Performance evaluation model proposal for workshop and laboratory teachers

The aim of this study is to put forward a concrete, objective, evidence-based performance evaluation model that is acceptable to the parties, which is based on evidence according to the opinions of school principals working in public Vocational and Technical Anatolian High Schools in Ankara province and workshop and laboratory teachers working in these schools.The research was conducted with an explanatory sequential design from mixed research methods. First, the quantitative phase of the research was conducted. At this stage, quantitative data for the performance evaluation of school principals working in Vocational and Technical Anatolian High Schools and workshop and laboratory teachers working in these schools were collected through the scale developed by the researcher. Qualitative data on the performance evaluation of school principals and workshop and laboratory teachers were collected by using a semi-structured interview form prepared by the researcher in the qualitative dimension, which is the second stage of the explanatory sequential design. The sample of the quantitative part of the research consists of 102 school principals working in public Vocational and Technical Anatolian High Schools in nine districts of Ankara province (Altındağ, Çankaya, Mamak, Yenimahalle, Etimesgut, Sincan, Gölbaşı, Keçiören, Pursaklar) and 374 workshop and laboratory teachers working in these schools in the 2020-2021 academic year. Stratified sampling method was used to select the sample. Arithmetic mean and standard deviation were used to evaluate the participants' responses to the scale items; frequency and percentage (%) ratios were used to determine the weight of each scale item. While t-test was used to see whether there was a significant difference between the opinions of school principals,workshop and laboratory teachers participating in the study, ANOVA was used to see whether there was a difference in terms of seniority. The qualitative dimension of the research was carried out with the study group consisting of 10 workshop and 10 laboratory teachers working in public MTALs located in nine central districts (Altındağ, Çankaya, Mamak, Yenimahalle, Etimesgut, Sincan, Gölbaşı, Keçiören, Pursaklar) of Ankara province. Purposive sampling method was used to determine the study group. Descriptive analysis method was used to analyse the qualitative data collected in the study. According to the quantitative findings of the study, school principals and teachers support performance appraisal. While more than half of the school principals stated that performance evaluation should be carried out by the school principals themselves, the teachers stated that this evaluation should be carried out by the teachers whom working in the same department or by a commission to be formed. According to both school principals and teachers, performance appraisal is a stimulus that will remove the inertia on teachers, keep them professionally up-to-date and ensure that they respect students' rights at the maximum level. The participants are of the opinion that performance appraisal will contribute to the improvement of the school climate by improving teachers' cohesion and cooperation, effective in helping them gain responsibility and self-evaluation skills, and play an important role in transforming workshops into safer environments for students and educators in terms of educational and occupational health. According to the qualitative findings of the study, school principals and teachers expressed negative aspects of performance evaluation such as bias, favouritism, nepotism, non-objective evaluation questions that are not based on concrete data. In addition, the competence of the person or commission who will implement performance appraisal and whether they have received training on this subject also pose a problem. Participant school principals and teachers want process and result evaluation to be carried out together in performance evaluation. It is aimed to maximise the pedagogical and professional development of workshop and laboratory teachers, to increase the quality of teachers and to provide students with a qualified vocational education opportunity by the model which has beem developed based on the opinions of school principals workshop and laboratory teachers.