1. Staff Reductions and Performance Evaluations: Teacher Views on the Roles of Administrators and Colleagues.
- Author
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Lowell Univ., MA. and Phelan, William T.
- Abstract
As part of an ongoing three-year investigation into the effects of declining enrollment and reduction in force (RIF) on teachers, this paper explores: (1) teacher acceptance of exclusive administrative control over performance evaluations, and (2) teacher preferences for colleague input into the evaluation process. A sample of 85 schools was drawn from 16 Massachusetts school districts, half of which had experienced enrollment declines; the other half served as a control group. The analysis is based on the responses of 1,045 teachers, 38 percent of those eligible. Administrators who regularly visit classrooms and discuss work-related questions received more acceptance of their evaluative role. Percent of male teachers was inversely related to contact with supervision, a factor that is confounded by grade level and sex of the administrator. Senior staff are more accepting of administrative authority and less enthusiastic about peer input. When joint teaching is a factor, teachers show signs of acceptance of peer judgments and less acceptance of administrative evaluations. While only 33 percent of the respondents said colleague evaluations should be very important or essential, in RIF decisions 54 percent would agree to peer observation of, and reports on, their teaching. (MLF)
- Published
- 1983