Teacher Appraisal Observed

220 Pages·1996·0.78 MB·English

by  G. Haynes

Teacher appraisal observed

Teacher appraisal systems have been in place since 1992, bringing with
them considerable controversy. But just how effective are they, and what
does this mean for the classroom teacher? This major new study, led
by Ted Wragg, tackles these and many other questions. It uses as its
basis information gathered from all 109 authorities, 658 primary and
secondary teachers and 479 appraisers, and as such represents the most
extensive study of this area ever undertaken.
The issue of teacher appraisal is examined from the perspectives of
all those concerned and at all levels. The main focus of the study is on
teacher competence in the classroom, which lies at the heart of school
effectiveness and improving pupils’ achievement. Through the use of
a variety of methods including intensive case studies, the book provides
a unique insight into the quality of classroom practice and teacher appraisal
today. It examines what appraisal means for those involved and how
to use this knowledge to move on from this point.
Ted Wragg is Professor of Education at the University of Exeter and
will be familiar to readers from his widespread writing on education,
including his regular column in the Times Educational Supplement. Felicity
Wikeley is an experienced teacher and has worked for several years
in community education. She is currently Research Officer at the Centre
for School Improvement, University of Bath. Caroline Wragg is a research
fellow in the School of Education at the University of Exeter. Her
research interests include classroom management, nursery education
and school improvement. Gill Haynes is an educational researcher
at the University of Exeter, and also lectures in research methodology.
She has a particular interest in the teaching of literacy in primary
schools.

Teacher appraisal observed

E C Wragg, F J Wikeley,
C M Wragg and G S Haynes

London and New York
First published 1996
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002.
Routledge is an International Thomson Publishing Company
© 1996 E.C.Wragg, F.J.Wikeley, C.M.Wragg and G.S.Haynes
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Teacher appraisal observed/E.C.Wragg et al.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Teachers—Rating of—Great Britain. 2. Teachers—Rating of—
Great Britain—Case studies. 3. Observation (Educational method).
4. School management and organization—Great Britain—Case studies.
I. Wragg, E.C. (Edward Conrad)
LB2838.T385 1996
371.1’44’0941–dc20 95–25984
ISBN 0-203-43291-6 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-74115-3 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0-415-12580-4 (Print Edition)
ISBN 0-415-12581-2 (pbk)
Contents

List of tables vi
Preface viii
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction 1
1 The appraisal of teaching 5
2 Classroom observation 23
3 The role of the local education authority 35
4 The national perspective 60
5 Appraisal in Casewell School 94
6 Teachers’ views of appraisal 118
7 Preparing for observation 141
8 The implementation of lesson observation 155
9 Improving appraisal—learning from experience 186
Bibliography 204
Index 207
Tables

4.1 Sample of respondents in primary and secondary schools 61
4.2 Location and size of schools from which national sample
came 62
4.3 Position in school of teachers and appraisers (percentages
of sample) 63
4.4 Length of time appraisal occupied 63
4.5 Percentage of teachers having each part of the recommended
process 64
4.6 Number of observations 65
4.7 Managerial relationship of appraiser to teacher 65
4.8 Teachers’ choice of appraiser 67
4.9 Criteria believed by teachers to have been used in the
selection of appraisers 68
4.10 Percentage of teachers happy with the choice of appraiser
before and after appraisal 69
4.11 Most common topics of focus during total appraisal 71
4.12 Most common topics of focus during classroom observation 72
4.13 Length of time teachers were observed in their classroom
(first lesson) 73
4.14 Who decided area of focus and lesson to be observed
(percentages) 73
4.15 Five-point scales showing whether teachers were affected
by the presence of an observer and teachers’ feelings at
being observed 75
4.16 Methods of recording teachers believed were used by their
appraisers 76
4.17 Teachers’ and appraisers’ estimates of the timing of
feedback 76
4.18 Fate of observer’s notes on lessons—teachers’ and
appraisers’ views 77
Tables vii
4.19 Amount of appraisal interview spent discussing classroom
observation 78
4.20 If appraisal had affected classroom practice/offered personal
benefits 79
4.21 Teachers’ perception of the effect of appraiser’s presence
on teaching 83
4.22 Teachers’ feelings about being observed 84
4.23 Elements of appraiser training courses 86
4.24 Comparisons between the accounts of classroom observation
by appraisers and teachers 88
8.1 Pupil ‘on task’ and ‘deviancy’ scores during three
observations of Miss Winter by the researcher and one by
the appraiser 161
8.2 Number of lessons of case study teachers observed by
researchers before, during and after the appraisers’
classroom observations 184
8.3 Mean ‘on task’ and ‘deviancy’ scores before, during and
after the appraisers’ classroom observations 184
Preface

This book describes the research undertaken during the Leverhulme
Appraisal Project, a two-year research project funded by the Leverhulme
Trust. There were three strands to the research. The first studied what
happened in 109 English local education authorities (LEAs) when
appraisers were trained by their LEA. The second was a questionnaire
survey of 1,137 teachers and appraisers in primary and secondary
schools in sixty-four local authorities. The third strand was a set of
intensive case studies of twenty-nine primary and secondary teachers
during the two years when appraisal was introduced by law for the
first time.
During the project we used questionnaires, interviews and observation.
We not only observed the appraisal process itself, we also observed the
classroom teaching of the teachers in our sample before, during and
after their appraisal. This variety of research strategies produced rich
data, first of all about appraisal, but also about management, school
organisation and human interaction.
The chapters in this book describe one of the few large-scale studies
of appraisal in a whole country. It is to be hoped that the Leverhulme
Appraisal Project will add to our knowledge of appraisal and teachers’
personal and professional development.
ECW, FJW, CMW, GSH
Acknowledgements

We should like to express our gratitude to the Leverhulme Trust for
supporting the Appraisal Project. We should also like to thank the
many heads, teachers and local authority officers who co-operated
so fully with us.