of the appraisal process ................................... 30
2.2.2.3 The purpose of the appraisal process ........................... 35
2.2.2.4 Critical view of the appraisal process ............................ 36
2.2.3 Texas ........................................................................................................ 39
2.2.3.1 The fundamental principles of the appraisal process .... 39
2.2.3.2 Method of the appraisal process ................................... 40
2.2.3.3 The purpose of the appraisal process ........................... 43
2.2.3.4 The critical view of the appraisal process ..................... 44
2.2.4 Barbados ................................................................................................. 47
2.2.4.1 The fundamental principles of the appraisal process .... 47
2.2.4.2 Method of the appraisal process ................................... 47
2.2.4.3 The purpose of the appraisal process ........................... 51
2.2.4.4 The critical view of the appraisal process ..................... 52
2.3
CONCLUSION ...........................................................................................53
2.3.1
2.3.2
Similarities in the teacher appraisals .............................................. 53
Differences in the teacher appraisals ............................................. 55
CHAPTER 3 ..........................................................................................................57
Staff appraisal and development practices as applied in public
schools in South Africa ....................................................................................57
3.1
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................57
3.2
MOTIVATION FOR THE APPRAISAL PROCESS .............................58
3.2.1 Curbing failures of educational reform ................................................ 59
3.2.2 Balancing the needs of educators and those of the education
system ................................................................................................. 59
3.3
BACKGROUND OF THE APPRAISAL PROCESS IN SOUTH
AFRICA .......................................................................................................60
3.3.1
Duties and responsibilities of educators related to professional
development ............................................................................................ 62
3.3.1.1 The principal ................................................................... 62
3.3.1.2. The Deputy Principal ....................................................... 62
3.3.1.3 Head of Department ........................................................ 63
3.3.1.4 The educator ................................................................... 63
3.3.1.5 Curriculum Advisor .......................................................... 64
3.3.2 The Integrated Quality Management System .................................... 65
3.4
METHOD OF THE APPRAISAL ............................................................66
3.4.1 Advocacy and training............................................................................ 67
vi
3.4.2 The school IQMS structures ................................................................. 68
3.4.2.1 The Principal ................................................................... 69
3.4.2.2 The Educator .................................................................. 69
3.4.2.3 The School Management Team (SMT) ........................... 69
3.4.2.4 The Staff Development Team (SDT) ............................... 69
3.4.2.5 The Development Support Group (DSG) ........................ 70
3.4.2.6 Appraisal ......................................................................... 71
3.4.2.7 Personal Growth Plan (PGP) .......................................... 75
3.4.2.8 The District office ............................................................ 76
3.4.2.9 The Whole School Evaluation (WSE).............................. 76
3.4.2.10 The Grievance committee ............................................... 76
3.4.3 The appraisal instrument ....................................................................... 79
3.4.4 Steps in the appraisal process ............................................................. 80
3.4.4.1 Developmental Appraisal (DA) ........................................ 80
3.4.4.2 The Performance Measurement (PM) ............................. 83
3.5
CRICITACL VIEW OF THE APPRAISAL PROCESS ........................86
3.6
STAFF DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME .............................................89
3.6.1 Designing a human resource development programme .................. 89
3.6.2 Requirements for a successful development programme................ 90
3.6.3 Evaluation and feedback ....................................................................... 91
3.7
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ...................................................................92
3.7.1 Similarities................................................................................................ 92
3.7.2 Differences ............................................................................................... 93
3.8
CONCLUSION ...........................................................................................93
CHAPTER 4 ..........................................................................................................94
Research Design and Methodology ..............................................................94
4.1
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................94
4.2
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ....................................95
4.3
LITERATURE REVIEW ...........................................................................95
4.4
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH ...................................................................97
4.5
NARRATIVE RESEARCH AS A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
APPROACH ...............................................................................................99
4.6
DEMARCATION ..................................................................................... 100
4.7
ACCESSIBILITY .................................................................................... 102
4.8
APPROPRIATENESS ........................................................................... 103
vii
4.9
DATA COLLECTION METHODS ....................................................... 104
4.10 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................... 107
4.10.1
4.10.2
4.10.3
4.10.4
4.10.5
4.10.6
Pre-narrative interviews .................................................................. 107
Narrative frames............................................................................... 108
Strengths of narrative frames......................................................... 109
Limitations of the narrative frames ................................................ 110
Open-ended questions for principals ............................................ 110
Post-narrative views ........................................................................ 111
4.10.6.1 Interviews .................................................................. 111
4.10.6.2 Document analysis.................................................... 112
4.11 RESEARCHER’S ROLE ....................................................................... 113
4.12 DATA ANALYSIS .................................................................................. 114
4.12.1
4.12.2
Phase 1 (development of groups and commonalities)............... 115
Phase 2 (development of a composite) ........................................ 116
4.13 RELIABILITY .......................................................................................... 116
4.14 VALIDITY IN NARRATIVE RESEARCH ........................................... 117
4.14.1
4.14.2
Trustworthiness ................................................................................ 118
Triangulation ..................................................................................... 119
4.15 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF THIS STUDY ............................ 119
4.16 LIMITATIONS ......................................................................................... 122
4.17 REPORTING THE RESULTS .............................................................. 123
4.18 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................ 124
CHAPTER 5 ....................................................................................................... 125
Empirical study – Data analysis and discussion ................................... 125
5.1
INTRODUCTION .................................................................................... 125
5.2
DATA COLLECTION METHODS IN BRIEF ..................................... 125
5.2.1
5.2.2
5.2.3
5.2.4
5.2.5
5.3
Pre-narrative interviews ....................................................................... 125
Narrative frames ................................................................................... 125
Post-narrative interviews ..................................................................... 127
Open-ended questions to the principals of the selected schools.. 127
Document analysis ............................................................................... 127
DATA ANALYSIS AND REPORTING THE RESEARCH
RESULTS ................................................................................................ 128
5.3.1 Grouping of responses ........................................................................ 129
5.3.1.1 Awareness of the appraisal process ............................. 129
viii
5.3.1.2 Benefits from the appraisal process .............................. 130
5.3.1.3 Attitudes towards the process ....................................... 132
5.3.2 Open-ended questions to the principals of the selected schools.. 135
5.3.3 Document analysis ............................................................................... 138
5.4
CONCLUSION ........................................................................................ 139
CHAPTER 6 ....................................................................................................... 140
Findings, limitations and recommendations ........................................... 140
6.1
INTRODUCTION .................................................................................... 140
6.2
SUMMARY OF THE AIM AND OBJECTIVES ................................. 140
6.3
FINDINGS ................................................................................................ 142
6.3.1 Findings from literature ........................................................................ 142
6.3.2 Findings from empirical study ............................................................. 145
6.3.2.1 Findings from teachers.................................................. 145
6.3.2.2 Findings from principals ................................................ 147
6.3.2.3 Findings from the documents ........................................ 147
6.4
ADDRESSING THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS ............................... 147
6.4.1
6.4.2
6.4.3
How are the staff appraisal and development practices
applied in schools on an international level? ............................... 148
How are the staff appraisal and development practices
applied in schools in South Africa? ............................................... 149
What are the experiences and perceptions of educators
about the implementation of the Integrated Quality
Management System and its effects on educator professional
development in schools? ................................................................ 150
6.5
RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................................... 152
6.6
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY ........................................................... 154
6.7
ASPECTS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH ............................................. 155
6.8
CONCLUDING REMARKS .................................................................. 155
REFERENCES .................................................................................................. 156
ix
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1.1
Research Methodology and resources ...................................... 13
Table 2.1
Categories of scoring in Texas .................................................. 41
Table 3.1
Summary of roles of IQMS structures ........................................ 77
Table 3.2
The PGP template for educators in IQMS ................................. 78
Table 3.3
Scoring scale for IQMS instrument ............................................ 79
Table 3.4
Checklist used by DSG in pre-evaluation meeting ..................... 81
Table 3.5
Summary score sheet for educators‟ scores .............................. 85
Table 4.1
Research focus, data collection methods and data
resources ................................................................................. 105
Table 5.1
Example of narrative frame ...................................................... 126
Table 6.1.
Summary of appraisal practices of international countries ....... 149
Table 6.2
Summary of staff appraisal as applied in South Africa............... 15
LIST OF DIAGRAMS
Diagram 3.1
IQMS elements .......................................................................... 65
Diagram 6.1
A model for continuous professional development in
schools .................................................................................... 154
LIST OF APPENDIXES
Appendix 1
Letter of application for permission to conduct research
in the province ......................................................................... 166
Appendix 2
Permission letter from the Provincial Head of the
Department of Education ......................................................... 167
Appendix 3
Letter to participants ................................................................ 168
Appendix 4
Letter to principals ................................................................... 169
Appendix 5
Narrative frames for data collection ......................................... 170
Appendix 6
Open-ended questionnaire for principals ................................. 173
Appendix 7
Ethical clearance certificate ..................................................... 175
x
CHAPTER 1
Orientation
1.1
INTRODUCTION
The issue that is interrogated in this dissertation is to explore the experiences
and perceptions of educators about the implementation of the Integrated Quality
Management System (IQMS) and the implications thereof for the professional
development of teaching staff. As a researcher in this chosen field of study, I am
particularly interested in exploring if the implementation of the Integrated Quality
Management System has brought about any significant positive change in the
professional development and work performance of teaching staff which in turn
affects the learning outcomes of the learners.
Educator appraisal is increasingly viewed as a critical process in schools for
developing the competency of educators and also the quality of education
(Stiggins and Bridgeford, 1985; Wright, Horn and Sanders, 1997). The appraisal
can have a significant impact on the attitudes and behaviour of educators, which
in turn affects the performance of educators and the learning outcomes of
students. However, the educator appraisal process is problematic and has been
criticized as ineffective in improving the instructional quality of educators
(Danielson and McGreal, 2000; Frase and Streshly, 1994).
The Department of Education introduced the IQMS in 2003 to be implemented in
2004. Immediate training was given to all schools and educators and the
implementation process followed immediately. Educator unions such as the
South African Democratic Teachers‟ Union (SADTU) and the National African
1
Professional Educators Organization of South Africa (NAPTOSA) were
consulted. The SADTU spokesman (the president) indicated that IQMS is
important because it deals with management systems that have similar
instruments for monitoring and evaluation and there will no longer be duplication
of school visits (SADTU, 2005). Weber (2005:70) regards IQMS as „a product of
negotiation and it constitutes an agreement between the government and the
major educator unions and organisations‟.
In terms of section 4 of the Employment of Educators Act (Act 76 of 1998), the
Minister of Education has determined the terms and conditions of employment of
educators in the Personnel Administrative Measures (PAM). In Chapter C,
paragraph 2.2 the aim of developmental appraisal is described as follows:
“The aim of developmental appraisal is to facilitate the personal and
professional development of educators in order to prioritise areas for
development and growth throughout one‟s career in Education.”
According to section A paragraph 1 of the IQMS Procedure Manual (DoE, 2003)
the evaluation of programmes and practices is essential to any ongoing effort to
improve any profession. Evaluation is not apart from, but it is a part of, the
educational process.
There are three programmes which need to be in place in order to enhance and
monitor performance of the education system. These are:
Developmental Appraisal (DA)
Performance Measurement (PM)
Whole School Evaluation (WSE)
2
Each of these programmes has distinct focus and purpose, and there should be
no contradiction between any of them.
The purpose of Performance Measurement (PM) is to evaluate individual
educators for salary progression, grade progression, affirmation of appointment
or rewards and incentives. The purpose of Whole School Evaluation (WSE) is to
evaluate the overall effectiveness of the school – including the support provided
by the district, school management, infrastructure and learning resources – as
well as the quality of teaching and learning.
The process of IQMS has its main on quality development. Quality development
should be managed, and to manage quality is a huge task because Flynn,
Schroeder and Sakakibara (1994:114) define quality management as „an
approach to achieving and sustaining high quality output, and thus we employ a
process definition of emphasizing inputs (management practices) rather than
outputs (quality performance) in our analysis‟.
Schools need to optimize effectiveness and productivity through the realization of
improved teaching and learning practices. Educators must therefore become
providers of quality education (Quong and Walker, 1996:223).
1.2
RATIONALE OF THE STUDY
Educator appraisal is supposed to lift the standards of teaching and learning in
schools. My biggest concern is that in spite of the implementation of IQMS in
January 2004 to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the teaching staff and
to draw up programmes for individual development to ensure a better quality of
education, it seems as if nothing has changed in most South African schools.
The country struggles with a growing number of dysfunctional schools and the
Grade 12 pass rate is far below international standards.
3
South Africa continues to be ranked low after the international Common Tasks
for Assessment have been administered to schools (e.g. Quits-up for grades 3
and 6). The examination results for the grade 12 learners are also not very good
because the national pass percentage has not yet reached 80%. This indicates
that there is a need to improve the quality of teaching and learning in schools to
improve the pass rate.
Another worrying factor is that according to my own observation, it seems as if
the performance measurement process is misused by many biased assessors to
the unfair benefit of certain individual educators. This means that the
performance measurement of the educator doesn‟t match with the classroom
outcomes or real learner performance.
Educators have been appraised around the world and quantitative studies have
been undertaken to confirm the relationship between quality management in
appraisal processes and the actual product that those educators produce. There
is hardly a comparable relationship between the input process and the output. It
was discovered that there is no direct relationship between the high percentages
educators get in evaluation processes and the percentages learners get at the
end of their assessment processes (Bown and Harvey (2001:159). This means
that some educators are ranked highly during their evaluation processes
whereas, unfortunately, their learners do not obtain the same high percentages in
their assessment.
It should be noted that educators are called professionals in their teaching job,
but that they are mostly evaluated through a single class visit as part of IQMS
implementation. This is done to collect data which „is needed by the Department
to grade salaries of educators‟. The researcher wants to further explore whether
4
this one class visit or even two class visits are enough for the identification of
areas for the developmental process of this professional.
Chauke (2001) argues that the Department is often using people who have little
knowledge of the appraisal process to manage the system which means the
process will always be done as a matter of formality.
This makes the importance of appraisal, which is development, to be
compromised by the money that is attached to the process (Chauke, 2001: 6).
Educators therefore formalize the submission of documentation so as to enable
the system to grade salaries. It becomes more of a need for money than a need
for professional development.
The research is worth doing because I believe that through the correct
implementation of the IQMS educator professional development will take place
which will have a positive influence on the quality of teaching and learning.
1.3
THE PROBLEM STATEMENT
In the light of the above-mentioned reasoning about the effects of the IQMS on
staff development and the quality of teaching and learning, the researcher is
particularly interested to establish whether the implementation of the Integrated
Quality Management System has brought about any significant positive change
to the professional development and work performance of the teaching staff.
The study is thus concerned with educators‟ experiences and perceptions of the
implementation of the Integrated Quality Management System and its effect on
educator professional development in schools.
5
The problem statement revolves around the following critical questions. The
questions will help the researcher to understand better what is involved in staff
appraisal practices in schools:
How are staff appraisal and development practices applied in schools on
international level?
How are staff appraisal and development practices applied in schools in
South Africa?
What are the experiences and perceptions of educators of the
implementation of the Integrated Quality Management System in South
African schools and the implication thereof for the professional
development of the teaching staff?
1.4
THE AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1.4.1 Aim
Considering the problem formulated in the previous paragraph, the aim of this
research is to explore the perceptions and experiences of educators of the
implementation of the Integrated Quality Management System in South African
Schools and the implications of IQMS for the development of teaching staff.
1.4.2 Objectives
The objectives of this research are as follows:
To determine how the staff appraisal processes are applied in schools on
an international level
To determine how the staff appraisal process is applied in South African
Schools and how this compares with appraisal processes in other
countries internationally
6
To explore the perceptions and experiences of educators about the
implementation of the Integrated Quality Management System in South
African Schools and the implication thereof for the professional
development of the teaching staff
1.5
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The researcher does not plan to change anything in the implementation of IQMS,
but only to explore the process by documenting the experiences of educators
who are implementing it.
The findings generated from this study could be significant and useful to add to
the already existing knowledge concerning staff appraisal processes in South
African schools. The findings could be useful in the following areas:
The research results may be used by Teacher Unions and provincial
departments to change the attitude of all role players regarding the
implementation of IQMS.
An important objective of the study is also to assist educators to realize
the importance of the appraisal process and to utilize the appraisal
process for their professional development. This will benefit the staff in
such a way that they become more competent.
1.6
THE RESEARCH DEMARCATION
The research will be conducted in Secondary Schools in Limpopo Province. The
investigation will be restricted to public schools under the jurisdiction of the
Limpopo Department of Education, which will often be referred to as LPDE in this
study. The research will further be limited to the schools under the X Circuit of
the Greater Sekhukhune District. Only educators who completed more than one
cycle of the IQMS process will be utilized in the study because they have the
7
experience needed for this study. One complete cycle of IQMS implementation
involves appraisal, development and measurement.
This demarcation is important as it allows the researcher to collect the relevant
information from educators who are involved in the process of IQMS and who
have the knowledge and experience needed. The demarcation is therefore:
appropriate because most of the data collected will be rich and to the point;
accessible because the researcher will not have to travel long distances to
reach the participants, which may result in fatigue that may affect the process;
ethically acceptable because the researcher is known to the principals and
will not have problems to get access or permission to visit the schools
(Goodwin and Goodwin, 1996:116 – 117).
The researcher will be interacting with educators, who may be visited in their
homes if they feel comfortable to participate under such conditions.
1.7
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
Research design refers to a plan for selecting subjects, research sites and data
collection procedures to answer the research questions. This will only serve to
introduce the research design to be used in the study. In Chapter 4, the research
design and methodology will be discussed in detail.
1.7.1 Research methodology
The different methods of data collection which will be employed to gather
relevant information for the study are:
Literature review
Qualitative research
8
The literature review is important as Leedy and Ormrod (2005:64), point out that
„it can offer new ideas, perspectives and approaches that may not have occurred
to you…and can inform you about other researchers who conduct work in your
area… and can reveal sources of data that you may not have known existed‟.
McMillan and Schumacher, (2000:108) caution researchers that the literature
review should be conducted carefully and presented well because „it makes
things easier to build a body of accepted knowledge on any topic‟.
The researcher wants to determine through the literature review how staff
appraisal processes are applied in schools in different countries of the world and
how these compare with the South African model. The researcher will use the
qualitative research methodology to conduct the study. This methodology will go
hand-in-hand with the literature review which will help the researcher to collect
enough information to assist in getting answers to the posed research questions.
Qualitative research studies are used to describe or to reveal the nature of
certain situations; interpret and gain new insights into phenomenon and develop
new concepts or discover the existing problems; verify to test the validity of
certain claims or assumptions or to evaluate and judge the effectiveness of
particular policies or practices (Peshkin, 1998:95).
Denzin and Lincoln (1994:2) define qualitative research as a multi-method of
enquiry involving an interpretive, naturalistic approach to its subject matter
whereby phenomena are explained in their natural setting.
The qualitative approach will be helpful in the collection of data; hence data will
be more appropriate if collected in their natural setting. Educators will describe
9
their life experiences regarding the IQMS implementation process and what the
implications of the IQMS are for the professional development of teaching staff.
1.7.2. Population and sampling techniques
The sample should be so carefully chosen, that through it the researcher will be
able to see all the characteristics of the total population in the same relationship
that they would be seen were the researcher, in fact, to examine the total
population‟ (Leedy and Ormrod, 2005:199).
Sampling allows the researcher to study a portion of the population rather than
the entire population and that saves time and money.
As indicated above, the whole sampling process will be purposive because only
secondary schools within the X Circuit of Greater Sekhukhune District will be
selected and only educators who have completed a cycle or cycles of IQMS will
be asked to participate in the study. Convenience sampling will then follow to
cover those educators who will be readily available and who have agreed and
consented to participate.
The circuit is formed by four secondary schools. All four secondary schools will
be considered. This forms my research framework. That means I will ask
permission in these four schools and will then concentrate on only three of them
depending on the manner in which I am accepted. I plan to make a presentation
in all the four schools about the aim of my research and the type of participants I
would like to get data from. I will use random sampling to get three educators
from each school. Among the three educators I hope to find one member of the
Staff Development Team (SDT). This means that the whole sample will be
formed by twelve educators from the four schools if all the schools allow me to
utilize their teaching staff as participants.
10
1.7.3 Data collection methods
De Vos regards data collection as a procedure that requires a well planned
investigation which has specific techniques, measuring instruments and a series
of activities (De Vos, 1998:100).
1.7.3.1 Narrative interviews
Pre-narrative interviews with participants
The first contact will be a short informal interview to inform the participants about
the purpose of the intended research and to get their willing participation. This
initial activity will also serve to explain to them the templates that will serve as a
guideline to write down their experiences and perceptions about IQMS.
Educators who agree to participate will be asked to fill in narrative frames
prepared by the researcher. The narrative frames have sentence starters which
will guide them as to what type of information to supply. Their experiences and
perceptions about the implementation of IQMS in their schools are very important
for the study.
1.7.3.2 Narrative frames
According to Nieuwenhuis (2007:102-103) the word “narrative” is associated with
terms such as “tale”, or “story” – especially a story told in the first person.
The researcher will utilize the narrative frames to collect data from the
participants. This is because „narrative frames‟ are used to provide a skeleton to
scaffold writing and consist of a template of sentence starters, connectives and
sentence modifiers which give participants structure within which they can
concentrate on communicating what they want to say whilst scaffolding them in
the use of a particular generic form‟ (Wray and Lewis, 1997:122; Warwick and
Maloch, 2003:59; Barkhuizen and Wette, 2008: 375-377).
11
1.7.3.3 Open-ended questions
The principals of the four secondary schools will be given open-ended questions
to answer. The questions concentrate on the staff development programmes that
each school has or uses for QMS implementation.
1.7.3.4 The follow-up or post-narrative interview
The researcher will also use interviews where necessary to collect data from the
participants. Pavlenko, (2002:216) regards interviews as „entering another
person‟s world and their perspectives but remaining alert to its configurations at
the same time‟.
These follow-up interviews will only be used to probe where necessary to get
explanations of some of the things which were indicated in the narrative frames
and need to be clarified for further information. In unstructured interviews, issues
and topics to be discussed are left entirely to the interviewee. It is suitable
particularly in an unfamiliar area where it is difficult to compile an interview
schedule (Welman and Kruger 2005:166-167).
The methodology to be used may be summarized in the following table:
12
OBJECTIVE
METHODOLOGY
RESOURCES
Determine the staff appraisal
strategies used in schools on an
international level.
Literature Review
Determine the staff appraisal
strategies used in schools in
South Africa.
Literature Review
Determine the perceptions and
experiences of educators
towards the implementation of
the staff appraisal system
(IQMS) in South African schools
Narrative
Research
Initial interviews
Narrative Frames
Follow-up
narrative
interviews
Open-ended
questionnaire for
principals
International research
literature about staff
appraisal and staff
development strategies
Relevant South African
Policies and Legislation.
Literature about the
implementation of IQMS
in South African schools
Literature about
narrative research and
data analysis
Table 1.1: (Research methodology and resources)
1.7.4 Data analysis strategies
Narrative research is often compared metaphorically to sewing and knitting,
where working on the stories collected from the participants is like piecing
together fragments of the fabric of conversations and then sewing the ideas
together. They further indicate that narrative researchers use techniques almost
like „weaving together the threads of different stories‟ (Cotterill and Letherby,
1993:70).
All the data collected from the educators in their schools will be regarded as truly
from individual educators. Data will consist of completed narrative frames and
questionnaires from the principals and other participating educators.
13
Creswell et al (2007) indicate that “the stories from the individual participants
should be considered and be “restored” into chronological presentation and then
analyzing them for key elements and then rewriting them”.
I will adopt the three-dimensional narrative-enquiry by Clandinin & Connelly
(2000) in the analysis of these data, which has first the interaction (between the
participant and other role players in IQMS), secondly the continuity (the process
as it unfolded through the time) and thirdly the situation (how things are in the
eyes of the participant). This may almost be shaped like an analysis of a novel by
considering “its plot” according to Creswell et al, (2007:117).
1.7.5 Ethical consideration
It is true that all research activities should consider the right to privacy and
confidentiality of the participants used in the research.
Leedy and Ormrod, (2005:101) explain that „most ethical issues in research
involve protection from harm, informed consent, right to privacy and honesty with
professional colleagues‟. It is further indicated by Leedy and Ormrod (2005:115)
that „any researcher who plans to work with human subjects must get approval …
and such approvals are usually secured through the submission of a research
proposal to a governor of those people‟.
There are a number of things which should be taken into consideration before,
during and after the study. The participants will be made aware that they are not
compelled to participate in the study. I will first ask for volunteers to participate,
asking them to sign consent forms in which their confidentiality is guaranteed.
Those who choose to participate will also be given assurance that their views will
be treated with the strictest confidentiality to make them free to reveal the
14
challenges they experience. It will be indicated that their views will in no way be
sent to the Department of Education for possible victimization or for any negative
effect. The consent form will also indicate that participants are free to withdraw
their participation at any stage should they feel it necessary. Participants will also
be assured that they will get the final report compiled with their paragraphs
should they so wish.
1.7.6 Limitations
The researcher might be unknown to most of the educators with whom the
participation process will be done. This limitation will be minimized by getting a
gate-keeper of senior teachers who might have met the researcher in
departmental meetings.
The fact that only four schools will be used in the study is also a limitation
because there are a great number of schools in South Africa. IQMS is also
implemented in primary schools and only secondary schools will be used in the
study.
1.8
THE STRUCTURE OF THE RESEARCH
The aims of the research will be achieved as follows:
CHAPTER 1
This is the opening chapter of the research. It is the orientation chapter and is
made up of the introduction; the rationale of the study; the problem statement;
the aims and objectives of the study; the significance of the study; the research
demarcation; research design and methodology; population and sampling; data
collection; data analysis; ethical considerations and the limitations of the study.
15
CHAPTER 2
This chapter consists of the literature review. It considers the staff appraisal
strategies applied in schools on an international level.
CHAPTER 3
The data in this chapter is the type or types of staff appraisal strategies that are
applied in South African schools. It covers the background and explanation of the
strategies, including the implementation thereof.
CHAPTER 4
The research design and methodology is covered in detail in this chapter. The
methodology covers the type of design; the collection of data and how the data is
analysed; the validity of the data and how the ethical issues are handled. The
limitations of the study are also explained.
CHAPTER 5
This chapter covers the empirical study, which includes the data analysis and
research findings. Different diagrams and tables are used to bring more insight
into the interpretation of the data.
CHAPTER 6
This is the last chapter and it covers the conclusion and recommendations. The
future aspects for further research are also indicated. The last section, which is
not necessarily a chapter, will be the appendices which carry the relevant
documentation regarding the study.
1.9
CONCLUSION
Information about the study has been revealed in the above paragraphs. The
rationale, problem statement, purpose, significance and demarcation of the study
16
were explained. The research design and methodology that will be used in the
study were also revealed. Lastly, the structure of the coming chapters was also
explained.
The next chapter, which is Chapter two, will focus on the first part of the literature
review. The chapter will focus on how staff appraisal and development practices
are applied in schools on an international level.
17
CHAPTER 2
How staff appraisal and development practices are applied in
schools on an international level
2.1
INTRODUTION
This chapter looks into staff appraisal as applied in countries around the world.
Staff appraisal is increasingly viewed as a critical process in schools for
developing the competency of teachers and also the quality of education
(Stiggins and Bridgeford, 1985:88, Wright, et al., 1997:62). The appraisal can
have a significant impact on the attitudes and behaviour of staff, which in turn
affect their performance and the learning outcomes of learners. However, the
teacher appraisal process is problematic and has been criticized as ineffective for
improving the instructional quality of teachers (Danielson and McGreal,
2000:114; Frase and Streshly, 1994:48; Castetter, 1992:62; Lavely, et al.,
1992:161).
Previous studies of teacher responses towards human resources management
policies discovered that some schools focus mainly on appraising and evaluating
teachers (Gratton, 2004:295; Gunter, 2002:69) while others focus mainly on
developing teachers (Mayer, Mitchel and Macdonald, 2005:162; Dymoke and
Harrison, 2006:78). There is evidence in the literature that teacher appraisal,
evaluation and development are important for an organisation provided that the
employees of that organisation are loyal to the organisation (Fiorito, Bozeman,
Young and Meurs, 2007:205).
18
Teacher professional development is essential to bring about improvement in the
schools. It affects teacher growth, variations in instructional techniques and
improvements (Joyce and Showers, 1995:88). There is evidence in the literature
that the exposure of teachers to processes for development improves classroom
practices (Fullan and Stiegelbauer, 1991:114; Loucks-Horsely, Hewson, Love,
and Stiles, 1998:102).
It is also pointed out by Gottesman (2000:42) and Hertzog (2002:31) that
teachers should then engage in developmental processes through coaching and
mentoring for improvement to be evident. This developmental mentoring involves
developing teaching expertise, fostering relationships between colleagues and
responding to learning needs.
The changes in classroom practices demanded by the reform visions for learner
achievement ultimately rely on teachers and this will require a great deal of
learning and development on the part of teachers. This will be difficult to make
without support and guidance from the authorities (Showers, 1985:45; Fullan and
Stiegelbauer, 1991:120; Pieronek, 2001:524; Glazer and Hannafin, 2006:182).
This chapter will look into the staff appraisal processes as applied in schools on
an international level. Further emphasis will be placed on teacher appraisal as
applied by different countries. Staff appraisal processes in schools in those
countries will be summarized by taking the important similar elements while the
differences and their significances will not be left unattended.
The researcher is interested in what works well for a particular country according
to the literature and the work of researchers in the staff appraisal processes of
that country.
19
2.2
INTERNATIONAL STAFF APPRAISAL PROCESSES IN
SCHOOLS
Every country would like to see its education staff effective and productive for the
benefit of their education system all the beneficiaries of that education system.
There is preliminary evidence that the value-added measures that are applied in
staff appraisals worldwide are connected to specific teacher practices, indicating
that growth in student test scores may be connected to differentiated teaching
practices, rather than to aspect of teacher personality. Different teachers have
different effects on their learners and it is reasonable to suggest that an
evaluation system can identify which teachers should be targeted for professional
development, dismissal or other programs such as leadership development
(Tyler, Taylor, Kane and Wooten, 2009).
The above statement is critical for all the appraisal systems in terms of the
purposes of the system and the real results of the implementation of the system.
Staff appraisal processes as applied in schools in countries on the international
level will be discussed in this chapter. The discussion will use the four pillars, of
which are: the founding principles of the appraisal process; the method of the
appraisal process; the significance of the appraisal process; and the critical view
of the appraisal process.
2.2.1 England
2.2.1.1 Fundamental principles of the appraisal process
The method of staff appraisal is generally called Performance Management and
the appraisal process is built into it (DfES, 2003:3). Performance management is
applied in all state maintained schools. It was passed as Statutory Instrument
2001, No. 2855, known as “Education (School Teacher Appraisal) (England)
Regulations 2001”. This is available at:
www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/si/si2001/20012855.htm
20
There is a support guide (Performance Management 2003 – Support materials
for Governors and Head Teachers (0533/2003) which explain all the duties of
Governors and Head Teachers during the Performance Management (PM).
It is clear in the support guide that the aim of Performance Management is
“a real opportunity to unite the governing body and the whole school
workforce in their primary task – securing high standards of education for
all their pupils. It sets a framework to achieve school improvement and
ensure well-trained, well-motivated staff who feel valued and who
reflect on their own practice and how it can be developed and improved”
(DfES, 2003:3).
There is a great element of democracy in this instrument as it makes mention of
fairness and consistency in terms of the judgement that the school needs to
make essential so as „to ensure that its staff have equality of opportunity to
achieve their full potential and are not discriminated against when agreeing on
objectives and assessing performance‟ (DfES, 2003:5).
The appraisal process is not only aimed at improving the performance of the
learners but also the professional practice of teachers.
2.2.1.2 Method of the appraisal process
The governing body of the school is responsible for the general performance of
the school and has the following key roles to play:
help to shape the vision and direction of the school;
ensure that the school fulfils its statutory duties (teaching and learning);
check and understand the strengths and weaknesses of the school;
21
challenge and support the senior management team of the school (DfES,
2003:5)
It should be noted that „appraisal‟ is the term used in Education (School Teacher
Appraisal) (England) Regulations 2001, but in practice this term is often replaced
by Performance Review (PR). The performance review process is thus referred
to as the Performance Review Meeting.
The Performance Review Cycle involves the following members:
governors
external adviser
head teachers
team leader
teachers
review officer
pay committee
The school‟s staff is appraised by using the objectives which are set beforehand
for individuals to achieve. The performance review is done by checking the
performance of the individual against the set objectives.
The appraisal process in England is often referred to as management-byobjectives in the literature (Prowse and Prowse, 2009:69).
Governors
The governing body of the school ensures that there is a PM policy in the school
which should be reviewed annually. The governing body should also decide
which governors, will carry out the appraisal process of the head teacher; select
22
an external advisor if there is no governor with the expected expertise; appoint
the review officer and then be ready to receive the written report from the head
teacher on the school‟s whole performance management process. The governing
body appoints two or three governors to be the appraisers for the head teacher.
An external adviser is also appointed by the governing body in order to assist
with the appraisal process. The objectives for the appraisal process of the head
teacher should be agreed upon before the 31 st of December each year for the
year ahead. The governors should then ensure that the objectives are agreed
upon before the end of the year to avoid misunderstandings that might be
encountered during the appraisal process.
Each staff member receives between three and six objectives for each appraisal
cycle. Teacher objectives cover pupil progress and ways of developing
teachers’ professional practice. The head teacher‟s objectives cover school
leadership and management as well as general pupil progress (DfES, 2003:11).
External adviser
The external advisor is appointed by the governing body to join the appraising
team for the head teacher. He/she is an accredited expert who must give advice
and support the governing body in the appraisal process of the head teacher.
According to the plan of the state, each school is entitled to an adviser for a
single day during the Performance Review Cycle.
Head Teacher
The head teacher is the head of the school. He is responsible for the
performance review of the teachers who are serving under his/her management.
He/she should therefore, with the help of the governing body, draw up a plan of
how the Performance Review Cycle will unfold and also discuss and agree on
the objectives of each teacher before the start of the cycle.
23
The head teacher is the first to be appraised by the governors assisted by the
external adviser and an appraisal report is prepared covering the overall
performance of the head teacher. The head teacher has a duty to submit a
written report each year about the operation of the teachers‟ appraisal process at
the school. The report should consist of the effectiveness of the process and
some indication of the training and development needs that the teachers had and
what the school did to address.
The strengths and weaknesses of the school should also form part of the report
that the head teacher submits to the governing body. These should be prepared
in a plan called the School Improvement Plan (SIP). The SIP is the strategic plan
setting out the objectives to improve the school‟s provision and performance. The
head teacher uses the problems and needs of the teachers and learners to draw
up the School Improvement Plan.
The head teacher is directly responsible for the appraisal of the teachers‟ team
leaders and indirectly responsible for that of the teachers as they are under the
team leaders.
Team leader
The teaching staff is organized under team leaders. A team leader is the person,
whose responsibility is to carry out the performance review of the teachers
assigned to him/her. Each team leader will ensure that the objectives of each
teacher are discussed and agreed upon and will give these teachers feedback on
their progress or state of progressing.
Teachers
Each teacher receives his/her objectives. These objectives are discussed and
agreed upon before the appraisal process can start. As indicated above, the
objectives of a teacher must cover the progress of his/her pupils and ways of
developing his/her professional practice. This simply means that the teacher
24
should strive for a good performance of his/her pupils and also for improvement
in professional practice.
During appraisal (reviewing of the performance against the objectives or the
Performance Review Meeting) the performance of the teacher is recorded on the
Performance Review Report in order to draw what is known as a “Review
Statement” of that teacher.
There is room for complaints and appeals for any questionable review statement
of a teacher or that of a head teacher so that at the end everyone is given a fair
chance and the review process is open and transparent, free from victimization.
Review officer
A review officer is also identified and appointed for the Performance Review
Cycle. The person should respond to complaints and appeals regarding the
process. The chairperson of the governing body (called the chair of governors)
will attend to the complaints from a head teacher if he/she was not involved in the
performance review of that head teacher. This chair of governors will also attend
to the complaints of a teacher if the appraiser was the head teacher.
Normally the head teacher becomes the review officer of the teachers‟
complaints if they were appraised by the team leaders. Complaints should be
received within 10 working days after the review meeting was concluded and
before the review statement is handed over to the pay committee. The review
officer may order the appraisal statement to stand as it is, amend the appraisal
statement or strike the appraisal statement and order a new appraisal process. If
a new appraisal process is ordered, new appraisers are appointed. This may
involve appraisers from another school (DfES, 2003:44).
25
Pay committee
After the completion of the Performance Review Cycle, the review statement of
each staff member is handed over to the pay committee, usually after the lapse
of 10 days to give room for complaints to be registered and addressed.
The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) recommends in its policy that:
“Governing bodies or those to whom they delegate to deal with pay,
should decide whether to award performance pay in the light of the review
of performance against previously agreed objectives covering school
leadership and management and pupil progress. The governing body can
award a further pay point to leadership group members only if the review
shows that there has been a sustained high quality of overall
performance” (DfEE, 2000:8).
The pay committee recommends to the state the individuals who qualify for the
performance awards according to their performance.
2.2.1.3 The purpose of the appraisal process
The staff appraisal process in England is aimed at the following key issues:
to identify, prioritise and improve the staff‟s professional performance;
to ensure that the resources of the school are directed towards the
priorities;
to provide high quality well trained staff who will promote school
improvement;
26
to evaluate the work of the staff and reward them accordingly in a fair,
transparent way (DfES, 2003:5).
The staff appraisal process is not only aimed at checking the performance of the
education staff but also to reward their performance. The performance related
element of the head teacher‟s pay is represented by a movement of zero, one or
two points up their pay scale. There is also a performance related element in the
teachers‟ pay. There are two pay scales for teachers.
There is a lower scale (lower pay spine) for less experienced teachers and a
higher scale for those who have been judged to have proven themselves
sufficiently competent. A teacher who has fewer than five years teaching
experience has to supply evidence to their head teacher that they have achieved
some acceptable standards in a variety of areas ranging from their subject
knowledge, teaching and assessment, pupils‟ progress, wider professional
effectiveness and professional characteristics.
Teachers on the lower pay spine can continue to receive an annual increment if
they are performing satisfactorily. Double increments are awarded for exceptional
performance that is justified by performance review outcomes (DfES, 2003:9-13).
2.2.1.4 Critical view of the appraisal process
Williams (2002:221) has noted that there are tensions and conflicts between the
various purposes of the Performance Management. The term Performance
Management was confusing because the previous regulations called it appraisal
and teachers understood it to involve a holistic process including teacher
development. The present Performance Management process has moved from
an emphasis on teacher development to an emphasis on pay and has lost the
teacher‟s personal development side with the pay element taking over. That
27
means pay and pupil progress seem to be the driving forces and no longer
teacher development.
The performance management training received by head teachers happened to
be unsatisfactory. According to the research by Brown (2005:473) head teachers
who participated in the study used adjectives like “inadequate” or “ineffective” or
“shambolic” or “shocking” and they were all concluding that “the trainers hadn‟t
received proper training on performance management themselves”.
There is no indication in the policy about the training of the appraisers, which
means teachers, head teachers and governors interpret the policy and start
implementing it.
Karsten, Visscher and De Jong (2001:6) indicate that the Performance
Management puts unnecessary pressure on the teachers because of the
emphasis on pupil progress. This makes the teachers spend more time training
pupils on examination techniques and not enough time on the curriculum.
Teachers focus on preparing their pupils to achieve high percentages in their
assessment tasks so that they can receive a better performance-related pay and
move up on the pay spine.
Wragg, Hayness, Chamberlin and Wragg (2003:12) indicate that there is no
appropriateness in the performance-related pay given to teachers. Teachers on
the lower pay spine are allowed to progress with a zero, one or two points, but
studies indicate that a high percentage of teachers have progressed by only one
on the pay spine. Some head teachers were allowing their teachers to move
rapidly on the pay spine because of reasons such as “we want to retain them”;
“we believe that teachers are being underpaid and therefore deserve a pay rise”;
“sometimes there is a desire to avoid conflicts”, “retiring head teachers have to
28
thank their teachers‟ loyalty and hard work that way”; and “sometimes you are
forced by union intervention or you don‟t have to de-motivate your teachers by
tampering with their pay rise processes”
It should be concluded here that England has a staff appraisal process in schools
which is applied in all state maintained schools as a national policy. It should also
be noted that there are advantages and disadvantages of this process as noted
in the critical view through the work of the researchers.
2.2.2 Hong Kong
2.2.2.1 Fundamental principles of the appraisal process
The appraisal practice in Hong Kong is called Teacher Performance
Management (TPM) and it is interesting to note the following definition of the
Teacher Performance Management, as it appears in the Teacher Performance
Management manual of the Department of Education and Manpower Bureau
(DEB) of Hong Kong:
“…a continuous process for identifying, evaluating and developing the
work performance of teachers, so that the goals and objectives of the
school are more effectively achieved while at the same time benefiting
teachers in terms of recognition of performance, professional development
and career guidance (EMB, 2003:1).
Legge (2005:121) defines the Teacher Performance Management of Hong Kong
as „the practices related to selecting, developing, rewarding and directing
employees in such a way that the employing organization can achieve its goals.
The appraisal process of Hong Kong rests on the following three pillars:
29
Accountability (generation of proper records of performance)
Staff motivation (recognition of achievements)
Professional Development (provision of guidance) (EMB, 2003:3).
Some democratic values are being practiced here because the Department of
Education gives the school permission to decide on the model (among the given
models) of appraisal which they wish to practise in their schools. They may also
decide on whether their appraisal cycle is a one year period or stretches to a twoyear cycle. There are different models, such as the „Accountability Model‟ and the
„Professional Development Model‟.
The teachers should be given opportunity to discuss and agree on the type of
model they will use and agree on the implementation beforehand (EMB, 2003:5).
Once they have agreed, the appraisal process can be started after a plan for the
whole cycle has been put in place.
2.2.2.2 Method of the appraisal process
The teachers (appraisers and appraisees) should first discuss and agree on the
model they will be using in the appraisal cycle. The „Accountability Model‟
focuses on accountability and summative function and assists in the decisionmaking of personnel matters like recommendations for promotion, allocation of
duties and management of underachieving teachers.
Teachers should agree on areas of appraisal beforehand so that they are
evaluated on performance responsibilities that they are aware of. There should
also be concrete performance indicators which are clearly defined and the
objective should be accepted by the teacher to be appraised (EMB, 2003:6-7).
The Performance Management Cycle involves the following members:
30
For Primary Schools (from bottom to top positions)
Certificated Master or Mistress called CM (ordinary teacher)
Assistant Master or Mistress (AM) (senior teacher)
Deputy Headmaster or Mistress (DHM) (deputy head teacher)
Head teacher or principal
For Secondary Schools (from bottom to top positions)
Graduate Master or Mistress (GM)
Senior Graduate Master or Mistress (SGM)
Principal Graduate Master or Mistress (PGM) or principal
There are seven steps in the appraisal cycle. The steps should be followed
systematically and a full report should be generated and kept for reference and
for the decision (recommendation for promotion or for professional development)
and monitoring of the professional development that might be deemed necessary
after teachers are evaluated.
Step 1: Decision on Appraisal Cycle
The teachers decide on the length of their appraisal cycle, to be one year or two
years. Newly appointed teachers are appraised differently from experienced
teachers. They are appraised after being exposed to an induction process which
includes explanation of the performance management.
The experienced ones are appraised over either a full one year or two year
period in which there is formative appraisal and summative appraisal, depending
on the model chosen by the school. After the decision is taken, the cycle moves
to the next step.
31
In their discussion, the teachers should agree on the type of model they want to
follow in their appraisal process, whether it is the Accountability Model or the
Professional Development model or a mixture of both models according to the
goals and objectives they wish to accomplish.
Step 2: Selection and training of appraisers
If the school has chosen accountability as the focus of their appraisal, it is
recommended that the appraisers should be those of higher rank to the
appraisees. If the focus and objective of the appraisal process is on teaching, the
appraisers should be subject heads or senior teachers who have expertise in the
subjects concerned. Should the focus be on special duties, then appraisers
should be the leaders in the fields where teachers will be appraised. In this case
it is not necessary for the appraiser to be of a higher rank.
The school might choose to improve their level of teaching, for example. Such a
school is allowed to pair with the neighbouring school which is performing well in
that area so that teachers observe each other‟s lessons and evaluations are
done by the teachers of the two schools. Models may also be intertwined and
mixed in one school to achieve a certain objective (EMB, 2003:5).
It is important to note that all those who will be appraising teachers are then
taken for training to run the appraisal cycle in a smooth manner.
Step 3: Agree on areas or criteria of appraisal
An appraisal area is the chosen concern of the school. The area means the
section of teaching which the school wishes to evaluate and improve its
performance in. The criteria for evaluating that area will the performance
indicators. The areas of focus might be, for example:
32
teaching and related fields;
non-teaching duties;
professional and personal competence
The chosen areas of concern in a school are tabled and agreed upon as areas
which need attention or development. Teachers should agree on those areas and
the kind of expected performance, as indicated on the performance indicators to
be used during the appraisal. If the school is not good at reading, for example,
then reading should be made an area of concern so that during formative
evaluation, the school can get the level of its competence and how far the level
should be developed.
The criteria for appraisal should always be clearly defined, together with the
required standard, and agreed upon between the appraiser and the appraisee.
The core performance indicators are general for all the teachers, after which the
specific indicators for particular higher ranks follow.
The Department of Education encourages schools to use the performance
indicators as adopted from the Quality Assurance Inspections for their appraisal.
The Department also gets forms from performing schools and then loads them
on the website of the department so that other schools can access, copy and
apply in their schools to improve performance.
Step 4: The Appraisal process
This is the process of collecting the performance data and the interview of the
teaching staff to evaluate performance.
The process starts with self appraisal, where individual teachers reflect on their
own performance and indicate outcomes and needs. This information gives the
appraisers background of the teacher before the evaluation process.
33
This is followed by lesson observation which is meant to observe the process of
teaching and learning in the classroom situation. In this part of the appraisal the
appraiser and appraisee compile a report by discussing objectives, schemes of
work and lesson plans before evaluation. The report should not be personal but
related to the job. It is encouraged, for good performance, that teachers should
move ahead and apply other teaching methods and materials and not only to
stick to the ones specified.
The preparation material will also be scrutinized.
Rank scores are used if the focus is accountability, but descriptive remarks are
used if the focus is on professional development (EMB, 2003:11).
Step 5: Compiling an Appraisal Report
The whole performance of the teacher is recorded in a report that should contain
all the information about the appraisee, including qualifications; years of
experience; areas of appraisal; records of lesson observation and interviews.
The appraiser should also define areas of good performance and areas for
improvement or development. The information in this report should be used to
inform the school management to draw up a plan for training activities. The
Department enforces schools to regard the information about appraisal reports
on teacher‟s performance and competence as confidential, personal and
sensitive. This means that the information in the appraisal report of an individual
may not be disclosed to other people except those who will be involved in the
development of that teacher or for rewarding the teacher accordingly.
34
Step 6: Complaints Procedure
Teachers who wish to lodge complaints about the Performance Appraisal
process are allowed to do so within four weeks after the completion of the
appraisal. The Education and Manpower Bureau has given those rights to those
who feel that their appraisal processes were not handled fairly to their
satisfaction. Formal procedures are established to deal with complaints and an
official is always put in place to deal with such. If there are no complaints after
four weeks, the report is taken as the real reflection of the appraisal cycle on
which the school can base their plans.
Step 7: Follow-up phase (Staff development)
The appraisal report of each individual teacher informs the school about the
training activities that teachers have to engage in for the improvement or
development of areas identified during the appraisal interview. It is the
responsibility of individual schools to develop policies on teacher professional
development.
This follow-up phase is an important part of the Performance Management and is
used to correct the items which cause underperformance of teachers or those
whose performance is regarded as below the required standards and
unsatisfactory.
The school intervenes immediately to assist such teachers by providing them
with assistance and guidance. There should be a record of this review process
and follow-up inspections on the work should follow to improve effectiveness.
2.2.2.3 The purpose of the appraisal process
Performance appraisal in Hong Kong has three main aims which are:
to promote teacher professional development;
35
to assist the underperforming teachers; and
to link the performance reviews with rewards or disciplinary procedures.
(EMB, 2003:13)
The last phase of the appraisal process indicates that activities are put in place to
promote teacher professional development in the identified areas and also that
underperforming teachers are assisted and inspected for improvement. If the
underperformer does not improve after a reasonable time to deal with the weak
performance, his annual increment may be withheld while disciplinary procedures
are followed to terminate his services (dismissal).
To put the process of development in more practical terms and emphasis, the
School Management Initiative that was established in 1991 ensures that all
schools are obliged to put aside three days every year for teacher professional
development. This programme is effective since all teachers are obliged to attend
it and most of them have internalized professional development that they even
continue without being pushed by the programme (EMB, 2003:13).
Rewards for excellent performance are in the form of staff promotion, as all
serving teachers get annual increments on their salaries.
2.2.2.4 Critical view of the appraisal process
The teacher appraisal in Hong Kong generally shows some form of effectiveness
as one follows the steps used in appraising teachers. It is noted that programmes
are immediately developed to correct any weaknesses noticed in individual
teachers.
Ho, (2009) discovered the following about the secondary school teachers in
Hong Kong with regards to their appraisal process:
36
„Teachers were wary of appraisal that failed to contextualise their work.
Staff appraisal focused on teaching behaviour rather than integrating with
the contextual factors at classroom level. Appraisals arouse anxiety and
hostility when such judgments are closely tied to employment status in the
current situation. Teachers were not equipped with self-evaluation tools
and were not confident to accept external evaluation‟ (Ho, 2009:223).
Flores and Day (2006) maintain that schools in Hong Kong had generally
established good practices of inducting and orientating new teachers as part of
their professional development and capacity building. This indicates that teachers
do not spend a long time being “new”. They are well accommodated and when
they are appraised or evaluated they just move with the process like other
teachers. These new teachers were also happy that they were given
opportunities to try even new initiatives themselves.
Most schools have adopted the recommendation by Smethem (2007) who
maintains that new teachers should be prevented from leaving the teaching
profession very soon after they enter it by orientating them very well so that they
can themselves adapt to the culture of the environment without any pressure
(Smethem, 2007:471).
A study undertaken by Kwan (2009), who wanted to investigate whether the
teacher appraisal practice in Hong Kong is really beneficial to its beneficiaries,
discovered that beginning teachers do not have a problem with the way the staff
appraisal is practiced in schools because the structure of these schools is
explained to them as part of their induction.
It is also indicated that most
teachers have shown that training and development practices in their schools
were in fairly good shape and that they lead their schools to improvement (Kwan,
2009:379).
37
The research that was conducted by the Education Bureau discovered that the
School Management Initiative (SMI) of Hong Kong is effective because it was
discovered that 82% of the teachers in Hong Kong have pursued some kind of
continuous professional development (CPD) through the activities of the
programme (Education and Manpower Bureau, 2003).
Kwan indicates further that they discovered a mixture of feelings among the
teachers. Some indicated that new teachers were pressurized by the academic
level of their colleagues who have been exposed to the continuous professional
development programmes and so have to work hard to try and join them. This
was regarded as good competition (Kwan, 2009:382).
Kwan and Walker (2009) discovered something strange about the management
and governance of the schools in Hong Kong while we think that there is
democracy in totality. Studies have shown that schools tend to employ teachers
of the same religion because the school governing bodies appear to favour a
teacher belonging to their religious denomination because they think that people
who have the same religious affiliation can better help to nurture the moral of
development and can easily develop one another than the other way round
(Kwan and Walker, 2009:55).
They wish to keep teachers of the same religious affiliation together for the
purposes of development and hope that individuals will not hesitate to assist an
incompetent teacher to improve his standard.
In this appraisal system leadership is the most popular area and research has
revealed that the focus is mostly on the behaviour of educational leaders.
Research also indicates that the authorities generally assume that if the school
38
has a group of well-performing teachers, there should obviously be an influence
of a well-performing leader. The truth is that some groups of teachers are just
well qualified and effective on their own and the good behaviour of the school
should not be judged on the principal without evaluating him/her to get his/her
real behaviour (Dimmock and Walker, 2005:84; Leithwood and Jantzi, 2006:211).
2.2.3
Texas
2.2.3.1 The fundamental principles of the appraisal process
Texas is one of the states of the United States of America. Historically, it was
required by the state (as indicated in the State Bill 1 of 1995) that the
Commissioner of Education should develop or recommend an appraisal system
for Texas teachers. The Bill indicated that the Commissioner should establish
that appraisal system in consultation with teachers and other professional
bodies and the appraisal should be along the Texas Education Code (TEC)
(TEA, 2005:17).
Prior to 1997 the appraisal system in Texas was called the Texas Teacher
Appraisal System (TTAS). Recently the appraisal system became known as the
Professional Development and Appraisal System (PDAS) which is overseen by
the Texas Education Agency (TEA), available on http://www.tea.state.tx.us
TEA believes that the appraisal system should have the following three pillars of
strength, which are evaluation; guidance; and development. The agency is also
encouraging a continuous performance improvement process for teachers for the
benefit of the students.
There are a number of bodies which help to develop the appraisal process.
These
are
the
state-level
appraisal
advisory
committee,
professional
organizations and educators throughout the state. The inputs of these bodies
39
contribute to the TEA and result in the PDAS as not a unilateral decision of the
state governors (TEA, 2005:2).
2.2.3.2 Method of the appraisal process
There are three components which together constitute the PDAS. All three
components should include „the student performance link‟ as required by Texas
law and should also enhance student learning through the professional
development of teachers. The components are:
-
Instructional Leadership Development;
-
Professional Development; and
-
Administrator appraisal (TEA, 2005:2)
The following two procedures should be satisfied before the commencement of
an appraisal process.
Provision of information: Each district should establish a calendar for the
appraisal process and should ensure that all teachers in that district are
provided with information and training about the implementation of PDAS, and
are all appraised as an obligation. Teachers should be notified that new
teachers are appraised on an annual basis and the improvement in their
performance will determine less frequent appraisals of at least one every five
year period (TEA, 2005:17).
Certification of Appraisers: There should be at least one certified appraiser
per school. To be a certified appraiser a teacher has to undergo training in the
PDAS and be certified in the Instructional Leadership Training (ILT) or
Instructional Leadership Development (ILD). The trainer and the curriculum of
training should be approved by the Commissioner for Education. Certified
appraisers are responsible for the compilation of the appraisal reports in the
40
school. Teachers are appraised by their seniors, but they shall not finalise the
appraisal reports if they are not certified appraisers (TEA, 2005:27).
The implementation process involves eight domains which have fifty-one criteria
used to evaluate teachers. The domains are:
i.
Active, successful student participation in the learning process;
ii.
Learner-centred instruction;
iii.
Evaluation and feedback on student progress;
iv.
Management of student discipline, instructional strategies, time and
materials;
v.
Professional communication;
vi.
Professional development;
vii.
Compliance with policies, operating procedures and requirements;
viii.
Improvement of academic performance of all students on the campus
(Student Performance Link).
The domains are scored in four categories, which are important as they decide
the level of performance of the teacher in each domain:
1
2
3
4
Exceeds
Expectations
Proficient
Below Proficient
Unsatisfactory
Table 2.2: (Categories of scoring in Texas)
Each domain is scored independently and there is no cumulative score or
calculation of a total percentage (TEA, 2005:17).
Step 1 (Observation) – Each teacher should be exposed to at least one 45
minute classroom observation per appraisal process. Classroom observation
assists in the scoring of the teacher in the domains one to five. Other domains
41
are observed and evaluated separately and the teacher is allowed to provide
input through the submission of the Teacher Self-Report (TSR) form wherein
there is concrete evidence and examples of the teacher‟s best work which should
be considered for the appraisal process. Domain VIII is regarded as more
important as it addresses the student performance link and consists of ten criteria
(TEA, 2005:18).
Principals are appraised in a process that includes considerations of the
performance of his/her campus using the indicators established according to the
provisions of TEA and the objectives of the campus or school. The performance
gains of the campus and how the gains are maintained are also considered
(TEA, 2005:33).
Step 2 (Completing the appraisal report) – All the evidence collected in the
observation of the teacher should be compiled into a written annual appraisal
report. This report should be shared with the teacher appraised not later than five
working days before the summative conference. After discussion and agreement
with the teacher, the report is placed in the teacher‟s personnel file at the end of
the appraisal period. All the appraisal periods should, according to Texas law, be
completed fifteen working days before the last day of instruction for students
(TEA, 2005:23).
Step 3 (Appeal for appraisal) – Any documentation that will influence the
teacher‟s summative annual appraisal report must be shared with the teacher in
writing within ten working days of the certified appraiser‟s knowledge of the
occurrence. Teachers who have concerns about their appraisals are allowed to
request a second appraisal. There are provisions in the law to deal with the
appeal process.
42
The second appraisal must be requested within ten working days of receiving the
written appraisal report and the second appraiser should be allocated to appraise
the teacher in all domains. Some data from the previous appraisal may be used
in domains VI to VIII.
Step 4 (The annual summative appraisal conference) – The appraiser and the
teacher should hold a conference to wrap-up the appraisal process before the
documentation is submitted to the district. The conference should be diagnostic
and prescriptive with regard to remediation regarding the overall performance of
the school and how the performance of the teacher affects the performance of
the school. This conference should be done in a more open and transparent way
bearing in mind that the appraisal documentation of individuals is confidential
according to law (TEA, 2005:29).
The school‟s committee for district-level planning and decision-making
should then submit the appraisal report of the school to the Regional Education
Service Centre via the superintendent of the district. The submission is done for
the purposes of providing training and support where necessary.
2.2.3.3 The purpose of the appraisal process
It is indicated in the PDAS manual that “the goal of PDAS is to improve student
performance through the professional development of teachers” (TEA, 2005:16).
Commissioner Robert Scott indicates, in his letter to the certified appraisers, that
the three components of PDAS (which are mentioned in the discussion above )
“include the student performance link required in the law and are designated to
enhance student learning through the professional development of educators”
(TEA, 2005:2).
43
The purpose of PDAS in Texas is firstly to evaluate a link between the
performance of the teachers and the performance of the students. This means
that the performance of the teacher should not be read as excellent without
linking it to the performance of the students of that teacher; and secondly to
address low performance in the relevant domains.
It should be noted that when a teacher is evaluated as unsatisfactory (or
performing below expectations) in one or more domains, the certified appraiser
should develop an intervention plan in consultation with the teacher. This
intervention should bear evidence that the teacher‟s behaviour is improving in
those domains. Should the teacher not improve within the specified time, the
teacher shall be considered for separation (termination) from the campus or
school.
The performing teachers are rewarded by getting less frequent appraisals, as few
as one every five year period (TEA, 2005:17-25).
2.2.3.4 The critical view of the appraisal process
It is notable in the above discussion that the PDAS of Texas is not implemented
with the aim of rewarding teachers. While rewards are not clearly indicated in the
manual, a clear indication is that it is easy for the underperforming teacher to be
terminated or separated from his school and district according to the legal
principles of PDAS (TEA, 2005:17).
The understanding is that where there is an element of „punishment‟ there should
also be that of reward. The Texas Appraisal System has not been extensively
studied but the assumption is that the implementation of the system goes along
with the fear of dismissal instead of placing the teacher in other areas where
he/she has capabilities (Toch, 2008:35).
44
Some interviews conducted by Borthwick and colleagues (Toch, 2008) indicate a
description of evaluations limited by time and by fear on the part of those
evaluated. They further reveal, through personal interviews, that little information
is collected through the use of the rubric (Exceeds, proficient, below or
unsatisfactory) and that information cannot directly be connected to the
improvement of student achievement in order to label the teacher as effective or
ineffective. There are cursory evaluation sessions and little response from the
evaluation (Toch, 2008:35).
The above authors also recommend that there is a need for an extensive study of
the Texas appraisal system to reveal its effectiveness both on the teaching and
the improvement of student achievement.
Toch and Rothman (2008) indicate that evaluation is implemented differently
across school districts, but the typical observation based evaluation system
requires little time spent in the classroom by the evaluator (who is often a
principal) and there is no specific training for the evaluator (except for the
certified appraiser who may be one per school). They indicate that the rubric
used does not look at other aspects of teaching like dress and attendance. The
evaluation is therefore not taken seriously either by the administrator or the
teachers being evaluated because of the time (Toch and Rothman, 2008:23;
Toch, 2008: 35).
The interviewed individuals indicated that the forty-five minutes of classroom
observation is minimal and could have been more successful should more time
be spent on it or if there were multiple observations (Toch, 2008:37).
It is further revealed (Weisberg, Sexton, Mulhern and Keeling, 2009) that the
cursory evaluations are coupled with a culture where all teachers expect to get
high ratings. Weisberg, et al indicate further that there is a small number of
45
teachers who are rated unsatisfactory and this does not allow for more allocation
of target programmes and policies for development and that extraordinary
teachers are not easily identified because most teachers are ranked in the top
two categories( Weisberg, Sexton, Mulhern and Keeling, 2009:47).
This culture of expecting top scores resulted in the alarming discovery that in a
certain district all teachers were above average. This indicates, therefore, that it
was rare for the evaluations to accurately reflect the quality of a teacher‟s
instruction (Donaldson, 2009:51).
Donaldson also identified some seven reasons why this evaluation system has
not improved teaching and learning:
Allocation of high scores to most teachers (makes it difficult to fire poor
teachers);
Other forces prevent principals from using the results of poor teachers to
fire them;
Many evaluation instruments do not make it easy to align the results with
the district or school instructional focuses;
District policies and additional paperwork stop principals from giving their
teachers low ratings;
There is poor training on evaluation tools;
Evaluation processes do not focus on teachers‟ feedback on the process
and do not know where to improve the process;
Evaluations have few consequences, positive or negative (Donaldson,
2009:62).
46
2.2.4
Barbados
2.2.4.1 The fundamental principles of the appraisal process
The appraisal process in Barbados is known as Teacher Evaluation in Public
Schools. This process was developed in 1994 for implementation in 2000 by the
Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development (MEHRD). This was
done in consultation with the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT); Barbados
Secondary Teachers Union (BSTU); Barbados Association of Principals of Public
Secondary Schools (BAPPSS) and the Association of Public Primary School
Principals (APPSP) and the Ministry of Education, Youth Affairs and Sports
(http://www.mes.gov.bb).
The evaluation was to be „people-centred, taking into consideration the
uniqueness of each person‟s involvement in education for personal and natural
development‟ (MEHRD, 2008:1).
The process rests on the following pillars of strength: Professionalism; Fairness;
Empathy; Honesty; Openness; and Mutual Trust. It is also emphasized that the
evaluation process should not be a fear-inducing activity but should motivate the
participants positively (MEHRD, 2008:2).
The following three components should be incorporated into the evaluation
process:
Teacher Improvement;
Staff Development;
Accountability.
2.2.4.2 Method of the appraisal process
The evaluation process is defined as „a formal assessment of the performance of
an employee referring to the observation and assessment of teaching and
47
learning‟. There should be provision made for feedback to the employee
(MEHRD, 2008:4).
The teacher is evaluated twice before the final report about the performance of
that teacher is compiled.
The following staff members are responsible for the school‟s evaluation process:
Team Leader (who may be called the Chief Education Officer)
(an evaluation team is formed by a principal, deputy principal, senior
teacher, head of department or subject co-ordinator);
Nominee (a person nominated to evaluate a person of high rank, e.g.
principal);
Principal of the school;
Administrator (who may be a deputy principal, senior teacher, head of
department, subject co-ordinator or guidance counselor);
Peer (a colleague chosen by the teacher to be evaluated to participate
in the evaluation process);
Teacher;
The Review Committee.
For all the teachers who are evaluated, there are two forms (Form A, for the
informal or interim written report, and Form B for the final written report). The
alphabets of the forms will move to Form C until Form J according to the level of
the person evaluated until the whole process is completed. These add up to 10
forms.
Since teams from the Ministry of Education and members of teacher unions
visited all schools to explain the implementation of the evaluation process,
teachers participate in the process hopefully without fear.
48
Teachers are observed at least twice during the evaluation cycle before the
Final Report is written on Form B. The first observation process is done on Form
A.
The following five steps are taken consecutively to constitute a cycle of clinical
supervision called Teacher Classroom Observation (TCO) and Summary of
Teacher Performance (STP):
Step 1: Pre-Conference Session
The team responsible for evaluation meets and discusses with the teacher the
proposed lesson plan and the area of focus. For record and reference purposes,
the pre-conference information must be filled in on the relevant form called the
Pre-conference Form. This should be held at least one day before the classroom
observation of that teacher.
Once the areas of focus are identified by the
teacher, the team should develop checklists to help them in the steps that follow.
The teacher has the option of asking a colleague to participate in the evaluation
process even if that is not compulsory (MEHRD, 2008:9).
Step 2: Observation Session
The evaluating team members will observe the lesson presentation of the
teacher and use checklists to complete Form A, which is an interim report. It is
emphasized that step two must not be done if there was no step one.
At the end of the classroom observation the team will determine a day and time
for the Post-Conference session (MEHRD, 2008:9).
Step 3: Post-Conference session
This step follows within fourteen days of the classroom observation. The team
gives feedback to the teacher. There is a Post-Conference Form that guides the
session. After discussing with the teacher the outcomes of step two, a senior
49
member of the team will then complete the interim report on Form A. After
agreeing on the contents of Form A as completed, the team leader and the
teacher must sign the form.
At the end of the Post-Conference session, the team must arrange with the
teacher for the date and time of the follow-up observation in order to complete
the cycle (MEHRD, 2008:9).
Step 4: Follow-up Observation
The team should be guided by the pre-conference form to discuss again with the
teacher before the second observation process. The second observation process
should also be guided by the former observation checklists.
The follow-up activities should:
-
use the recommendations from the forms completed to improve
performance before the completion of the Final Report. This will
lead to the second Post-Conference Session.
The information collected in the first observation cycle is considered and where
there are recommendations for improvement, some activities should be
suggested to yield improvement in the indicated areas. This should be done in
order to give the teacher an opportunity to improve before the final report is
written (MEHRD, 2008:10).
Step 5: Concluding the Evaluation Cycle (second Post-Conference)
This is the last step of the evaluation cycle. The team discusses with the teacher
the outcomes of the whole cycle (first and second observation) in this PostConference Session and once they have agreed on the contents of the final
50
report on Form B, the team leader signs the form together with the teacher. The
hope here is that most of the areas in need of improvement have been attended
to and the teacher is now performing to his/her maximum potential – a true
reflection of his/her abilities.
The contents of Form B must:
-
provide a summary record of the performance of the teacher based
on selected criteria;
-
provide suggestions and interventions for future actions;
-
conclude with a summary relating to the performance of the teacher
as observed (MEHRD, 2008:8-11).
Dealing with Disagreements (Disputes)
Every evaluated teacher has the right to complain if he/she feels that the
evaluation process has been unfair. The Ministry is trying to make the process as
open and fair as possible to avoid disagreements, but offers teachers the right to
complain and provides the procedures to be followed. The complaint should be
attended to by the Review Committee within fourteen days of receiving it and
should be investigated thoroughly to arrive at an agreement.
The Review Committee will make a recommendation that the report should
stand, be amended or be replaced by another evaluation with the new evaluating
team. The former report must be removed from the record of the teacher after the
second evaluation has been concluded (MEHRD, 2008:13).
2.2.4.3 The purpose of the appraisal process
The Barbados Teacher Evaluation process has three main purposes:
51
Teacher Improvement: (for instructional methods; effective teaching and
learning; for assessing own progress; identifying the support needed);
Staff Development: (motivation for developing high standards and
sustaining them; in-service training to match the needs of schools;
professional interaction between teachers);
Accountability: (provide information for administration; keep formal
records
of
professional
behaviour
and
services;
evaluate
the
performance of the whole school and its progress) (MEHRD, 2008:3).
It is clear that teachers are appraised or evaluated in order to encourage them to
improve their performance so that they become accountable staff members who
behave in accordance with the responsibilities of their profession. An element of
incentives or awards is not indicated in the appraisal process as one of the aims.
In the Teachers Evaluation overview document, the aim is stated as being
„to provide timely, accurate information about schools and teaching and
learning strategies, which should result in the improvement and
dissemination of best practice‟ (http://www.mes.gov.bb/pageselect).
The results of the appraisal process of each school should indicate overall
performance of the school or recommendations for staff development training.
The type of in-service training should be tailored to match the improvement
needs of that school.
2.2.4.4 The critical view of the appraisal process
The appraisal process in Barbados is limited to a classroom observation which is
viewed as an important part of the teacher‟s work. Other activities like classroom
52
management, professional development, interpersonal relationship and discipline
are disregarded.
There is no indication of a developmental process designed after the evaluation
process. The process is just mentioned in passing without indicating that after a
certain evaluation activity there will be a developmental process which should be
followed. Unlike most of the appraisal processes, the Barbados appraisal
process does not make mention of any incentives or rewards for those teachers
who are performing above standard. This means that their concentration is
mainly on effective teaching and learning.
2.3
CONCLUSION
The above discussion has looked into the appraisal processes of four countries:
England, Hong Kong, Texas and Barbados. The theoretical frameworks
underlying appraisal in these countries has been outlined and the similarities and
differences between how teachers are appraised in these different countries
should also be compared.
The comparison will not be critical, but just to reveal where countries are applying
the same thing in appraisal and where they differ.
2.3.1 Similarities in the teacher appraisals
Fundamental principles: Almost all the countries discussed above base
their appraisal process on the values of democracy:
“… a real opportunity to unite ... where the staff feel valued …”
“to ensure that its staff has equality of opportunity …” in England
(DfES, 2003:3);
53
“The teachers should be given opportunity to discuss and agree on the
type of model they will use and agree on the implementation
beforehand…” in Hong Kong
(EMB, 2003:5);
“…the
commissioner
should
establish
that
appraisal
system
in
consultation with teachers and other professional bodies and the
appraisal should be along the Texas Education Code “(TEC) in Texas
(TEA, 2005:17);
“The evaluation was agreed to be a „people-centered, taking into
consideration the uniqueness of each person‟s involvement in education
for personal and natural development …” in Barbados (MEHRD, 2008:1).
Method of appraisal: The three countries (Hong Kong, Texas and Barbados)
believe that there should be a lesson observation incorporated into the
appraisal process. England mentions only “learner‟s progress”.
“… followed by lesson observation which is meant to observe the
process of teaching and learning in the classroom situation …” in Hong
Kong (EMB, 2003:11);
“Each teacher should be exposed to at least one classroom observation
per appraisal process, and which lasts to 45 minutes …” in Texas (TEA,
2005:18);
“The evaluating team members will observe the lesson presentation of
the teacher and use checklists to complete Form A … “ in Barbados
(MEHRD, 2008:9).
54
Purpose of appraisal: In these countries teacher appraisal is done to
improve the performance of the teaching staff.
“… improve the staff‟s professional performance … “ in England (DfES,
2003:5);
“… promote teacher professional development…” in Hong Kong (EMB,
2003:13);
“… to improve student performance through the professional development
of teachers” in Texas (TEA, 2005:16);
“…aimed at teacher Improvement and staff development …” in Barbados
(MEHRD, 2008:3).
Teachers in England and Hong Kong are rewarded with money for their good
performance. For weak performance Hong Kong and Texas recommend
termination of the teacher‟s contract after a disciplinary procedure is followed.
This is done after trying to improve the performance of the teacher with different
activities including in-service training.
All four countries indicate that there should be development for the noticed poor
performance of teachers.
2.3.2 Differences in the teacher appraisals
Lesson observation: In England, there is no clear mention of lesson
observation even if the teacher should develop the improvement of the
teaching and learning activities.
55
Results of the appraisal process: In Texas, teachers are not rewarded with
money for their good performance. They only get fewer appraisals as
compared to others who are still performing below standard (TEA, 2005:1725).
England does not mention anything regarding how to deal with poor performing
teachers after appraisals.
Barbados mentions neither rewards attached to appraisal processes nor
methods of dealing with poor performing teachers who continue to get poor
comments in their appraisal records even after trying to develop them.
The next chapter will look into the appraisal process in South African public
schools and how it interrelates with those of the international countries discussed
in this chapter.
56
CHAPTER 3
Staff appraisal and development practices as applied in public
schools in South Africa
3.1
INTRODUCTION
This chapter deals with a literature review to explain how staff appraisal and
development processes are applied in South African public schools. The
instrument used in the process will be explained in detail.
Professional development should be a critical concern of educational leaders.
Gronn, as quoted in Cardno, (2006) asserts that the predominant feature of
educational management observable at the turn of the millennium is the degree
to which sweeping systematic reform introduced school self-management in both
developed and developing nations. The reform movement has highlighted two
issues in its training. Firstly, the significant role played by school principals
resulting in a new internationally notable priority which is professional
development of the school leaders themselves. Secondly, these reforms have
inevitably focused on policy that relates to the performance of staff and this in
turn has resulted in a spotlight being focused on the twin practices of
performance appraisal and professional development (Cardno, 2006:462).
South Africa, like other countries of the world, has seen the importance of
conducting an appraisal of its employees in the education department. This is an
important element in Human Resource Management (Riches and Morgan,
1989:162).
57
In this chapter, important elements, such as motivation for conducting the
appraisal process; the background of the appraisal process; the appraisal
process and the critical view of the appraisal process will be considered in detail.
A comparative analysis of the South African Appraisal process with other
processes of international countries will also be considered.
3.2
MOTIVATION FOR THE APPRAISAL PROCESS
The appraisal of personnel has always been of great concern to companies as it
is important to keep a close watch on the existence of the working force so that
the records are updated. The education system is no exception. Purposefully
appraising the education personnel helps to identify the weakness and the
strength of what takes place in an education system with regards to the
continuous competition of countries across the globe (Wells, 1994:15).
The appraisal process is nationally and internationally seen as an important
requirement to improve the practices of educators and their professional
development. The appraisal process leads to accountability which is a general
requirement which strengthens the financial contribution of society towards
education (Wragg, Wikeley, Wragg and Hayness, 1996:6).
The appraisal process leads to effectiveness and professionalism. To ensure this
professionalism and committed educators, the element of quality is important
because educators can be compared to other educator levels in the world. This
will make them perform better as they know that they will be compared (Wells,
1994:15).
Airasian (1996) maintains that if educators are ineffective or not performing up to
the required standard, the results will be poor teaching, learner development will
suffer and the whole nation will be put at risk, morally, socially and economically.
58
Effective
educators
guide
learners
to
become
productive
citizens
(Airasian,1996:7). There are two reasons which are established in literature for
the implementation of an appraisal process in the education system:
Curbing failures of educational reform
Balancing the needs of educators and those of the education system
3.2.1 Curbing failures of educational reform
The process of changing from one education policy to the other, perhaps within a
short space of time, often enforces a need for a process to monitor educator
performance in the new policy implementation because the changes in reform
processes affect educators. There is a need to develop education personnel in
order to prevent the consequences which might result from failure in the reform
process (Stronge, 1993:445; Stronge, 1995: 132; Fullan, 1996:420; Bascia and
Hargreaves, 2000:120).
The above authors argue that if there is no monitoring and development of
educators during or after each change in the education policies, the education
system is likely to collapse. They maintain that the importance of every education
system is seen in the products or the clients, which are learners and future
citizens. If the educators and education personnel may lose direction, the mission
of that education system is also lost in the process and it will be difficult to revive
the situation because learners are continuing to move to other grades without
that direction (Stronge, 1993:445; Stronge, 1995: 132; Fullan, 1996:420; Bascia
and Hargreaves, 2000:120).
3.2.2 Balancing the needs of educators and those of the education system
Educators have their own developmental and improvement needs. The education
system on the other hand has its own needs and objectives enshrined in its
59
vision and mission statements. Both needs have to be balanced in an
understandable manner by implementing a process that will benefit the two
groups. What is good for the system should also be good for educators in order
to develop a relationship that will enable both parties to achieve their common
goals (Fullan, 1991:348).
Fullan further indicates that if the relationship is developed, there will be
improvement and development in the following three things:
-
performance of individual educators;
-
programmes and services to learners and parents;
-
school‟s ability to accomplish its vision and mission.
Balancing the individual and institutional demands is important because it fosters
improvements in educator evaluations (Little, 1993:147). It is further maintained
in literature that the individual and institutional demands are inseparable, and you
cannot have one without the other and that they should be balanced (Fullan,
1991:349).
3.3
BACKGROUND OF THE APPRAISAL PROCESS IN SOUTH
AFRICA
The National Government of South Africa has introduced numerous new policies
and initiatives since 1994 to achieve accelerated service delivery in education.
Those policies all aimed at speeding up service delivery and improving
performance.
The 1994 democratic government instructed the Department of Education to look
for a system that would resolve the segregated and fragmented governance of
teacher education. It was tasked to broaden the curriculum and increase
democratic participation in curriculum processes; to build quality teacher
60
education and development as well as to consider the inefficiency and lack of
teacher education (Alessi and Trollip, 2001:44).
Schools needed to optimize effectiveness and productivity through the realization
of improved teaching and learning practices. Schools must therefore become
providers of quality education (Quong and Walker, 1996:223).
Some efforts have since been made by provincial education departments to
engage schools in ceremonies, meetings and workshops to promote the culture
of learning and teaching in schools (Van der Westhuizen, Mentz, Mosoge,
Niewoudt and Steyn, 2004:115).
South Africa introduced the Developmental Appraisal System (DAS) before 2003
with the purpose of appraising educators. Unfortunately for the Department, the
process was rejected because the stakeholders were not given the chance to
participate in the formulation of the appraisal system. The trade unions started to
question the process and its real aims soon after the implementation as it was
seen as another inspection process which was disfavoured by the unions
previously. The unions argued that educators cannot be inspected without being
developed and without knowing the purpose of the appraisal instrument (Gunter,
2002:66).
The Department of Education in South Africa then introduced the Integrated
Quality Management System (IQMS) in 2003 to be implemented in 2004.
Immediate training was given to all schools and teachers and the implementation
process followed immediately. Teacher unions such as the South African
Democratic Teachers‟ Union (SADTU) and the National African Professional
Teachers Organization of South Africa (NAPTOSA) were consulted. The SADTU
spokesman (the former president) indicated that IQMS is important because it
61
deals with management systems that have similar instruments for monitoring and
evaluation and there will no longer be duplication of school visits (SADTU, 2005).
3.3.1 Duties and responsibilities of educators related to professional
development
The Minister of Education has set out in Chapter C of Personnel Administrative
Measures (PAM, 1998) the following core duties and responsibilities of educators
related to continuous professional development:
3.3.1.1 The principal
The principal is expected to do the following:
To provide professional leadership within the school
To guide, supervise and offer professional advice on the work and
performance of all staff in the school
To be responsible for the development of the staff training programmes,
both school-based, school focused and externally directed, and to assist
educators, particularly new and inexperienced educators, in developing
and achieving educational objectives in accordance with the needs of the
school
To participate in agreed school/educator appraisal processes in order to
review their professional practices regularly with the aim of improving
teaching, learning and management
To ensure that all evaluation/forms of assessment conduct in the school
are
properly
and
efficiently
organised
(Personnel
Administrative
Measures, SA, 1998: 64).
3.3.1.2. The Deputy Principal
The deputy principal is expected to do the following;
62
To guide and supervise the work and performance of staff;
To participate in agreed school/educator appraisal processes in order to
review their professional practices regularly with the aim of improving
teaching, learning and management (Personnel Administrative Measures,
SA, 1998: 65).
3.3.1.3 Head of Department
The head of department is expected to do the following:
To provide and co-ordinate guidance:
-
on the latest ideas on approaches to the subject, method, techniques,
evaluation, teaching media, etc. in the field, and effectively convey
these to the staff members concerned
-
on syllabuses, schemes of work, homework, practical work, etc.
-
to inexperienced staff members.
To control:
-
work of educators and learners in the department
-
the administrative responsibilities of staff members.
To participate in agreed school/educator appraisal processes in order to
review their professional practices regularly with the aim of improving
teaching learning and management (Personnel Administrative Measures,
South Africa, 1998: 66).
3.3.1.4 The educator
The educator is expected to do the following:
63
To participate in agreed school/educator appraisal processes in order to
regularly review their professional practices with the aim of improving
teaching learning and management (Personnel Administrative Measures,
SA, 1998: 66)
To contribute to the professional development of colleagues by sharing
knowledge, ideas and resources
To remain informed of current developments in educational thinking and
curriculum development
To participate in departmental committees, seminars and courses in order
to contribute to and to update one‟s professional views and standards
(Personnel Administrative Measures, SA, 1998: 68).
3.3.1.5 Curriculum Advisor
The curriculum advisor is expected to do the following:
To asses professional development needs by using questionnaires,
informal methods and developmental appraisal
To support staff development activities based on needs and which are
congruent with the principles and values of the applicable policy
frameworks and plans
To contribute to the implementation of and participate in staff development
programmes
To evaluate success/problems of staff development programmes in terms
of the goals of the school
To provide support for the professional growth of educators within an
appropriate programme
To participate in agreed educator appraisal processes in order to regularly
review their professional practices (Personnel Administrative Measures,
SA, 1998: 69 and 70).
64
3.3.2 The Integrated Quality Management System
There are three main elements that are integrated into the IQMS to make it a
package:
-
Developmental Appraisal (DA)
-
Performance Measurement (PM); and
-
Whole School Evaluation (WSE)
The DA and PM are collectively known as the Educator-PMDS (Performance
Management and Development System). The picture of IQMS appears as
follows:
Educator-PMDS
DA
+
WSE
=
IQMS
PM
Diagram 3.1: (IQMS elements)
The three elements (DA, PM and WSE) will be explained, but the study will
concentrate on the first two (DA and PM) to determine their effects on the
professional development of educators.
Developmental Appraisal (DA)
In this stage the educator is appraised for the first level and the identified areas
which need development will be noted for the development process that follows
immediately thereafter.
Performance Measurement
This is the second stage of appraisal where the educator who has been
appraised and developed is now evaluated for the second time in order to use
the scores for salary adjustment and pay progression.
65
Whole School Evaluation
In this stage the weaknesses and the strengths of the whole school are
considered by the external team to evaluate the performance of the school
(education personnel and learners).
3.4
METHOD OF THE APPRAISAL
After DAS was rejected by teacher unions, an agreement was reached in the
ELRC (Resolution 8 of 2003) to integrate the existing programmes on quality
management in education. The existing programmes were the Developmental
Appraisal System (called DAS) that came into being on 28 July 1998 (as
Resolution 4 of 1998), the Performance Measurement System (PMS) that was
agreed to on 10 April 2003 (as Resolution 1 of 2003) and Whole School
Evaluation (WSE).
The IQMS was made known by Schedule 1 of the Employment of Educators Act,
76 of 1998 where the Minister is requested to determine performance standards
for educators in terms of which their performance is to be evaluated.
The Department of Education introduced the IQMS in 2003 to be implemented in
2004. Training was done in all schools and the implementation process followed
immediately. The philosophy underpinning the Integrated Quality Management
System (IQMS) is based upon the fundamental belief that the purposes of IQMS
are five fold:
To determine competence
To assess strengths and areas for development of educators
To provide support and opportunities for development to ensure continued
growth
To promote accountability
To monitor an institution‟s overall effectiveness (DoE, 2003:4).
66
The purpose of IQMS is to assist the educators to:
-
teach effectively
-
enhance learner performance and achievement
-
progress in their educational careers.
The literature on teacher appraisal shows that it can be very complex, involving a
number of factors that can either impede or support teacher effectiveness
because factors like motivation, support, development and resources are key
issues which can (if positive) support and boost teacher morale for further
development. Should the factors be negative, the morale and motivation will be
affected (Bartlett, 2000:26 and Malongwa, 1995:153).
The teacher is the first person to be evaluated and given support when
necessary. The effectiveness of the teacher due to the implementation of IQMS
will mean a clear understanding of the process and lack of improvement despite
all the processes that should be followed will unfortunately mean that something
has grown wrong somewhere. Teachers need to be observed to establish the
reasons behind effectiveness or inefficiency (Kossek and Block, 2000:98).
3.4.1 Advocacy and training
IQMS process begins with advocacy and training. The principal calls a meeting in
order to explain this appraisal process in detail so that every educator
understands it and everybody has a chance to ask questions for clarity. After all
educators have a clear picture of what is going to happen, the whole staff will
have to elect, democratically, members who will form an appraisal committee
called the Staff Development Committee (SDT).
67
The following members should be elected in the staff meeting to constitute the
SDT:
-
The Principal (ex-officio)
-
One or two post level one educators
-
Two or three members of the School Management Team (SMT)
-
One other member of the SMT who serves as an internal WSE
coordinator.
This committee is formed of approximately six to seven members (including the
principal who is an ex-officio member) depending on the size of the school. When
these members are elected they must elect among themselves a chairperson
(who may be the principal), and a secretary.
The chairperson chairs all the meetings of the SDT while the secretary records
the minutes, prepares and displays the programmes for the appraisal process.
The internal WSE coordinator keeps a close watch on the processes and is
responsible for the preparation and sending of the final score sheets to the
District as necessary. He/she is also responsible for the internal evaluation of the
school and should advise the school on the tool to be used by the external WSE
coordinators who might come to the school. This person should always attend
District meetings with the principal to get all the latest information pertaining to
IQMS.
3.4.2 The school IQMS structures
There are various structures involved in the IQMS viz. the principal; educator;
School
Management
Team
(SMT);
Staff
Development
Team
(SDT);
Developmental Support Group (DSG); District/local office; Whole School
Evaluation (WSE) unit and grievance committee. Every structure has its own
responsibilities: i.e.
68
3.4.2.1 The Principal
The Principal is responsible for the implementation of IQMS in totality; he/she
ensures that every educator receives documents and is trained; he forms part of
IQMS training; facilitates the establishment of the democratically elected SDT
and controls internal moderation.
3.4.2.2 The Educator
The Educator undergoes the self evaluation process; identifies his DSG;
develops the Personal Growth Plan (PGP); attends In-service Training (INSET);
engages in feedback and discussion (DoE.IQMS, 2003:2).
3.4.2.3 The School Management Team (SMT)
The SMT informs educators about the IQMS workshop, helps with the broad
planning; ensures that school self evaluation is done in terms of the WSE policy.
3.4.2.4 The Staff Development Team (SDT)
The SDT is formed by the democratically elected members from the staff. The
school decides upon the size of the SDT. For the school with two or fewer
educators the District /circuit will give support (DoE.IQMS, 2003:3).
The SDT has various roles, i.e. maintains IQMS records; develops SIP; ensures
that all members receive training; coordinates all activities regarding staff
development, etc (DoE.IQMS, 2003:3-4).
The SDT members function for three years and when an individual wants to
leave before the expiry of three years, he/she must be replaced democratically.
After three years a new SDT must be democratically elected. Previous members
may also be re-elected.
69
According to the Integrated Quality Management System (DoE, 2003:12) each
institution must elect a Staff Development Team (SDT) consisting of the principal
and democratically elected staff members. This may include all or some of the
School Management Team (SMT) but must also include post level one
educators. The SDT should in their first meeting elect their chairperson and this
means the head of the institution is not necessarily the chairperson.
The role of the SDT is to prepare and monitor the management plan for
developmental appraisal as follows:
Identify educators to be appraised in each phase
Facilitate the establishment of appraisal panels and prepare the schedule
of panel members
Link appraisal to the development of the whole school
Liaise with the Department of Education for in-service training of
educators (INSET) and educational management development on high
frequency needs
Monitor the effectiveness of the appraisal system and report to the staff
members and to the governing body
Ensure that the appraisal records are filed (Prinsloo, 2003: 212-213; DoE,
2003, 12-13).
3.4.2.5 The Development Support Group (DSG)
The DSG is composed of an immediate senior, a peer and the educator himself.
An educator may have more than one peer. The circuit/district office provides
support and mentoring. Information about the DSG is put on a broad planning of
the school to avoid clashes. The DSG is responsible for mentoring, support,
baseline and summative evaluation and helps the educator to refine his Personal
Growth Plan (PGP).
70
The DSG members should be selected on the basis of appropriate phase,
learning area or subject expertise and not friendship (DoE.IQMS, 2003:3-4).
According to the Integrated Quality Management System, (DoE, 2003:13) the
Development Support Group (DSG) serves as an appraisal panel and for each
educator it consists of the educator‟s immediate senior and one other educator
(peer) selected by the educator on the basis of the appropriate phase and
Learning Area/Subject expertise.
Its purpose is to:
provide mentoring and support and, if the immediate senior is the Head of
Department (HoD) in the school, then mentoring and support fall within his
or her job description
support the educator in developing a Personal Growth Plan (PGP)
work with the SDT to incorporate plans for development of the educator
into the School Improvement Plan (SIP)
evaluate the educator for baseline development purposes
evaluate the educator for summative development by an immediate senior
at the end of the year
verify that the information provided for Performance Measurement (PM) is
accurate.
3.4.2.6 Appraisal
As discussed previously, the process commences with self-evaluation where an
educator assesses her/himself. The performance standards to be used for both
self-evaluation and observation of an educator in practice are outlined as follows:
the creation of a positive learning environment
knowledge of curriculum and learning programmes
71
lesson planning, preparation, and presentation
learner Assessment IQMS, (DoE 2003: 2).
Steps in the appraisal process

Pre-appraisal
According to Prinsloo (2003: 214) at this stage the educator must already have
compiled a portfolio which must, together with a personal details form, be handed
to the appraisal panel (DSG). The educator‟s portfolio should include a record of
his/her
ongoing
professional
development,
learning
experiences
and
achievements. Furthermore, the educator should have completed self-evaluation
and reflections on strengths as well as areas in need of development. Once
educators have determined who their DSG is, this information will have to be
filtered into the broader planning of the School Improvement Plan (SIP). This
ensures that there are no “clashes” with Heads of Departments having to
evaluate different educators at the same time and to ensure a reasonable spread
and pace of work for evaluators (IQMS, 2003: 22).
 Observation of educator in practice
At this stage the Development Support Group starts the actual appraisal of an
educator. The aim is to:
Facilitate the personal and professional development of an educator in
order to improve the quality of teaching practice
Provide an already qualified educator with knowledge and expertise to
expand his/her teaching duties within his/her profession and to function
more effectively. The individual characteristics of an educator should
therefore be strengthened (Prinsloo, 2003: 214).
72
According to Chapter C of the Personnel Administrative Measures (1998c) the
developmental appraisal consists of the following ongoing process:
Reflective practice
Self-appraisal
Peer appraisal
Collaboration
Interaction with panels.
Van Staden (in Prinsloo, 2003:137) further suggests that the observation stage in
the appraisal process should lead to constructive suggestions that will lead to
improvement in both classroom practice and within the educator himself/herself.
During the observation stage the panel or group should gather information about
what is going on in the classroom. It should therefore be possible to develop a
programme from this phase. When doing the observation, appraisers need to
follow the criteria that have been decided upon. These criteria clearly outline
what should be observed and how the information ought to be treated.
However, before observation, the following must be done:
Fix a date and time that suits both parties
Notify educators in advance about the intended observation visits
Discuss the aim of the observation and inform the educator about the
relevant criteria, so that he/she knows what is expected of him/her
Provide an outline of the procedures and finer details, e.g. reminder of the
appointment, making lesson preparation available in advance, handing in
of personal details, portfolio, other documents and records used by the
educator concerned
73
Provide information about follow-up discussions because prior knowledge
gives the educator the necessary sense of security (Prinsloo, 2003:215).
The purpose of the evaluation is:
To confirm the educator‟s perception of his/her own performance as
arrived at through the process of self-evaluation
To enable discussion around strengths and areas in need of development
and to reach consensus on the scores for individual criteria under each of
the Performance Standards and to resolve any differences of opinion
To provide the opportunity for constructive engagement around what the
educator needs to do for him/herself, what needs to be done by the
school in terms of mentoring and support and what INSET and
programmes need to be provided, e.g. by the department
To enable the DSG and the educator to develop a Personal Growth Plan
(PGP) which includes targets and time-frames for improvements. The
educator must primarily develop the PGP with refining to be done by the
DSG
To provide a basis for comparison with the evaluation for Performance
Measurement (PM) purposes and this includes data gathered during preevaluation discussion and will result in the development of a PGP. This
information can be used in instances where there is little or no
improvement to adjust the ratings upwards where the DSG, school and/or
department has not provided the necessary support or appropriate
opportunities for development (IQMS, DoE, 2003: 22 ).
During the post-appraisal stage is easy enough to say “well done” to people, but
it is often much harder to continue pointing out deficiencies. Members of the
74
appraisal panel are often reluctant to spell out the negative, either because they
fear hostile and defensive reaction, or they want to retain a positive image.
Empowerment involves a greatly increased emphasis on holding individual
accountable for what they do, as well as on continuous improvement. This
means that people are expected not to put right that have gone wrong but also to
learn from their mistakes or failures (Van Staden, in Prinsloo, 2003:146).
3.4.2.7 Personal Growth Plan (PGP)
The
Personal
Growth
Plan
(PGP)
is
guided
by
the
needs
of
the
school/department and individual educator and it eventually leads to the
establishment of the School Improvement Plan. It takes place after the
observation of the educator in practice. It addresses an individual at four levels:
The areas in need of improvement about which the educator is in full
control (e.g. punctuality)
The areas for which the Development Support Group, DSG (immediate
senior and/or mentor) or someone else in the school is able to provide
guidance
The areas the Department should provide INSET or other programmes
(e.g. Outcome Based Assessment)
Where the educator is under-qualified or needs re-skilling in order to teach
a new learning area, this information needs to feature in the Workplace
Skills Plan (WSP). The educator‟s needs are then sent to the School
Development Team (SDT) to establish the School Improvement Plan (SIP)
(IQMS, DoE, 2003: 23 - 24).
75
3.4.2.8 The District office
The district office is responsible for training advocacy and proper IQMS
implementation. The district manager moderates the evaluation results of schools
to ensure consistency. This office is also responsible, via the local circuit office,
for the necessary training (INSET) that might be required by the school as part of
its School Improvement Plan (SIP). The local office also ensures that results are
captured in time for the implementation of salary and grade progression (Weber,
2005: 68).
3.4.2.9 The Whole School Evaluation (WSE)
The WSE unit is responsible for lesson observation and it is formed by external
supervisors appointed by the Provincial Education Department. They use an
evaluation tool which the school should be familiar with.
Every school should also have its own internal WSE coordinator to advise it in
terms of such external evaluation.
3.4.2.10
The Grievance committee
The Grievance committee is responsible for grievances pertaining to IQMS
implementation and scoring. If an educator is not satisfied in terms of the scoring,
the grievance is referred to the SDT and then to the Grievance committee if still
not satisfied by the resolution of the SDT.
The Grievance committee might decide to settle the grievance by arranging for
another DSG to conduct another observation or to consider the reasons behind
the grievance if there are valid contextual factors which hampered the good
performance of the educator. If those factors were not considered by the former
DSG, then the score may be adjusted to one upwards (DoE.IQMS, 2003:5-6).
The responsibilities of these structures are summarized in table 3 below:
76
Principal
Takes initiative, explains IQMS and facilitates training
Educator
Undergoes evaluation (including the principal)
SMT
Advises SDT about WSE policy, facilitates IQMS
SDT
Maintains IQMS records, coordinates staff development
DSG
Evaluates educators, provides mentoring and support
District Office
Provides necessary training and support in IQMS
Grievance Committee
Handles IQMS grievances in an open manner
WSE Unit
Evaluates the whole school and then provides support
Table 3.1: Summary of the roles of the IQMS structures
The SDT should advise the staff members that firstly, there is a form for every
educator called the Personal Growth Plan (PGP) which the educator should
complete before being evaluated with the instrument. The personal growth plan
has all the criteria of the instrument on it and the educator must indicate the
criteria where he/she needs development and how the development is preferred
(from who?). The PGP will always be improved after the educator is evaluated to
reveal where he/she actually needs development.
There is a necessity for every educator to get two members to form a
Development Support Group with him/her so that there are three in that group.
The group is called the Development Support Group (DSG) which is responsible
for the evaluation and development of the educator. The DSG should consist of
three members: the appraisee, the immediate senior and the peer who is
obviously teaching the same subject and who has expertise to be able to advise
and develop the educator.
Table 3.2 below shows a template of the PGP for all educators in the school.
77
PERSONAL GROWTH PLAN
NAME OF EDUCATOR: ____________________ PERSAL NO._________________
DSG MEMBERS:
SUPERVISOR: __________________________
PEER: ______________________
SUBJECTS: ___________________________________________________________
DATE: ___________________________
The educator has been evaluated by his/her DSG and the following are
recommendations based on the DSG‟s report:
1
Performance Standards (PS) and Criteria which require urgent attention for
development of the educator (score 1 and 2)
PERFORMANCE
STANDARD
2
CRITERIA
PERFORMANCE
STANDARD
CRITERIA
a
a
b
b
c
c
d
d
Development Plan (To be linked to PS and the criteria indicated above)
Activities
Resources
Time-Frames
Self/Mentor/Peer/SMT/District/
Provider
1.
2.
3.
4.
3
Progress Report on Implementation (Achievements/ Challenges)
FIRST CYCLE
SECOND CYCLE
THIRD CYCLE
78
4
Monitoring of the PGP (Dates and signatures to be indicated)
FIRST CYCLE
SECOND CYCLE
THIRD CYCLE
APPRAISEE
PEER
SUPERVISOR
Table3. 2: The PGP template for every educator, IQMS Guidelines, 2009:10
3.4.3 The appraisal instrument
The committee will explain to the staff the instrument to be used to evaluate
them. This instrument consists of performance standards against which
educators are evaluated. There are seven performance standards for a post level
one educator; ten for post level two and twelve for post level three and above.
Each performance standard has a number of criteria (see Appendix 7). The
criteria are numbered as a, b, c, d and e. The educator‟s performance is given a
score out of the total of four for each criteria and the individual score in every
criterion will add together to form a total for each performance standard.
The scoring is done by using the following four point scale:
1
2
3
4
Unacceptable
Acceptable
Good
Outstanding
Table 3.3: Scoring scale for the IQMS instrument
79
3.4.4 Steps in the appraisal process
It should be noted that a full cycle of IQMS takes a period of two years and
educators receive their incentives or pay progression on the third year. As all
educators have already completed the cycle they are graded after each year
because the summative evaluation forms baseline information for the coming
year. This means educators do not have to start with baseline evaluation every
year. Baseline evaluation is only done by newly appointed educators and newly
promoted educators because they are now evaluated on their new positions (as
post level two or three as the case may be).
3.4.4.1 Developmental Appraisal (DA)
The DA is formative and developmental and is used for professional and
personal development. It establishes areas of strengths and weaknesses for
development.
Step 1: (Advocacy and training)
The principal secures a meeting with the teaching staff to explain the IQMS and
its purpose. He/she will also facilitate the election of the SDT members.
Step 2: (Election of SDT members)
Staff members elect the members of the SDT democratically.
Step 3: (Programme preparation)
The SDT explains the evaluation instrument to the staff members and draws up
the programme or year plan for the implementation of the DA and PM. Educators
are also advised to form DSGs for themselves for the purposes of evaluation,
mentoring and support.
80
Step 4: (Educator self-evaluation)
Every educator conducts a self-evaluation by scoring himself/herself using the
instrument. The educator should also reflect on areas of strengths and
weaknesses in the space provided. The scores will be used as guidance by the
DSG, but will not necessarily allocate the same score. It will depend on their
observation.
Step 5: (Educator set up DSG)
The educator has to set up his/her own DSG for the purposes of evaluation,
development and support during the appraisal process. The peer should be
carefully selected and not on the basis of their out-of-work relationship.
Step 6: (Pre-evaluation meeting)
The educator to be evaluated sits with the DSG to discuss issues around the
coming lesson observation. Issues include, among others, the lesson, topic,
value of the lesson within the work schedule and contextual factors. The DSG
should also establish whether the educator understands the instrument and what
is expected of him/her. They may also use a checklist to verify this
understanding.
Table 3.4 shows an example of a checklist that is used.
INDICATORS
1
Did you receive any training regarding IQMS implementation?
2
Have you received any assistance from your DSG?
3
Is there anything you need that could help you develop and
become more effective? If yes, please explain.
YES
NO
Table3. 4: Example of a checklist used by DSG in pre-evaluation meeting
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Step 7: (Baseline Evaluation)
This involves two phases. The first one is the Lesson Observation which uses
Performance Standards 1 – 4. The educator is observed and evaluated while
he/she conducts a lesson in the classroom.
The second phase is called the Out-of-Class evaluation which uses Performance
Standards 5 – 12 depending on the post level of the educator.
The second phase needs a portfolio of evidence as proof for the scores obtained.
This phase cannot be completed in one sitting like the lesson observation as it
involves the collection of relevant evidence to support the scores. During scoring,
the peer and the senior should not sit together where their scoring will influence
each other. It is healthy to compare the scores at the end and agree on one
score.
Step 8: (Post evaluation meeting)
The DSG holds another meeting with the appraissee to discuss the outcomes of
their evaluation and scoring. They also provide feedback in terms of what the
educator needs to do to improve the weak areas. They then agree on the
development programme to develop the educator.
Step 9: (Educator develops PGP)
The educator then completes the PGP where he/she indicates the performance
standard and the criteria where he/she needs development and where he/she
was already developed. The PGP will then facilitate and guide the development
plan that should follow.
Step 10: (Completes the EIP)
The educator‟s PGP will influence the development and improvement of the
performance of that educator. The programme to be followed to develop the
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educator is called the Educator Improvement Plan (EIP). Everything that is
needed for development will be indicated in this plan and the plan informs the
School Improvement Plan (SIP) which must be sent to the circuit or local office if
the school cannot handle some of the activities due to lack of resources.
3.4.4.2 The Performance Measurement (PM)
The PM is summative and judgmental and is used to conduct an official
evaluation for decision on rewards or incentives for the educator. The PM has its
steps as it takes place the year following the one in which baseline observation
was conducted. The time in between gives an opportunity for the development of
the educator‟s performance as noticed in the initial evaluation.
Step 11: (Programme preparation)
The SDT prepares and displays a programme for the summative evaluation.
There should be a list of DSGs together with the dates of lesson observation and
venues of observation for all educators.
Step 12: (Educator self-evaluation)
The educator scores himself/herself using the instrument. It should be noted that
the scores of the baseline evaluation are referred to only to evaluate whether the
educator has improved or not and cannot be used as self-evaluation for the
educator. The self-evaluation records are taken into the summative evaluation by
the DSG who evaluates the educator for the second time.
Step 13: (Pre-evaluation meeting)
The DSG meets once again to discuss issues regarding the coming second
lesson observation and its purpose. The educator is made aware that the scores
obtained will be used as judgement on his/her performance and sent to the
District for pay and salary progression.
83
All matters that the educator feels necessary to be discussed before the
evaluation will be discussed. A checklist will once again be used to verify the
understanding.
Step 14: (Summative Evaluation)
The educator is evaluated and scored for the second time during this step. The
evaluation will involve both the classroom observation and out-of-class
observation to complete the whole performance standards relevant to the
educator.
Step 15: (Post-evaluation meeting)
The DSG sits to give feedback to the educator in terms of scoring and other
comments. It is in this sitting that the DSG agrees on the final score for the
educator in every performance standard. The educator will be given reasons
where necessary on the low final score and this should be agreed on with
understanding as they give reasons.
Where there is disagreement, this is referred to as a grievance and should be
referred to the SDT to be addressed to the satisfaction of the aggrieved or
referred further to the grievance committee in the local circuit office for resolution.
During this meeting, the following will occur:
-
filling in of final scores
-
updating of the PGP
-
drawing of EIP where necessary.
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Step 16: (Sending the IQMS records to the District)
The SDT will compile a summary score sheet of the scores of all the educators in
the school obtained from the summary score sheets of each educator.
In this step the following should be done:
-
completion of an individual summary score sheet for each educator
-
completion of a school summary score sheet (see table 3.5)
-
completion of a snapshot (an analysis of all the scores in the school)
-
development of SIP
-
sending of SIP and other IQMS documents to the District.
The educators who have been exposed to the full cycle of IQMS and who qualify
for salary and pay progression will receive those incentives in the third year. This
indicates the full implementation of IQMS in the school.
LIMPOPO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
SCORE SHEET FOR BASELINE / SUMMATIVE EVALUATION
(PERIOD: _________ TO __________
SCHOOL: _____________________
CIRCUIT: __________________________
PAYPOINT: _____________________
EMIS : ___________________________
PERSAL
SURNAME
INITIALS
SUMMARY OF SCORES
PERFORMANCE STANDARDS
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
TOTAL
1
2
3
4
5
PRINCIPAL: ___________DATE: ___________ SDT: _________DATE: ___________
CIRCUIT MANAGER: ________________
DATE: _______________________
Table3. 5: Example of a summary score sheet of educators’ scores
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3.5
CRICITACL VIEW OF THE APPRAISAL PROCESS
Since the implementation of IQMS in 2004, there have been a number of studies
conducted on it. Those studies were conducted under certain circumstances
which might not be similar to those under which the present study will be
conducted. This is why the researcher still feels that there is a gap that needs to
be discovered in the implementation of IQMS. The results of the study might still
be used to make comparisons in order to draw some conclusions at a later stage
about the developments on IQMS implementation in South African schools.
Weber regards IQMS as „a product of negotiation …and it constitutes an
agreement between the government and the major teacher unions and
organizations (Weber, 2005:70).
Wadvalla discovered that while IQMS is believed to be a process that is expected
to contribute to the improvement of teachers‟ performance, in other lowfunctioning schools the process is seen as a cumbersome, time-consuming and
fruitless exercise which is doing nothing to bring any benefit and is therefore not
treated seriously. Wadvalla maintains also that the appraisers give little genuine
feedback and do not encourage dialogue between staff and appraisers. This
makes some teachers lose hope in the process (IQMS) and they then do not
strive for development (Wadvalla, 2005;89).
Kossek and Block (2000:101) hold that there are a number of demands which
are made on the teacher, irrespective of the ever-changing policies of education
by the Department. The demands centre on the performance of teachers as to
what the Department takes as „good‟ or „acceptable‟. De Clercq maintains that
the procedure that is used in IQMS is rarely perceived as a rational process with
a common goal which is based on objective standards and procedures. There
are important teacher attributes and competencies about the criteria that are
86
used for evaluation of these attributes. These attributes need to be changed
because they tend to cause conflict. De Clercq also argues about the instrument
and the appraisers, saying that the system is unable to produce knowledgeable,
well trained professional appraisers who will be able to interpret, effectively, the
instrument that is used for appraisal, let alone to reflect adequately on teachers‟
practices and development of meaningful PGPs (De Clercq, 2008:12).
Due to the fact that the internal and external appraisers give little feedback and
usually do not encourage dialogue between staff and appraisers, it was noticed
(through surveys conducted by Samuel) that most schools and districts still do
not have the capacity and resources to conduct such an ambitious appraisal
exercise (Samuel, 2008:30).
In 2007 the Department released the National Policy Framework for Teacher
Education and Development called the NPFTED. This document preceded the
recommendations made by the Ministerial Committee Report on Teacher
Education.
The
policy
document
(NPFTED),
according
to
De
Clercq
acknowledges the need for teacher development, but remains unspecific about
how to plan and mobilize sufficient high quality professional skills to provide
differentiated professional support. De Clercq further indicates that „only with
planning, professional support capacity and resources in place can the IQMS
gain some legitimacy and counter the perception that its professional
development aspect is de facto being subsumed into an accountability exercise‟
(DoE, 2005; DoE, 2007; De Clercq, 2008:16).
Fleisch (2008:28)states that there are still poor results in most South African
Schools irrespective of IQMS implementation, „these poor results, irrespective of
the emphasis on IQMS, influence teachers‟ values and attitudes, making them
defensive towards any form of performance monitoring.
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The continuous reference to poor results has made teachers argue, as published
in the SADTU publication (2005), that „it is unfair to hold teachers accountable to
poor learner achievement while they are made accountable for effective
curriculum implementation under difficult working conditions and ever-changing
curriculum‟. These reasons posed by teachers made them resist any form of
teacher appraisal, which was seen as „unfair, inappropriate to their work
circumstances and more about accountability and development‟ (SADTU, 2005).
Chisholm et al., (2005:64) also reveals that „the curriculum and assessment
policies require teachers in schools to be accountable for much more
administrative paper work and expected to perform to their best during appraisal
processes‟ (Chisholm, Hoadley, wa Kivulu, Brookes, Prinsloo, Kgobe, Mosia,
Narsee, and Rule, 2005:64).
In their negotiations with the Department of Education, SADTU has tried, without
success, to stress that the State should also come with a manner of the
implementation of developmental programmes and not only their emphasis on
accountability and evaluation in IQMS (SADTU, 2005).
Performance Standards five, six and seven of IQMS, seek that teachers should
be involved (for the sake of scores) in „out of the classroom‟ activities in which
the educator acts like a community practitioner or has to be „pastoral‟. These
roles have been criticized by Morrow (2007) and Samuel (2008) saying that they
are too onerous and distracting from the constitutive goal of the practice of
teaching. They argue that teachers have been burdened with the heavy
responsibility of ameliorating a range of social ills where they have to play the
role of welfare thereby losing their identity as teachers (Morrow, 2007:38 and
Samuel, 2008:9).
88
As has been said earlier in this chapter, the main purpose of staff appraisal
should be the professional development of the teaching and other staff at the
school.
3.6
STAFF DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
According to Prinsloo (2003: 216) human resource development is especially
concerned with expanding potential from a long-term perspective. It embraces
the long term development needs of the educator, and is a formal, systematic
programme designed to promote personal and professional growth. Van Staden
(in Prinsloo, 2003:216) articulates the aims of human resource development as
to:
improve educators‟ performance in their present positions
give guidance to educators so that they can develop and grow to the
highest possible level of professional expertise
serve the primary aim of the education system, i.e. the promotion and
attainment of a culture of teaching and learning
provide acceptable, meaningful programmes which enable educators to
achieve their personal aims and those of the system
raise the quality of education and task fulfilment
lead to greater job satisfaction
identify technical skills that need to be developed, and identify and
develop management potential.
3.6.1 Designing a human resource development programme
After the Development Support Group (DSG) has determined the developmental
needs with the principal and her/his School Management Team (SMT), a
development programme for the school, it is also necessary to examine the
individual‟s needs against those of the school. The target agreed upon in the post
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appraisal discussion, and the actions which follow, are important factors in
achieving a reconciliation of the two sets of needs when a development
programme is designed (Prinsloo, 2003: 217).
3.6.2 Requirements for a successful development programme
The planned development programme must meet certain requirements and
adhere to certain principles. According to Van Kradenburg (in Prinsloo, 2003:
134-135) the following are necessary requirements for designing a successful
development programme:
Activities and tasks should be effective and functional, and be related to
the aims and outcomes being pursued
The development programme should form an integral part of the school
programme, and integrated into the educational and teaching aims of the
school
Staff members should be actively involved in the planning and organizing
of the programme
Various methods should be used over a wide spectrum to meet as many
needs as possible
An integral development approach should be followed so that the
demands and needs of both an individual and the school are met
The programme makes provision for different professional growth phases
of the individual educator
Developmental activities should take the academic and intellectual needs
of the educator into consideration
As far as possible, aspects such as motivation and job involvement should
be addressed in the programme.
90
3.6.3 Evaluation and feedback
According to Prinsloo (2003: 221) the professional development programme
must be evaluated to determine the extent to which the developmental outcomes
have been attained as this will enable the identification of deficiencies or
shortcoming in the programme, such as incorrect or vague outcomes, incorrect
methods, poor and defective training materials and the motivation level of the
educators. Van Kradenburg (in Prinsloo, 2003: 134-135) distinguishes the
following four aspects of a development programme that are usually evaluated:
The intensity with which participants experience the programme and how
functional or effective they regard it – reaction
The measure of knowledge, insight and skills acquired – learning
experience
The measure of change that has manifested itself in work and
organisational behaviour – changes in behaviour
The extent to which productivity has increased and job performance has
improved – tangible results.
Van Kradenburg (in Prinsloo, 2003: 134-140) further states that the effectiveness
of the development programme is determined by:
Its effect on the educator. Are there any changes in the behaviour and
conduct of the educator?
The outcome in the post itself. Is there any evidence of better and more
productive job performance?
The benefit for the school. Were the objectives of the school achieved?
The necessity that each phase of the development programme be
evaluated once it has been completed
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The effectiveness of the development programme may be determined
during
-
book control of the educator by the Head of Department
-
discussion of the examination papers and memoranda (assessment
criteria) of the educator by the Head of Department concerned
-
moderations of the examination scripts (assessment of the learners) of
the educator concerned
-
discussion of the end-of-term or end-of-year assessment results of the
educator concerned
-
3.7
the next developmental appraisal.
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
South Africa has developed one of the best appraisal systems of any country in
the world which has an interest in monitoring, appraising and developing their
teaching personnel.
3.7.1 Similarities
The appraisal system in South Africa is quite similar to other staff appraisal
systems in the world because it has the following features:
It has elements of democracy in its formulation (discussed and agreed on in
the ELRC)
It is aimed at evaluating and developing the teaching staff (the PGP and
development programme)
It attaches incentives and rewards in the form of money to the process
(Performance Measurement) like England and Hong Kong.
92
3.7.2 Differences
It is indicated within the plan that there should be records of monitoring the
development of the educator on the PGP. Other countries only mention
development but there is no indication of a tool to check on the development
process (the only indication is that reports should be made).
In South Africa there is no indication of how to deal with performance that
does not improve after a stated period, like in Texas and Hong Kong where
they recommend termination or separation from the system. It needs to be
established whether those teaching staff members who do not improve are
just kept in their schools.
Unfortunately South Africa does not put emphasis on the incentives based on the
relationship between the performance of the educator and the performance of the
learners during assessment. In Texas the purpose of the appraisal process is
“… to improve student performance through the professional development
of teachers” in Texas (TEA, 2005:16).
3.8
CONCLUSION
South Africa has recently developed a national policy for the appraisal of its
teaching staff. The appraisal process and the instrument used is explained in
detail in this chapter, considering also the differences as compared to the staff
appraisal process of other countries on an international level.
The next chapter will discuss the methodology and method of conducting the
research for the coming empirical study.
93
CHAPTER 4
Research Design and Methodology
4.1
INTRODUCTION
A literature study was undertaken in chapters two and three to support the aims
of the entire study and of the empirical study and data analysis which follows in
chapter 5. The focus of the entire study is on the experiences and perceptions of
educators about the implementation of the Integrated Quality Management
System (IQMS) and the implications thereof for the professional development of
the teaching staff. The area of research was directed at educators who have
finished more than two cycles of IQMS because they are the ones who possess
enough experience on its implementation.
In planning a research design, it is extremely important for the researcher not
only to choose a viable research problem but also to consider the kinds of data
that an investigation of the problem will require and a feasible means of collecting
and interpreting that data. The researcher also needs to decide whether the
focus would be exploratory, descriptive or explanatory (Leedy and Ormrod,
2005:87; Taylor, 2006:61).
The researcher has decided that the research will be explanatory because
educators need to explain their experiences and perceptions and why they
perceive the phenomenon that way.
This chapter deals with how the research was done. The research design and
methodology which were applied will be explained, the demarcation of the
94
research site, the ethical issues considered, how credibility and trustworthiness
was protected and how the data was collected, how it will be analyzed and
reported will all be included in this chapter.
4.2
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
Research design is described as a plan which guides the researcher to collect,
analyze and interpret observations. It gives direction and boundaries to research
activities and focuses on a specific phenomenon. It also alerts the researcher to
possible problems regarding the research. The research methodology helps the
researcher to extract meaning from the data (Leedy and Ormrod, 2005:93).
The research design describes how the researcher will handle subject selection,
research sites and data collection procedures to answer the research questions.
The design will also show which individuals will be studied, and when, where and
in which circumstances they will be studied. It is therefore important to select an
appropriate design and methodology due to the uniqueness of every research
enquiry (McMillan and Schumacher, 1993:157).
In order to make data collection and analysis possible, the researcher has used
the following to answer the research questions:
Literature review
Qualitative research.
4.3
LITERATURE REVIEW
A literature review is defined by many authors as a process of reading some
background information that has been published and appears to be relevant to
the research topic. A literature review is used to „look again‟ at what others have
95
done in areas that are similar, though not necessarily identical to one‟s own area
of investigation (Bless and Higson-Smith, 1995:22; Leedy and Ormrod, 2005:64).
In the study of literature, relevant data pertaining to the study problem was
gathered from both primary and secondary sources, critically examined and
evaluated and objectively recorded. The research relies on the literature
containing the methods of staff appraisal and development practices as they are
applied in schools at international level and in South Africa.
For this purpose the researcher made a careful selection and study of books,
journal articles, papers read at conferences, departmental circulars and
government publications as well as acknowledging the contributions of other
researchers to the research problem.
Leedy and Ormrod (2005:65) note several important benefits of a literature
review:
It can offer new ideas, perspectives, and approaches that may not
have occurred to you
It can inform you about other researchers who conduct work in this
area or individuals whom you may wish to contact for advice or
feedback
It can show you how others have handled methodological and design
issues in studies similar to your own
It can reveal sources of data that you may not have known existed
It can introduce you to measurement tools that other researchers
have developed and used effectively
It can reveal methods of dealing with problem situations that may be
similar to difficulties you are facing
96
It can help you to interpret and make sense of your findings and,
ultimately, help you tie your results to the work of those who have
preceded you
It will bolster your confidence that your topic is one worth studying.
A literature review further enables investigators to define the frontiers of their
fields. A thorough review of related theory and research enables researchers to
put their questions into perspective. Reviewing related literature helps
researchers to limit their questions and to clarify and define the concepts of the
study. A critical review of literature often leads to insight into reasons for
contradictory results in an area. Through studying related research, investigators
learn which methodologies have proven useful and which seem less promising. A
thorough search through related research avoids unintentional replication of
previous studies. The study of related literature places researchers in a better
position to interpret the significance of their own results (Ary, Jacobs and
Rezavich, 1990:68).
All these functions of a literature review helped the researcher to realise the aims
of this research project, to reach the anticipated objectives and to get answers to
most of the critical questions. These benefits of the literature review helped the
researcher to get a clear understanding about the appraisal of the teaching staff
both internationally and nationally. The benefits also helped with regard to what
other researchers have obtained in their studies of the same appraisal
processes.
4.4
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Qualitative researchers have four things in common:
97
Firstly, they focus on phenomena that occur in natural settings (in the
real world)
Secondly, they involve studying those phenomena in all their
complexity
Thirdly, they rarely try to simplify what they observe
Fourthly, they recognize that the issue they are studying has many
dimensions and layers and therefore they try to portray the issue in its
multifaceted form (Guba and Lincoln, 1994:90; Leedy and Ormrod,
2005:133).
Qualitative research is concerned with abstract characteristics of events, the
meaning given to events by participants. The research takes place in the normal
context in which the participants find themselves every day, as context is very
important in qualitative research.
Qualitative research focuses on the lived experiences, all its aspects. It attempts
to serve one or more of the following purposes:
Describe qualities of events (description)
Interpret meanings and relationships among these events (interpretation)
Measure importance of events in the larger picture of educational concern
(measurement)
Allow the researcher to test the validity of certain assumptions
(verification)
Provide the means through which a researcher can judge the
effectiveness of particular policies, practices or innovations (evaluation)
Ground these appraisals on explicit social values and human interests
(Peshkin, 1998:418; Kincheloe, 2003:189-190).
98
The characteristics of qualitative research are that it describes and analyses
people‟s individual and collective social actions, beliefs, thoughts and
perceptions. Qualitative research is an enquiry in which researchers collect data
in face-to-face situations by interacting with selected persons in their settings
Qualitative research usually has the generation of knowledge.
It is mostly
reported in words in a narrative format. It has an emergent, flexible design and
follows an intuitive pattern (Goodwin and Goodwin, 1996:19; McMillan and
Schumacher, 2001:395).
4.5
NARRATIVE RESEARCH AS A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
APPROACH
The researcher has chosen to use narrative research in this study. Narrative
research is viewed as a focus on how individuals assign meaning to their
experiences through the stories they tell. A narrative is a story that tells a
sequence of events that is significant for the narrator or his/her audience (Moen,
2006:4 - 5).
Narrative is a term assigned to any text or discourse, or it might be text used
within the context of a mode of inquiry in qualitative research and this focuses
mainly on stories that individuals tell. This narrative is understood as a spoken or
written text giving an account of an event or action or series of events or actions
and how they are chronologically connected (Polkinghorne, 1995:8; Daiute and
Lightfoot, 2004:101; Czarniawska, 2004:17; Chase, 2005:652).
Creswell, Hanson, Vicki, Plano and Morales (2007) maintain that there are a
variety of forms found in narrative research practices:
99
A biography, which is a narrative study in which the researcher writes
and records the experiences of another person‟s life
Autobiographies, which are written and recorded by the individuals
themselves
Life history, which portrays an individual‟s entire life
Personal-experience story, which is a narrative study of someone‟s
personal experience found in single or multiple episodes, private
situations, or communal folklore (Creswell et al, 2007:243).
The latter form of narrative practice has been adopted by the researcher for this
study because it entails the person‟s experiences, in this case educators, and
they were done in single episodes per educator.
Generally, narratives are understood as stories that include a temporal ordering
of events and an effort to make something out of those events: to render, or to
signify, the experiences of persons-in-flux in a personally and culturally coherent,
plausible manner (Johnson and Golombek, 2002:78).
To understand narrative research as a qualitative research approach, it is
important to note that Fraser compares the narrative researchers to people who
are sewing and knitting threads to form fabrics, and from fabrics to clothes. He
further indicates that narrative researchers collect stories from individuals about
their experiences and then they sew and knit those stories together to build one
composite narration about the event being studied (Fraser, 2004:183).
4.6
DEMARCATION
Demarcation deals with the selection of a site for the study. It is a process where
the researcher decides to involve one site and exclude the other because of
specific purposes and aims of the research project.
100
According to Goodwin and Goodwin (1996:117) there are three main issues to be
considered in site selection:
Appropriateness – Can the researcher obtain rich and relevant data at the
site?
Accessibility – Will the researcher's relationship with the site of research and
all participants in the research enable the researcher to access data and will
that relationship not tamper with the reliability of the results?
Ethics – The following questions should be kept in mind when making the
choice of site:
-
Can one easily get permission to gain access to the site?
-
Will the participants give consent to their participation with ease?
Schram maintains the following with regard to choosing a research site or
sampling:
„Whether observing,
interviewing,
experiencing or pursuing some
combination of strategies, you can‟t be everywhere at once or take in
every possible viewpoint at the same time. Instead you develop certain
perspectives by engaging in some activities or talking to certain people
rather than others‟ (Schram, 2003:97).
The researcher was purposeful in the choice of research sites because
qualitative researchers are intentionally non-random in their selection of data
sources - instead „their sampling is purposeful because they select those
individuals or objects that will yield the most information about the topic under
investigation‟ (Leedy and Ormrod, 2005:145).
101
Circuit X in the Limpopo Department of Education has four secondary schools
and the researcher wanted to cover all of them in the study. In each school three
educators were selected who have completed a cycle or cycles of IQMS. From
the three selected educators per school, two are post level one and one is a
member of the Senior Management Team of the school. The principals
concerned assisted the researcher to identify educators who could participate
after the aim of the study was explained to them. The principals also assisted in
completing short open-ended questions which also concern the implementation
of staff development programmes in each school.
The whole study thus involved twelve educators. The researcher also managed
to get two participants from the three who are offering subjects/learning areas for
Grade twelve classes. An important yardstick for these educators was that only
those who have completed more than two cycles of IQMS were asked to
participate.
4.7
ACCESSIBILITY
Accessibility refers not only to gaining physical access to the school, but it also
refers to building up a trusting relationship with the principal and educators of
each school. The educators would want to know whether they would get into
trouble for sharing their experiences and perceptions. They would need to know:
„will the information reach the circuit office or district or department?‟ It is
therefore important and crucial to build up trust and develop such a relationship
when doing qualitative research. Having established such a trusting relationship
will allow easier access to learners and educators. According to Leedy and
Ormrod (2005:115) „any researcher who plans to work with human subjects must
get the approval …‟
102
Leedy and Ormrod maintain the following with regard to gaining access to a
research site:
„the first step is to gain access to a site appropriate for answering the
researcher‟s general research problem or question … To gain access to a
site, the researcher must often go through a gatekeeper, a person who
can provide a smooth entrance onto the site …the researcher should then
develop a relationship of trust with the people found there‟ (Leedy and
Ormrod, 2005:137).
In this study gatekeepers were the principals of the schools. Permission was
requested from each principal and permission letters were obtained. The
principals introduced the researcher to the educators and helped the researcher
to locate educators who had information relevant to the research project. The
principals made accessibility to the educators possible and feasible.
4.8
APPROPRIATENESS
The schools chosen were appropriate for the research because the interest of
the researcher focused on secondary schools because the terms „functional‟ or
„dysfunctional schools‟ are usually applicable to secondary schools. The
functionality or dysfunctionality of a school is normally determined by the end of
the year performance of the Grade twelve learners. The performance of the
learners is also often associated with the level of professional development of the
educators concerned.
This does not indicate that only functional or dysfunctional schools were chosen
for the study, but the terms „functional‟ and „dysfunctional‟ are used because it
has something to do with the professional development of educators, which is
one of the focus elements of the study. It should be noted that all schools which
103
obtain less than fifty percent in the final Grade 12 results are termed as
dysfunctional. This means that their educators are „not doing enough‟.
Generally, the schools in the above-mentioned circuit were not doing so well in
their Grade 12 final assessment results. Only one secondary school is doing
above average and it was also included in the study for making a brief
comparison with educators of other secondary schools who are not doing well.
The chosen educators were also appropriate because only those who had
completed two IQMS cycles and above were selected. Those educators were the
ones who had the relevant information and experience for the study.
This site described above supported the aim of this study which was to explore
the experiences and perceptions of educators about IQMS implementation and
the implications thereof for the professional development of the teaching staff.
Rich data was obtained from these specific sites, as the researcher and the
participants shared the same language of instruction. There was no problem in
terms of explaining the roles and the completion of the research narrative frames.
4.9
DATA COLLECTION METHODS
Data collection indicates when and how data will be gathered for the study.
Eichelberger (1989:118) stated that the quality of data collected is determined by:
Proper selection of sources for the information needed
Clarification of procedures used to get the information
The methods which will be used to transform the data to study the
problem.
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The educators, who participated in the study, were identified by the school
principal after the aim of the study was discussed with him.
The summary for the collection of data is contained in the table below:
Research focus
Data collection method
To determine staff appraisal
processes as applied in
schools on international
level
Literature review
To determine staff appraisal
process as applied in
schools in South Africa
Literature review
To determine the
experiences and
perceptions of educators
towards the implementation
of the Integrated Quality
Management System
(IQMS) in South African
Schools and the
implications that it has on
the professional
development of the
teaching staff
Pre-narrative interviews
Narrative Frames for the
collection of data
Open-ended questions to
the principals of the
selected schools
Post-narrative interviews
Data resources
The websites of the
Education Departments in
different international
countries were visited and
their appraisal policies
studied; the work of
researchers in those
appraisal processes, was
also reviewed.
Relevant policy for the
appraisal of educators was
accessed from the national
Department of Education in
South Africa and reviewed.
The researcher reviewed
the work of other
researchers working in the
same field.
Educators who participated
in the study completed their
given narrative frames.
Post-narrative interviews
were conducted to clear up
uncertainties.
Learner assessment results
from the principal were also
reviewed
Document analysis
Table 4.1: Research focus, data collection methods and data resources
105
Eichelberger (1989:116) describes a sample as those people whom the
researcher gets data from, and bases findings and conclusions on.
This study was done by using three educators from each of the four secondary
schools in the circuit. All these secondary schools were covered in the selection
of sites. Goodwin and Goodwin (1996:111) state that the data collection process
in qualitative research is a direct and personal process.
In this study the
researcher personally did the pre-narrative interviews, collected the narrative
frames and conducted, where necessary, the post-narrative interviews.
According to Goodwin and Goodwin (1996:119) most authors feel that there are
three principle sources of data which the qualitative researcher can use:
Participant observation and the field notes the observer makes
Interviews
Documents,
which
can
include
personal
or
official
documents,
photographs or even official statistics.
Clandinin and Connelly (2000:146) maintain that
„data collection from individuals (in narrative research) would involve
having them tell their stories and these stories, which are called field texts,
provide the raw data for researchers and might include a record of their
stories in a journal or diary or … collect letters sent by the individuals,
assemble stories about individuals … or individual stories within the
participants‟ personal experiences.‟
The researcher chose to use the field notes (in the form of narrative frames) and
interviews (pre-narrative and post-narrative). The data collection followed this
pattern:
106
Pre-narrative interviews
Narrative frames
Post-narrative interviews.
4.10
METHODOLOGY
4.10.1 Pre-narrative interviews
Short, informal interviews were used to start the collection of data. This activity
had the following important purposes:
To explain the whole purpose of the research to the participants
To inform them about their rights throughout the project
To ask them to sign the consent forms to indicate their willingness to
participate voluntarily in the study
To explain the role the participants have to play during the data
collection process
To clarify and to give opportunity for clarification of anything wherever
necessary (Fraser, 2004:184)
The narrative frames were distributed to the participants who consented to
participate in the study during visits to each school during the pre-narrative
interviews. A brief introduction to the project and a summary of the instructions
were given. The participants were asked not to start completing the frames
before reading the whole of the sentence starters in order to get the idea of the
whole story needed. Ethical issues were also explained during this stage
(Barkhuizen and Wette, 2008:376).
These interviews with groups of participants from each school helped the
researcher to obtain exactly what the study was focusing on because the roles of
107
the participants were explained to them. This also minimized the possibility of
getting diverging perspectives and made clear the area of focus and content
(Lieblich, Tuval-Mashiack and Zilber, 1998:2).
4.10.2 Narrative frames
A number of authors and researchers explain narrative frames as frames based
on a similar concept in the field of writing education and they are explained as
writing frames which are used to provide a „skeleton to scaffold writing‟
Barkhuizen and Wette, 2008:381).
These frames are comprised of a template of starters, connectives, and sentence
modifiers which give participants a structure within which they can concentrate
on communicating what they want to say whilst scaffolding them in the use of a
particular generic form. The frames are very important as they serve the following
purposes:
They have a supportive and guiding function in terms of structure and
content
They help participants to write reflectively on a personal level, in a
narrative form
To minimize the risk of getting the “I don‟t know what to say”, “I don‟t
know where to start” and similar answers in most questions
To ensure that the content is more or less what is expected
(Wray and Lewis, 1997:122; Warwick and Maloch, 2003:59; Barkhuizen
and Wette, 2008:381)
In this study, stories from individual educators were collected by means of
narrative frames (Barkhuizen and Wette, 2008:375) and these stories were then
knitted together to build one complete sense about their experiences and
perceptions (Fraser, 2004:183).
108
Completed narrative frames gave the researcher rich data in the form of a short
story, a sequence of connected events and reflections related to the educators‟
experience because the focus of the study and that of using narrative frames was
strictly to explore „lived experience‟ (Connelly and Clandinin, 1990:298).
The narrative frames have strengths and limitations which are discovered by
researchers and authors in narrative research.
4.10.3 Strengths of narrative frames
Barkhuizen and Wette indicate the following strengths of narrative frames, which
are based on their experience of using them:

Narrative frames help educators to write narratively by scaffolding
them through the specially designed narrative structure

Educators have the freedom to express their experiences because
there is some flexibility in what they write because the frames only
dictate the topics and channel responses

With narrative frames, the data is well on the way to being categorized
and this makes analysis easier

The frames limit the quantity of data that is collected because there is
only so much space available for writing in response to the prompts
(e.g. sentence starters) (Barkhuizen and Wette, 2008:381).
The above strengths assisted the researcher to collect relevant data because
almost all the educators responded to the themes in accordance to the sentence
starters. The lines which were provided on the frames provided freedom to most
educators to express their experiences regarding the implementation of IQMS
and its implications for professional development.
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All the participants dropped a missed call to the researcher to indicate that they
were done with the completion of the narrative frames.
4.10.4 Limitations of the narrative frames
The following are the limitations of the narrative frames, according to Barkhuizen
and Wette:
Some educators desire more space to express their experiences and it
was discovered that their narrative did not match the guiding words
because they found the given words limiting
There is no opportunity for participants to cover topics which were also
of importance and relevance to the study, but which were unfortunately
non-framed
The researcher did not explain (during the pre-narrative interviews) what
was needed by each sentence as it was assumed that educators would be
able to fill in correct responses. However, some educators interpreted the
sentence starters differently (Barkhuizen and Wette, 2008:382).
The above limitations were very minimal and did not derail the aim of the study.
Only two educators were dissatisfied with the narrative frames. One complained
about the restrictions of the narrative frames and the other responded differently
to a few sentence starters without any great impact on the results of the study.
4.10.5 Open-ended questions for principals
All the principals of the secondary schools sampled for the study were given
open-ended questions to answer. There were four open-ended questions
concerning the development programmes used in the school.
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The main purpose of the questions was firstly to determine whether there were
programmes in the schools which the principal as a manager had put in place for
staff development; secondly to determine whether those programmes were
conducted recently or were part of on-going processes; and thirdly whether the
programmes are effective according to the principals.
The following important information formed part of the questions to the
principals concerned:
The manner of identification of the development needs of educators
Designing of staff development programmes
Means of staff development in a school
Evaluation of the programmes and feedback.
4.10.6 Post-narrative views
4.10.6.1
Interviews
The purpose of the post-narrative interviews was only to probe for more
information in a few instances where the educator had indicated something
strange within his or her story or made a statement which was not clear to the
researcher. It helped the researcher to get clarity on such issues so as to capture
the whole story of the participant in the correct manner. Two of the participants
responded in an ambiguous way such as “I found the process useless”, while
somewhere in the story there was an indication of the same person benefiting in
one way from the same process. In such instances the participant decided to use
an adjective between useful and useless when asked to clarify the responses.
Fontana and James (1998:63) hold that narrative researchers elect to use
interviews not only because they wish to delve beneath statistically driven
111
generalizations that are made but also because they have the potential to
validate the knowledge of ordinary people.
Interviews can include different types of questions about experience, behaviour,
opinion, and feelings. To have a successful interview, it is important:
To establish a good relationship with participants and get involved in
natural conversations with participants
To probe the participants for answers without pushing them or making
them uncomfortable
To be able to recognize unexpected leads which come to the fore during
the interviews
To be able to follow and to listen well (Goodwin and Goodwin 1996:134–
136).
4.10.6.2
Document analysis
Gathering information from documents is the third way of data collection in
qualitative research. This non-interactive approach supplements the interviews
and observations done by the researcher (Goodwin and Goodwin 1996:136-137).
The documents which were used with the view of achieving the research aim and
objectives of this study were:
Performance management score sheets of every individual school for
three consecutive years (2008, 2009 and 2010)
Learners‟ progress over the same years.
The above documents were obtained from the principal of each school. The
purpose of the documents was to establish whether the performance of
112
educators on the score sheets had improved since the implementation of IQMS.
The records of the learners‟ progress were used to explore the improvement
history of the learners‟ performance over a period of two years.
Creswell (2003:188–189) argues that data collection which goes beyond the
usual interview and observation can capture information that can be very useful
and can be missed during the inter-active data collection process. It can add to
the rich data collected and help to stretch the imagination.
4.11
RESEARCHER’S ROLE
During data collection the researcher must be aware that there is the possibility
of constant changes because of the following:
The researcher
The chosen sample
Methods used
Problems which may arise
Collecting the data (Vermeulen 1998:23)
The role of the researcher should be to make no assumptions with regard to how
the participants in the research will behave, what they believe and how they
perceive their reality. The researcher must try to observe, reflect upon and come
to understand the behaviour and statements (external) made by the participants
as well as their attitudes and values (Goodwin and Goodwin, 1996:110-112).
Field texts must be collected as the researcher finds them. Nieuwenhuis
(2006:18) cautions the researcher to ensure that clarity about the context and
participants is captured.
It is clear that the researcher plays an important and ongoing role in the
research, to such an extent that the researcher is seen as the instrument in
113
qualitative research. It was therefore of the utmost importance that the
researcher maintained a neutral position despite such close personal contact, in
order to understand the phenomenon under scrutiny as it emerged, to grasp its
complexities and to report on it in a balanced and emphatic way.
Donald Polkinghorne (2007:482) indicates that the task of the researcher (in
narrative research) is to produce articulations that lessen the distance between
what is said by participants about their experienced meaning and the
experienced meaning itself.
The role of the researcher was limited to explaining the aim of the research to the
principal and the participants, to distribute the narrative frames, collect them after
completion and to check and record the profile of each educator together with the
learners‟ results.
4.12
DATA ANALYSIS
According to Vithal and Jansen (1997:27) data analysis is the process of making
sense of all the collected data. Data analysis in qualitative research is a multifaceted process and occurs all through the process of data collection and also
afterwards.
Data analysis is done in order to make key findings and generate theories
regarding the phenomenon (Goodwin and Goodwin 1996:142). When interpreting
the data, the researcher will follow an inductive process (Goodwin and Goodwin
1996:120).
During the process of data collection the researcher starts doing data analysis to:
Conceptualize the purpose of the study
Set boundaries for the study
114
Develop critical questions
Help the researcher find the focus of the study
Clarify the purpose of the study
Generate ideas for the next phase of data collection
Find possible early themes and relationships in the study
Remember important points which emerge (Goodwin and Goodwin
1996:143).
The analysis of the stories of the educators (participants) was divided into two
phases in the following manner.
4.12.1 Phase 1 (development of groups and commonalities)
Relevant statements were separated from irrelevant ones and then the
relevant information was grouped into themes (Leedy and Ormrod,
2005:140)
Commonalities were then developed among educators by comparing
the information they supplied for each sentence starter (Barkhuizen
and Wette, 2008:376).
The perceptions of these participants (educators) were developed into the
following three groups according to their commonalities:
Awareness of the process
Benefits from the process
Attitudes towards the process.
The answers to the open-ended questions from the principals were also
developed into the above main groups for easy explanation.
115
The researcher then moved to the second phase of data analysis which involved
development of a composite.
4.12.2 Phase 2 (development of a composite)
The three groups of responses were then combined together to form one report
about the perceptions. The composite report from this phase resulted in the
findings of the research which are explained in chapter 5.
4.13
RELIABILITY
Reliability refers to the issue of “…consistency of results when using the process”
(Eichelberger 1989:116). Goodwin and Goodwin (1996:138–140) describe two
types of reliability in qualitative research:
External or design reliability
Internal or data-collection reliability
They continue to say that when developing the data collection instruments and
organizing the data, the researcher should ensure that any other researcher
would come to the same conclusions when using the same instruments with the
same participants.
By discussing these instruments with colleagues, the researcher established
whether or not another person would interpret the instruments in the same
manner or whether ambiguity existed which would render the instruments
unreliable.
The researcher first piloted with two educators from the same school where he is
working. Those two educators were given the same instrument of data collection
to complete. They completed the narrative frames and submitted them. Their
information was then compared to the information as collected from the outside
116
schools. It was discovered that all the educators completed the instrument in
almost the same manner, which means that the instrument used yields reliability.
4.14
VALIDITY IN NARRATIVE RESEARCH
The Oxford English Dictionary notes that the etymology of „valid‟ is a Latin word
„validus‟ meaning strong, powerful and effective. The English definition includes
arguments, proofs and assertions explained as „well founded and fully applicable
to the particular matter or circumstances (Polkinghorne, 2007:474). Therefore a
conclusion is valid when there is sufficient information, evidence and reasons to
reasonably believe it so.
Creswell (2003:195) defines validity as the strength of qualitative research as it
refers to the level of accuracy reached in the research. As such, Goodwin and
Goodwin (1996:140) argue that validity is closely related to reliability. Reliability
is a precondition for validity. Whatever threatens the reliability of a study, will
also be a threat to its validity. Internal validity points to whether the researcher is
able to observe and measure what they think they observe and measure.
External validity points to what extent the researcher can generalize findings
across groups.
Polkinghorne (2007:478) maintains the following are the primary characteristics
of validity in narrative research:
They proceed informally, not according to the forms and rules of strict
deduction and induction
They are always addressed to audiences for the purpose of inducing or
increasing the audience‟s adherence to the claim presented
117
They nearly always involve ambiguity because their language is
inevitably equivocal in some degree and because the terms that are
available are open to more than a single interpretation
They seek a degree of acceptance of a claim, not a total or irrevocable
acceptance.
Leedy and Ormrod (2005:100) argue that qualitative researchers frequently use
triangulation
to
validate
their
data.
Trustworthiness,
triangulation
and
crystallization, as part of the study, will now be explained below.
4.14.1 Trustworthiness
Maree (2007:113) explains trustworthiness as „the acid test of your data analysis,
findings and conclusions,‟ and adds that „you need to keep the procedures that
can be used for assessing the trustworthiness of the data analysis constantly in
mind.‟
The following procedures (Maree (2007:113) were considered to enhance the
trustworthiness of the data analysis process:
Using multiple data sources – where data was obtained from the narrative
frames, principals and from assessment documents
Verifying raw data – where each narrative frame was read with the
participant to ensure that he or she understood every response filled in
throughout
Greater trustworthiness in coding data
Stakeholder checks
Verifying and validating findings
Control of bias
118
Avoiding generalization
Maintaining confidentiality and anonymity
Stating the limitations of the study upfront.
4.14.2 Triangulation
Triangulation is described by Mouton and Marais (1990:72) as the use of several
methods of data collection. It is the process of comparing multiple data sources
in search of common themes to support the validity of the findings (Leedy and
Ormrod, 2005:100). By doing this, the reliability of observation is increased.
By using a variety of instruments, like interviews, narrative frames and official
documents, one would expect some triangulation and corroboration between the
data collected in this study.
4.15
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF THIS STUDY
De Vos (1998:240) explains ethics as a set of moral principles suggested by
either an individual or a group, which are then widely accepted. This then
becomes a set of rules, which sets expectations for behaviour about the best
conduct
towards
respondents,
employers,
sponsors,
other
researchers,
assistants and students. Ethical guidelines form the standards and the basis
upon which the researcher should evaluate his/her own conduct. Ethical
principles should be internalised in the personality of the researcher to such an
extent that all decision-making becomes ethically guided and part of the
researcher‟s total lifestyle. The researcher will use the following ethical guidelines
in this study:
Voluntary participation
Leedy and Ormrod (2005:101) hold that any participation in a study should be
strictly voluntary. Voluntary participation means that people should not be
119
forced to participate in research. They should participate without pressure,
voluntarily and without manipulation.
The educators were under no obligation to participate in the study. The aim of
the study was explained to them together with the conditions of sampling.
Those who volunteered to participate accepted the narrative frames to
complete.
Informed consent
Closely related to voluntary participation is the aspect of informed consent.
This means that participants in the research should receive all possible
information about the aim of the investigation as well as the credibility of the
research.
Cohen, Manion and Morrison (2000:51) describe the term „informed consent‟ as:
“…procedures in which individuals choose whether to participate in an
investigation after being informed of facts that would be likely to influence
their decisions.”
The following ethical procedure was used in the study to ensure the informed
consent:
Procedures of the study were described to the educators
Purpose of the study was shared with them
They were told who would be part of the study (sampling and
reasons for that)
They were informed about how they could possibly benefit from the
study
120
They were informed about how the confidential records would be
kept and what methods would be used to keep them confidential
All educators‟ questions on the study were answered as truthfully
as possible
They were assured that participation was voluntary and that they
may withdraw from the study if ever they felt uncomfortable.
Creswell (2003:64–67) adds that participants should also be told that they
have the right to ask questions about the study.
Confidentiality and anonymity
Trochim (2001:24) states that confidentiality and anonymity are the two
standards that help to protect the privacy of research participants. The
participant confidentiality given to educators, gives the participants the peace
of mind that identifying information will not be given to others who are not
directly involved in the study. Cohen et al. (2000: 61-62) make the following
distinction between confidentiality and anonymity:
Confidentiality
–
although
the
researcher
knows
who
the
participants are, their participation will not be made known; they will
not be identified to others.
Anonymity – the information participants provide to the researcher
does not reveal their identity, e.g. questionnaire with no identifying
marks like name, address or even age or town.
The name of the learners, educator and school did appear in the study.
Learners were only identified by numbers.
121
The right of privacy
According to Cohen and Manion (1994:365) the right to privacy:
“…extends to all information relating to a person‟s physical and mental
condition, personal circumstances and social relationships which is not
already in the public domain. It gives the individual or collectively the
freedom to decide for themselves when and where, in what circumstances
and to what extent their personal attitudes, opinions, habits, eccentricities,
doubts and fears are to be communicated to or withheld from others.”
Farnham and Pilmlott (1995:48) state that researchers should take intentional
precautions to ensure that information does not accidentally become public or fall
into the wrong hands.
Information gathered in this research will be stored in a secure place for 5 years
and then destroyed to ensure that others do not use it for the wrong reasons.
When writing the report the researcher used unbiased language and only used
labelling in describing participants. The researcher acted in a sensitive manner
and took extra care to protect all participants at all times. By keeping to these
conditions for ethical behaviour, participants were not misled about the whole
process of research.
4.16
LIMITATIONS
Vithal and Jansen (1997:35) point out that limitation noted in a study help others
to understand the constraints within which the study was done and gives a
clearer perspective of the context of the study.
122
One of the most important limitations of the study is the fact that the researcher
has selected only four secondary schools from all the secondary schools in the
Limpopo province.
The limitations that were explained as limitations of the narrative frames were
experienced in the study. Some educators felt that there was not enough space
for them to say more about their experiences. Some wanted the frames to cover
other things which they thought were also important, while some felt that the
sentence starters were restricting them in one way. Some educators took time, a
day or even three to fill in the narrative frames and the researcher had to stay
calm and wait for them to finish.
4.17
REPORTING THE RESULTS
The results from qualitative research are most often given through long
narratives. It describes the understandings, which emerge in great detail and
which make it easy for the reader to follow. In this way grounded theory is
generated and the research is linked to the work of others (Goodwin and
Goodwin 1996:120-149).
A good qualitative research report consists of:
Narrative description
Data-based field texts
Actual quotes from participants
Researcher's interpretations
Presentations of current or changed theoretical position
Conclusion
123
This study provided a large number of specific viewpoints and some direct
quotations were used as illustrations of specific feelings on various issues which
came to the fore during the research.
4.18
CONCLUSION
The research design and methodology applied in the study were explained in
detail to reveal how the researcher collected the data, the analysis of which is
dealt with in Chapter five. The analysis (empirical study) of this research will
reveal the experiences and perceptions of educators about the IQMS
implementation in South African schools and determine the implications thereof
on the professional development of educators.
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CHAPTER 5
Empirical study – Data analysis and discussion
5.1
INTRODUCTION
The aim of this research is to determine the experiences and perceptions of
educators towards the implementation of the Integrated Quality Management
System (IQMS) in South African Schools and the implications that it has in the
professional development of the teaching staff. Using data obtained through the
stories of educators by means of the given narrative frames and the postnarrative interviews, the given open-ended questions to the principals of the
selected schools and the document analysis of the performance management
score sheets and the Grade 12 results of 2008, 2009 and 2010, this chapter will
deal with the analysis and discussion of the collected data of this research.
5.2
DATA COLLECTION METHODS IN BRIEF
A number of data collection methods were used in collecting data for this
research. The methods will be explained briefly below.
5.2.1 Pre-narrative interviews
The researcher conducted these interviews with the participants in order to
explain to them the purpose of the study and what was requested from them as
their role. Everybody who took part in the study participated with a full
understanding about the narrative frames and how to complete them.
5.2.2 Narrative frames
The frame consisted of sentence starters and lines where the participant had to
comment in accordance with his/her understanding of the topic under discussion.
125
The sentence starters were just to give the participant an indication of the type of
response needed in that paragraph. The frame consisted of several paragraphs
with sentence starters and participants had to complete each paragraph following
the sentence starter in order to build a complete paragraph which carried the
participant‟s story about the theme in the paragraph.
The following is an example of a narrative frame as used during the data
collection process:
Narrative frame for data collection
Instructions:
Read the whole page before starting to write
Write a coherent narrative (i.e. link each idea to the next as you would do in a story)
After my first appointment I went through an orientation or induction programme. I can
remember
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
A mentor was allocated to me in my first year of teaching to assist me and to support me
in adapting to the teaching environment. I remember my mentor as
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
I remember that IQMS was explained to us as
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________
Table 5.1: An example of a narrative frame
126
5.2.3 Post-narrative interviews
The researcher used the post-narrative interviews to meet with the participants
again to give his impression on how they had participated and given their
contributions through the narrative frames. At this stage the researcher also
probed into the information supplied by some of the participants which needed
more clarity and because it was interesting.
For example, one of the participants mentioned the following words when
completing one of the paragraphs to tell her story:
The difficulties that I experienced were that “I was not actually appraised but
exposed to the learners.”
During the post-narrative interviews the researcher had the opportunity to probe
and more information was obtained from this participant because it was clear
then that she was not appraised in the correct manner and that made her
develop a negative attitude towards IQMS implementation.
5.2.4 Open-ended questions to the principals of the selected schools
The questions which were posed to the principals of the selected schools were
used to obtain information about the general staff development processes
followed by each school besides the processes of IQMS. Those principals
managed to give their own background and it became clear which schools are
depending only on the processes of IQMS for staff professional development and
those which have other means.
5.2.5 Document analysis
Documents were also analysed to determine whether during the past three years
there was an agreement between the scores of educators on their performance
127
score sheets and the performance of the school in terms of the Grade 12
learners.
5.3
DATA ANALYSIS AND REPORTING THE RESEARCH RESULTS
Data analysis involves the reduction and interpretation of data (Cohen and
Manion, 1995:116). The researcher reduced the body of the data he had
obtained to a form suitable for analysis. The researcher reduced a voluminous
amount of data, identified the following themes and interpreted them. They are:
All participants‟ comments were examined for the most important themes, issues
and ideas. Trends and patterns in the content of each discussion as well as the
similarities and differences across a number of different groups on the topic were
analysed (Litoselliti, in Prinsloo, 2003: 140).
The data was examined in depth paying attention to the narratives, the postnarrative interviews, the open-ended questions to the principals concerned and
the document analysis of the performance management score sheets as well as
to the Grade 12 results.
The in-depth analysis of the narratives, the post-narrative interviews, the openended questions to the principals concerned and the document analysis of the
performance management score sheets and Grade 12 results helped in
answering the following questions:
Were the objectives achieved?
What was confirmed and what was challenged by the findings?
What new ideas emerged? (Litoselliti, in Prinsloo, 2003: 140).
A good qualitative research report consists of:
128
Narrative description
Data-based field texts
Actual quotes from participants
Researcher's interpretations
Presentations of current or changed theoretical position
Conclusion.
5.3.1 Grouping of responses
Data analysis is based on the following three main groups, namely, awareness of
the process, benefits from the process and attitudes towards the process.
5.3.1.1 Awareness of the appraisal process
The responses of all the participants indicated that they were aware of IQMS and
its implementation in schools. All the educators were aware that IQMS is a
national policy for educator appraisal and that all educators have to be
appraised.
The following is an example of a response from one of the sentences:
I remember that IQMS was explained to us as “a staff appraisal process from
the national Department of Education through which all educators are
requested to go in order to inform the Department of their existence in the
system and how they offer services.”
These educators were also aware of the benefits of the appraisal process. What
was worrying was that most of them were only enjoying the good marks they
were given and the pay progression they received as a result of the appraisal.
One of them has the following to say:
129
I enjoyed the developmental appraisal process when ”I realize that my DSG
gave me scores which made me to qualify for the pay progression and I did
receive the pay progression even if it came after a long time. They always
give me good scores.”
It was however disturbing to find that almost half of the participants did not know
what a mentor is and were giving responses about something which was not a
mentor but a „senior‟ or an „HOD‟. That information was therefore regarded as
relevant and therefore separated from the irrelevant information (Leedy and
Ormrod, 2005:140). The only important information obtained from those
irrelevant ones was that those schools were depending only on the processes of
IQMS for the staff appraisal process.
5.3.1.2 Benefits from the appraisal process
The research established that all the educators are getting benefits from the
appraisal process in one way or another. The first disturbing thing is that
educators are only praising the Department for implementing IQMS for the fact
that it is another way of giving them little increments on their salaries while „we
are still waiting for annual increments or to” toyitoyi” for them.’
The second disturbing thing was that more than half of the participants indicated
that in their schools IQMS processes are only being followed because they have
to do them, not because they have to develop educators. They indicated that the
process was followed so that scores can be sent to the Department „to comply
with regulations‟. The following is an example of a response to the last sentence
starter on the narrative frame which dealt with professional development:
One of the most important aims of staff appraisal is to identify educators‟
professional and developmental needs in order to help them to reach their
130
potential by improving skills and performance through appropriate development”
(Van Deventer and Kruger, 2003: 213).
My experience about the abovementioned statement at our school is “that IQMS
is only done to generate scores to enable educators to get salary grading
and pay progression. Nobody is being developed through the process even
if they can identify weaknesses.”
Only three participants were aware of the benefits of the appraisal process
because their responses were almost the same and all of them responded as
follows to the same sentence starter like the one above:
My experience about the abovementioned statement at our school is “the fact
that we got chance to have our weaknesses developed and can now
present lessons better than before. Thanks to my DSG.”
It became clear that most educators were not actually developing in their
professional career as indicated by Van Deventer and Kruger (2003:213). Even if
the DSG has identified weaknesses and challenges which should be developed
there is no follow-up to put staff development programmes in place to develop
the educators. Another example of a response to the last sentence starter in the
light of professional development is as follows:
My experience about the abovementioned statement at our school is “that
educators of the same school cannot develop one another because they
are of the same house and they know one another’s weak-points in life. No
development ever took place since the implementation of IQMS.”
131
The other one also indicated the following which the researcher took as an
important „alarm‟.
abovementioned statement at our school is “that no educator can give another
educator a low score to prevent him to get money, they are afraid and
therefore they give you a good mark and that’s all about the process.”
One of the three participants who indicated benefits from the appraisal process
added the following words to her answer:
“… It could have been even more beneficial if we were appraised by an
external panel because they will tell you the truth and give you exactly what
is worth.”
The literature review has indicated that the aims of the appraisal process are the
following:
Facilitate the personal and professional development of an educator in
order to improve the quality of teaching practices
Provide an already qualified educator with knowledge and expertise to
expand his/her teaching duties within his or her profession and to function
more effectively. The individual characteristics of an educator should
therefore be strengthened (Prinsloo, 2003: 214).
5.3.1.3 Attitudes towards the process
The rest of the participants indicated that IQMS is there in their schools but all its
processes are only done for the sake of the paper work that is needed by the
Department. The following things emerged as attitudes towards the process:
132
The weaknesses are not addressed satisfactorily even if identified
during lesson observations
The appraisal process is not successful in terms of its original purpose
as explained to educators
The appraisal process is done mostly for the sake of complying with
the score requirements for salary grading and progression.
The general comments that emerged from the educators during the postnarrative interviews indicated the following important information:
That most principals are not evaluated at all because of the fact that
they choose neighbouring principals as their DSGs. Those principals
do not come to the schools to evaluate them until scores are sent to
the Department and they just score themselves and then go to their
colleagues to collect signatures
That most principals are not teaching a single subject but they too
receive scores for Performance Standard one to four which cover the
lesson observation and curriculum implementation. This offends other
educators who then develop negative attitudes towards the appraisal
process
Some seniors are afraid to give educators low scores because they
don‟t want to “crack their heads” in terms of developing the
performance in those areas. They also don‟t want to be hated by their
subordinates for „tampering‟ with their opportunities to get salary
progression. “They don‟t want to stand on other people‟s chances to
get money, otherwise it is nobody‟s money”, quoted one of them.
Most participants have not developed a positive attitude towards the process and
their complaints all revolve around the role played by the senior personnel, the
133
principal being the one who is contributing most to these negative attitudes
because they do not regard the process as fair and consistent to all educators.
The following are examples of responses to one of the sentence starters to
elaborate on the complaints that educators have about the implementation of
IQMS in their schools:
The difficulties that I experienced were that “Only junior teaching staff
members are exposed to the appraisal process and most principals and
HODs are not even observed like they do to us, they just collect scores
without lessons. Not fair!”
The difficulties that I experienced were that “I was told that my presentation in
class was not good but he won’t have time to crack his head to develop me
in terms of giving a better lesson presentation. I’m still not developed.”
The difficulties that I experienced were that “I noticed that my principal who is
not teaching a single subject in the school also scored himself in the
performance standards concerning lesson preparation and presentation.
I’ve seen that the appraisal process is only for junior educators.”
The above comments from educators indicate that the different sections of the
IQMS process are not functioning well. The roles of different stakeholders in the
appraisal process have been outlined as follows:
Principal, Deputy Principal, Head of Department and the educator all have
a common role in the educator appraisal process, the aim of which is:
“ To participate in agreed school/educator appraisal processes in order to
regularly review their professional practices with the aim of improving
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teaching learning and management” (Personnel Administrative Measures,
SA, 1998: 66).
The circuit or district office also has an important role to play via the curriculum
advisors to support each school‟s IQMS processes to ensure successful
implementation. The two important roles of the curriculum advisor are captured
as follows:
To assess professional development needs by using questionnaires,
informal methods and developmental appraisal
To participate in agreed educator appraisal processes in order to regularly
review their professional practices (Personnel Administrative Measures,
SA, 1998: 69 & 70).
5.3.2 Open-ended questions to the principals of the selected schools
The following findings were discovered from the questions which the principals of
the selected schools answered. As indicated in the previous chapter, the set of
questions consisted of four open-ended questions.
All the principals are aware that there should be some form of professional
development programme for educators, but the reaction to this awareness
differed among them.
Only one of the four principals indicated that he follows the development
process of allocating a mentor (which he named “an advisor”) to each new
educator so as to “orientate” him/her in terms of the school policies and
regulations together with “how things can be done in a better way”.
135
The only worrying factor about this principal is that he also depends on the
process of IQMS to identify the development needs of educators. But it is
better to note that:
“After the development needs are identified I ensure that development
programmes are in place to assist in improving the weaknesses.”
This means that this principal also waits for the DSG to identify the needs of
educators and then takes over the process by offering guidance towards the
necessary development processes.
Three (out of four) principals are depending entirely on the IQMS process for
coming with the development processes for the educators. They do not have
other processes of their own to develop the teaching staff.
The following are the staff development processes as mentioned by one
principal:
Allocation of a mentor
Induction and orientation
Identification of needs through appraisal
Development process
Evaluation of development and observation
The principal just mentioned allocation of a mentor but did not mention the duties
of the mentor to the new educator. In the literature it emerged that a mentor is
allocated with the purpose to:
136
“Provide an already qualified educator with knowledge and expertise to expand
his/her teaching duties within his or her profession and to function more
effectively. The individual characteristics of an educator should therefore be
strengthened” (Prinsloo, 2003: 214).
The other three principals mentioned the steps of identifying development needs
which are used in IQMS such as the pre-evaluation process, baseline evaluation,
development of weaknesses and summative evaluation. They did not have their
own plan for staff professional development.
The following are examples of responses from one of the three principals:
How does your school identify the development needs of educators?
“We use IQMS to identify development needs of educators”.
How do you design the staff development programmes?
“The DSGs identify development needs of educators and then design
development programmes.”
What are the means of staff development in your school?
“The staff development programmes organized by the SDT for
educators.”
Please comment on the evaluation and feedback of the development
programmes.
“We realize the progress of the development programmes during
summative evaluation when educators obtain higher scores in the
areas in which they scored low in the baseline evaluation.”
137
5.3.3 Document analysis
The researcher was also interested in checking whether the assessment results
are improving positively to indicate that the teaching staff is continuously
developed.
The following findings emerged from the documents:
Three of the selected schools have been regarded as dysfunctional for the
past two years because of their Grade 12 learners‟ results. There has only
been a slight change in terms of improvement of results and that change is
fluctuating.
For example, the following are the results of school A for the past three years:
2008
2009
2010
38.4%
36.6%
38.6%
The other two schools also demonstrated slight changes fluctuating like the
example shown above.
Only one school showed an improvement in results which, according to what
was obtained from the principal, has been above fifty percent for the past four
years. The results of that school are shown below:
2008
2009
2010
68%
86.2%
90%
The principal of the above-mentioned school is the one who follows some
other forms of staff development processes besides the ones of IQMS.
In the three schools, there was no agreement (comparison) between the
scores educators were obtaining in the three years. Educators have been
138
obtaining scores of threes and fours, especially in the performance standards
involving lesson preparation and presentation. An interesting question is
whether they were presenting the good lessons to the same learners who are
showing no significant improvement in their assessment results.
5.4
CONCLUSION
The findings from the study were discussed from all the sources of data which
the researcher perused. The perspectives of educators about the implementation
of IQMS in schools were explained after they were composed during the data
analysis process. It was clear that the appraisal process applied has no clear
positive implications on the professional development of the teaching staff. The
coming chapter will concentrate on the conclusions and recommendations of the
researcher as far as the above experiences and perceptions are concerned.
139
CHAPTER 6
Findings, limitations and recommendations
6.1
INTRODUCTION
The previous chapter has explained the data analysis and reporting of research
results which indicated the perceptions and experiences of educators about the
implementation of IQMS as the teacher appraisal process in South Africa.
In this chapter the researcher includes the aim and objectives of the study,
findings from the literature review, research methods and results. The general
findings of the study, its limitations and recommendations are also discussed.
6.2
SUMMARY OF THE AIM AND OBJECTIVES
The aim of the study is to explore the educator experiences and perceptions
of the implementation of the Integrated Quality Management System
and its effect on educator professional development in schools.
The objectives of this research were:
To determine how staff appraisal and development processes are applied
in schools on an international level
To determine how staff appraisal and development processes are applied
in schools in South Africa
A literature review and empirical study, followed by an analysis of the results
were undertaken to achieve the aims and objectives of the research.
This dissertation comprises six chapters, which include the following:
140
Chapter one: It gives an orientation to the study and includes an
introduction, the rationale and problem statement, research aim and
objectives, relevance of the study, demarcation as well as a summary of
the data collection methods which will be used. It also includes how data
will be analysed, the ethical consideration of the study and its limitations.
Chapter two: It covers the literature review of the staff appraisal and
development processes as applied in schools on an international level.
The staff appraisal processes of England, Hong Kong, Texas and
Barbados are discussed. These staff appraisal processes are discussed
under four pillars. These are the fundamental principles of the appraisal
process namely the method of the appraisal process, the purpose of the
appraisal process and the critical view of the appraisal process. A
comparative analysis is also drawn about all these discussed appraisal
processes.
Chapter three: A literature review of the staff appraisal and development
practices as applied in schools in South Africa is discussed. The
discussion also rests on four pillars, which are the fundamental principles
of the appraisal process namely the method of the appraisal process, the
purpose of the appraisal process and the critical view of the appraisal
process. The critical view of the appraisal process is also discussed, as
well as the comparative analysis of this appraisal process with others on
the international level.
Chapter four: The research design and methodology are dealt with,
including issues such as the qualitative approach of the study, the
demarcation, appropriateness, data collection and methodology, the role
of the researcher, accessibility, reliability, validity, ethical considerations,
141
limitations of the study as well as data analysis and reporting of the results
are covered.
Chapter five: The empirical part of the study is covered in this chapter.
The collection of data and the analysis of data obtained from the narrative
frames, document analysis and answers for the open-ended questions
obtained from the different principals.
Chapter six: This is the final chapter and it includes important findings
from the literature review and the empirical study, the research questions
are addressed, the recommendations and limitations of the study as well
as aspects for future study are discussed.
6.3
FINDINGS
6.3.1 Findings from literature
The review of literature focused on educator appraisal and development
processes as applied in schools on an international level and in South Africa. The
most important principles that can influence the findings of this study include the
following:
All five countries (including South Africa) have their own staff appraisal
processes. Even if the processes differ in their manner of implementation,
they have a common purpose – to develop educators for effective
teaching and to willingly take responsibility for their teaching tasks and to
give an account of their daily duties
These five countries have included democratic principles which are
fundamental pillars for the existence of their staff appraisal processes.
142
This means that their appraisal processes resulted from agreement
between involved stakeholders:
“… a real opportunity to unite ... where the staff feel valued …”
“to ensure that its staff has equality of opportunity …” in England
(DfES, 2003:3);
“The teachers should be given an opportunity to discuss and agree on
the type of model they will use and agree on the implementation
beforehand …” in Hong Kong
(EMB, 2003:5);
“… the commissioner should establish the appraisal system in
consultation with teachers and other professional bodies and the
appraisal should be along the Texas Education Code (TEC) in Texas
(TEA, 2005:17);
“The evaluation was agreed to be „people-centred’, taking into
consideration the uniqueness of each person‟s involvement in education
for personal and natural development …” in Barbados
(MEHRD, 2008:1).
Weber regards IQMS in South Africa as „a product of negotiation …and
it constitutes an agreement between the government and the major
teacher unions and organizations‟ (Weber, 2005:70).
All educators are obliged to be appraised through the appraisal process of
each country as each process was agreed upon to be implemented as a
national policy. There should be no exception starting from the principal to
the lowest level of the teaching staff.
143
Each country has a purpose to develop the teaching staff when
implementing the appraisal process:
“… improve the staff‟s professional performance … “ in England
(DfES, 2003:5);
“… promote teacher professional development…” in Hong Kong
(EMB, 2003:13);
“… to improve student performance through the professional development
of teachers” in Texas (TEA, 2005:16);
“…aimed at teacher Improvement and staff development …” in Barbados (
MEHRD, 2008:3).
Countries have their own manners of treating the results of the appraisal
process. In South Africa, educators get salary grading and pay
progression. There should be programmes to deal with performance
development where the need arises. Schools should liaise with the
Department of Education for in-service training of educators (INSET) and
educational management development on high frequency needs (Prinsloo,
2003: 212-213; DoE, 2003: 12-13).
In other countries the following was evident:
-
In Texas, teachers are not rewarded with money for their good
performance. They only get fewer appraisals as compared to others
who are still performing below standard (TEA, 2005:17-25).
144
-
England does not mention anything regarding how to deal with poor
performing teachers after appraisals, but good performance is
rewarded in a fair and transparent manner.
-
Barbados
mentions
neither
rewards
attached
to
appraisal
processes nor methods of dealing with poor performing teachers
who continue to get poor comments in their appraisal records even
after trying to develop them.
-
Hong Kong links the performance reviews with rewards or
disciplinary procedures (EMB, 2003:13).
It is also important to note that Hong Kong and Texas are the only two
countries among the four countries which concentrate on linking the
performance of educators with the performance of their learners. They do
this simultaneously when linking the performance to rewards or
disciplinary procedures:
Hong Kong
Links the performance reviews with rewards or disciplinary procedures
(EMB, 2003:13).
Texas
The purpose of PDAS in Texas is firstly to evaluate the link between the
performance of the teachers and the performance of the students … (TEA,
2005:17-25).
6.3.2 Findings from empirical study
6.3.2.1 Findings from teachers
The following are the general findings as obtained from the data analysis:
145
All educators are aware of the process of IQMS and its manner of
implementation in schools
All the schools are implementing IQMS as a national teacher appraisal
process
Schools are implementing IQMS in manners that differ from one school to
another in terms of the professional development of the teaching staff
Most principals are not appraised or do not take part in the actual
implementation of the process, but are involved when the scores are sent
to the district. There is no consistency and fairness.
During the post-narrative interviews when the issue of results cropped up, the
educators were blaming the continuous change in the national curriculum and
lack of support from the Department in terms of allocating Curriculum Advisors to
their circuit.
This was an important point mentioned by the educators in terms of results
because the Curriculum Advisors have important work to do as mentioned in the
Personnel Administrative Measures of the Employment of Educators Act. If it is
true that these educators are not advised in curriculum matters then the
Department of Education owes these teachers a big apology because it is true
the curriculum has changed several times (Personnel Administrative Measures,
South Africa, 1998c: 69 & 70).
The educators indicated that they cannot be developed at school level because
mostly they are the only educators for their subjects in their schools. This means
their peers and seniors are just ordinary educators without proper knowledge on
the subject. This was also mentioned as a reason for poor results. However, it
cannot be the reason for the high scores they obtain and the low achievement of
their learners. That remained unanswered and unexplained.
146
6.3.2.2 Findings from principals
It is clear, from this study that some principals do not have development
programmes besides the programmes that are advocated by the IQMS. Only one
principal, out of the four, is aware of the importance of allocating a mentor to a
new educator for the purposes of development. This is something that other
principals are not aware of.
Principals trust that IQMS processes will do everything to develop educators in
their profession. They think that IQMS is “in place of the old methods of
developing educators” and is the “departmental policy which everybody should
just follow”. Most of them don‟t even know what a mentor is, which was also
discovered from most educators in the narrative frames.
6.3.2.3 Findings from the documents
It is a good thing to discover that almost all educators have IQMS files
which indicate that they update them as often as needed by the
Department of Education
The performance of educators in terms of their scores does not correlate
with the performance of their learners
It is discovered that in one school only does the performance of educators
move along with the assessment results of their learners, because
learners‟ performance was going up as educators also obtain rising
scores.
6.4
ADDRESSING THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following research questions were addressed in this study:
How are the staff appraisal and development practices applied in
schools on an international level?
147
How are the staff appraisal and development practices applied in
schools in South Africa?
What are the experiences and perceptions of educators of the
implementation of the integrated quality management system in South
Africa?
6.4.1 How are the staff appraisal and development practices applied in
schools on an international level?
The staff appraisal and development practices of four international countries
have been discussed to answer the above research question. It has been
established that all four countries have practices of appraising and developing
the teaching staff.
What these countries have in common is that they are targeting ways of assisting
the development of teaching staff. The appraisal practices in these countries
have foundation principles of democracy because there is consultation of
stakeholders and educators themselves before implementation.
The purpose of their appraisal and development practices range from „the staff
performance‟ (England); ‟ promoting teacher professional development‟ (Hong
Kong); „professional development of educators‟ (Texas) to „teacher improvement
and staff development‟ (Barbados).
The above part of the literature review has assisted with information which is very
important for the answering of the second research question which deals with the
appraisal and development practices applied in schools in South Africa.
The following is a table indicating the types of staff appraisal and development
practices as used by different countries on an international level:
148
Country
Name for appraisal
process
Main Method
England
Performance Review
Lesson Observation
Hong Kong
Teacher Performance
Management
Lesson Observation
Texas
Professional
Development and
Appraisal System
Lesson Observation
Barbados
Teacher Evaluation
Process
Lesson Observation
Purpose
Improve the staff’s
professional
performance and
evaluate the work of
staff for rewards
Promote teacher
professional
development and link
performance with
rewards and disciplinary
process
Enhance student
learning through
professional
development of
educators
Teacher improvement,
staff development and
accountability
Table 6.1: Summary of staff appraisal practices as applied on an international
level
6.4.2 How are the staff appraisal and development practices applied in
schools in South Africa?
In South Africa, like the four countries discussed above, there is a process which
is applied to appraise educators and to develop them professionally. This
process is a product of negotiation and is thus democratic in nature.
It has been established that South African education system stakeholders have
agreed upon a process called the Integrated Quality Management System
(IQMS) to be used to appraise and develop the teaching staff.
The following table summarises how IQMS is implemented as an appraisal and
staff development process:
149
Steps
Purpose
Pre-evaluation discussion
To explain the purpose of
lesson observation and to
complete PGP
To identify areas of
weakness and strength
Proposed effects
Educator should be
informed about the good
intentions of IQMS
Evaluation (Baseline)
Areas of strength
(Lesson Observation)
appreciated and areas of
weakness determined
Develop the areas of
Educator well developed
Development process
weakness as identified
through programmes
Evaluation (Summative)
Evaluate the educator to
Educator motivated by
(Lesson observation)
compile scores for the
salary grading and pay
district
progression
The process is cyclical as the summative evaluation information becomes the baseline
for the coming evaluation
Table 6.2: Summary of staff appraisal as applied in South Africa
6.4.3 What are the experiences and perceptions of educators about the
implementation of the Integrated Quality Management System and its
effects on educator professional development in schools?
The empirical study has established the following perceptions and experiences of
educators, including the effects on educator professional development.
Experiences and perceptions
Good intentions – IQMS is perceived as having good intentions.
Educators indicated that during the advocacy and training before the
implementation, they understood the intentions of IQMS as good and
beneficial for the development of the teaching staff.
Lack of consistency in implementation – the implementation of IQMS is
not consistent as it has been established that some principals are actually
not evaluated, but receive scores from nowhere.
150
False recording of scores – educators receive the scores they do not
deserve only because the seniors are afraid to give them low scores as
that will result in chaos where educators will complain that low scores
stand in their way of receiving a pay progression. This is unfortunate as
the district seems to be catching this irregularity.
Lack of staff development programmes – the experiences of educators
indicated that most of them were not developed even after their
weaknesses were identified.
Lack of other development strategies – the experiences of principals
indicated that most schools do not have other development strategies and
depend entirely on IQMS processes
There is no proper monitoring (by the Departmental Officials) of all
South African schools in terms of ensuring that IQMS is indeed
implemented to the benefit of the education system.
The processes of IQMS are only run for the purpose of getting money
through salary grading and progression and not for the purpose of
developing the teaching staff for the benefit of the learners.
Effects on educator professional development
The experiences and perceptions which are indicated above have the following
effects on educator professional development:
151
There is no development in most schools, as stipulated in the IQMS
manuals. This was established by the on-going dysfuctionality of the three
schools during the study.
Most educators lose hope in terms of depending on IQMS for
development. Others feel that it would be better if they were evaluated by
outsiders because they think that those outsiders would make follow-ups
to monitor their progress.
The performance of the learners is not linked to the rated performance of
educators (as is done in Hong Kong and Texas) but educators are
evaluated in terms of what is done during the time of evaluation and not
thereafter or continuously.
6.5
RECOMMENDATIONS
The above conclusions drawn by the researcher in this study led to the following
recommendations concerning the implementation of any appraisal process in
South Africa:
An appraisal process (such as IQMS) should be monitored by the local
district office to ensure that all the processes and steps are followed by
each member of the teaching staff, including principals, because a
principal is the first educator in the school.
An appraisal process should be entirely a professional developmental
tool and not attached to Departmental rewards. Rewards should be
implemented solely aside as one process of motivating the teaching
staff members who are performing beyond expectations. In simple
terms, the issue of money should be detached from the appraisal
152
process so that it is not rushed when the Department needs scores to
implement salary issues.
Principals should be re-employed through the Public Service Act so that
they follow the appraisal system used in the Public Service and not
continue to be educators under the Employment of Educators because
IQMS is the baby of this Act while most of them are not teaching at all.
This recommendation emanates from the fact that most educators
indicated their dissatisfaction about the fact that principals are not
actually evaluated because most of them are not teaching a single
subject. These principals also give themselves scores under the
performance standards of classroom observation.
The Provinces should re-visit the Resolution of appointing teaching
managerial staff so that it does not concentrate entirely on management
courses as educators cannot all become managers. This will encourage
educators to enrol for courses in their subject specialization, which will in
turn develop them academically in terms of curriculum issues.
The DSGs should be checked and validated by the management of the
school in such a way that they do not comprise individuals who are
taken on the basis of friendship. This jeopardizes the professional
development of the educator.
IQMS should also include the traditional way of allocating a mentor to a
newly-appointed educator and not let them learn everything on a trialand-error basis.
153
Principals of schools should not rely solely on IQMS processes for the
professional development of educators. They should instead return to
the ways used before IQMS was introduced. Those ways are
summarized in the figure below:
Appointment
Induction /
Orientation
Training
Development
Career plan
Retirement
Promotion
Assessment /
Appraisal
Diagram 6.1: (A model for a continuous professional development in schools
(Adapted from Prinsloo, 2003:218)
6.6
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The following limitations can be reported:
154
The study was done in only four schools and the perceptions and
experiences of educators in those schools might just be limited to four
schools or to circuit X of Limpopo Province.
Not all educators in the four schools participated in the study. Educators
who were left out might be carrying different experiences and perceptions
about the implementation of the Integrated Quality Management System.
6.7
ASPECTS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
The study has indicated there is a need for future research on IQMS to
develop an appraisal model which will incorporate the present
processes of IQMS and the old practices of staff development as quoted
from Prinsloo (2003:218);
develop an appraisal model which will not incorporate the issue of
money into the development processes (as this seems to be moving the
process from its intentions of development to intentions of getting
money.
6.8
CONCLUDING REMARKS
One could say, in conclusion, that the aim and purpose of the Integrated Quality
Management System is to empower educators with the necessary professional
skills by improving and developing their potential, confidence and morale to be
proud of the teaching profession. This also develops them academically and
socially because a confident person will not be stressed by his/her work. In order
to achieve the above-mentioned objectives, all the stakeholders in each school
should understand the purpose of IQMS, believe in it, implement it in a wellplanned and structured way and co-operate with one another with the same spirit
of hoping to enhance their ultimate client, the learner.
155
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List of internet addresses
http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/si/si2001/20012855.htm
http://www.mes.gov.bb
http://www.mes.gov.bb/pageselect
http://www.tea.state.tx.us
165
APENDIX
A1
APPLICATION FOR PERMISSION TO CONDUCT RESEARCH
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
Date: 07 / 05 / 2010
TO: The Head of Department
Limpopo Department of Education
Attention: Education Management Information and Research
c/o ([email protected]
Dear Sir / Madam
This letter serves to request permission for the researcher to conduct a study to satisfy
the requirements for a Masters degree. This is done in terms of the University‟s Ethics
committee which likes to ensure that all studies done with the involvement of human
beings are done in a sound and acceptable manner.
The study will be conducted in the sampled schools in the province and will involve
interviews with the educators. The researcher also promises to request permission from
the principals of the involved schools and also from the educators themselves before
commencing with the study should such permission be granted from the Department.
The topic for the research is:
“Educator Experiences And Perceptions Towards The Implementation Of The
Integrated Quality Management System In South African Schools”
The researcher also promises not to disrupt any classroom activity of learning and
teaching and that the study will not cause any financial inconveniences to the
Department.
The positive response from the Department in this regard will be highly appreciated.
Yours Faithfully
_______________________
Mahlaela M.A. (Researcher)
P O Box 410
Glen-Cowie
1061
Cell: 082 228 5497
[email protected]
______________________________
Dr I.J. Prinsloo (University Supervisor)
University of Pretoria
Cell: 082 500 2189
[email protected]
166
A2
PERMISSION TO CONDUCT RESEARCH
167
A3
LETTER TO PARTICIPANT
Date: 4/03/2011
Dear Participant
RESEARCH PROJECT – Mr. M.A. Mahlaela
I would like to request your participation in this study in order to learn more about “Educator
experiences and perceptions about the implementation of the integrated quality
management system and its effect on educator professional development in schools”.
I am a Masters student (M Ed Education Management) in the Department of Education
Management and Policy Studies at the University of Pretoria and will conduct the research as
part of my Masters Dissertation. My supervisor is Dr. I J Prinsloo.
Participation in this programme will take about one and a half hours of your time and will not
disrupt the normal functioning of the school and will entail collecting information by means of
individual interviews and or the completion of a narrative framework. The participation in this
research project is willingly and strictly confidential.
The researcher will adhere to the highest ethical standards as required for a research project of
this nature and prescribed by the University of Pretoria. The names of the participating schools
and individuals will be kept anonymous. You may refuse to participate, to answer certain
questions or to withdraw at any time without penalty. For any questions about your right as a
researcher participant, you may contact Dr. I J Prinsloo at 012 420 5591 at the University of
Pretoria.
The outcome of the research project will be made available to the participants upon request.
If you are willing to participate in this study under the conditions as set out in this letter, please
sign it as a declaration of your informed consent.
Mahlaela M.A.
........................................
..............................
Student
Signature
Dr I.J. Prinsloo
Dr I.J. Prinsloo
Supervisor
Signature
.............................
Date
04/03/2011
Date
Participant‟s signature: …………………………………… Date: ……………………………..
168
A4
LETTER TO PRINCIPAL
169
A5
NARRATIVE FRAMES
Narrative frame for the collection of data
Instructions:
 Read the whole page before starting to write
 Write a coherent narrative (i.e. link each idea to the next as you would do in a story)
After my first appointment I went through an orientation or induction programme. I can
remember
A mentor was allocated to me in my first year of teaching to assist me and to support me
to adapt to the teaching environment. I remember my mentor as
I remember that IQMS was explained to us as
170
Its main purpose was said to be
My first involvement was when
I was assisted by my
I experienced the role of the appraisal panel‟s class visits when
171
I enjoyed the developmental appraisal process when
The difficulties that I experienced were that
I experienced my personal Professional Growth Plan developed by the appraisal panel
after a class visit as
“Staff appraisal and development are closely linked. One of the most important aims of
staff appraisal is to identify educators‟ professional and developmental needs in order to
help them to reach their potential by improving skills and performance through
appropriate development” (Van Deventer and Kruger, 2003: 213).
My experience about the abovementioned statement at our school is
172
A6
OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS FOR PRINCIPALS
PRINCIPAL’S PROFILE
Age
Professional Qualification(s)
Total Teaching experience in years
Number of years as principal in this school
Present Post Level
Instructions:
Please answer the following questions as fully as possible
QUESTION 1
How does your school identify the development needs of educators?
QUESTION 2
How do you design the staff development programmes?
173
QUESTION 3
What are the means of staff development in your school?
QUESTION 4
Please comment on the evaluation and feedback of the development programmes.
174
175

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