A model suggestion in respect of evaluation of teacher performance

This study aims to design a model for performance assessment to evaluate teaching performance of primary school teachers. An exploratory sequential design among the mixed research methods was applied for this study. The qualitative dimension in the present study was conducted with document analysis and multiple case study designs. In this context, the purpose and character of evaluation of teachers' performance, responsible persons and officials, and the performance criteria to use, the issue of how often their performances will be evaluated, tools and information resources to use other than performance criteria, the usage of consequences of performance appraisal in the areas of career progression, personal rights, and professional development, etc were thoroughly analyzed through the multiple case study and document analysis. The research sample is composed of 25 participants determined by the maximum variation sampling method in the multiple case study conducted in the qualitative phase. Within the scope of the document analysis, data collection tools included 183 documents (125 articles, 18 books, 16 reports, 19 theses, 2 regulations, and 3 models). The study group for the quantitative phase consisted of 1994 participants. 1349 of them are female and 645 of them are male. An interview form regarding a model proposal for a teacher performance evaluation and an assessment inventory for the model proposal were developed to collect research data. Besides, the teacher observation form, parental and student satisfaction scale, and Self-assessment scale for Teacher Performance, Rating Scale for Portfolio assessment were developed to collect data for tools and information resources to use other than performance criteria. The study results reveal that the purpose of evaluating teacher performance should be formative and summative. It is also concluded that school principals need to be the first ones responsible for the evaluation process, and the other individuals responsible are the teacher himself and the head of teachers. It was found that performance criteria to use in the evaluation process were gathered under the categories of "Planning and Preparation, Teaching Services, Assessment and Evaluation, Professional Liability, Relations with Students and Relationships with Parents. It was revealed that tools and information resources to use apart from performance criteria are 'observation of the teacher inside and outside of class conducted by the school principal and his/her colleague, the results of student and parent satisfaction surveys, teacher self-evaluation, documents regarding evidences of student performance, and portfolios where materials are stored. Participants expressed positive opinions on the data collection tools developed to collect data from these information resources. Two different models were designed for the present study. In the workshop conducted, teachers stated that they were concerned about the summative purposes of the performance evaluation and thus they formed negative opinions. The first model, Model Proposal 1 for Evaluating the Performances of Primary School Teachers, is a structure that includes summative assessment and can be implemented with Ministry's policies and legal infrastructure. The second one, Model Proposal 2 for Evaluating The Performances of Primary School Teachers, is a structure that could be implemented within the school system without legal regulation and has been designed based on the formative purposes of performance evaluation. The recommendations based on the study findings are as follows: Central organization of the Ministry should be restructured for Model Proposal 1 to be implemented and Mone should demonstrate a will on this matter. The Ministry may need to make arrangements concerning promoting teachers as master teachers, head teachers, school principals, etc. as a result of the performance evaluation. When the above-mentioned requirements are fulfilled, teachers' performance can be assessed through Model Proposal 1. If legal regulations are not allowed at the Ministerial level, primary schools can use Model Proposal 2 to evaluate teachers' performance by means of a will and vision they will create within the structure of their schools. Keywords: Performance, Performance Evaluation, Primary School Teacher, Performance Criteria, Performance Evaluation Model