Following Barr and Tagg's formalization of the concept of learner-centered educational practice at the postsecondary level as described in their seminal article in Change in 1995, survey instruments have been developed to assess teachers' beliefs about their own learner-centeredness.. The research reported in this dissertation examined the connection between college students' perceptions of teacher effectiveness on each of four dimensions appearing as questions on the IDEA Survey of student reaction to instruction and courses (developed at the IDEA Center, Kansas State University, in the early 1970s) and the Assessment of Learner-Centered Practices (ALCP): Beliefs Portion of the Postsecondary Level Instructor Survey, College Level (developed in early 1999 by B. L. McCombs, University of Denver Research Institute; alpha reliabilities reported). Using scoring rubrics accompanying the ALCP instrument, instructors were identified as learner-centered or non-learner-centered based on their responses. Independent t-tests were performed to determine whether learner-centered instructors were perceived differently by students in terms of teaching effectiveness than non-learner-centered instructors on each of four dimensions: overall excellence of course, overall excellence of instructor, effectiveness of instructor in helping students achieve relevant objectives in the course, and effectiveness of course and instructor in improving students' attitude toward the field of study. Students rated learner-centered instructors higher in all dimensions, but results were not statistically significant. Instructors were also identified as possessing learner- or non-learner-centered beliefs to a greater degree than that necessary for an overall designation. Independent t-tests were performed to determine any differences in student perceptions of effectiveness between these two groups. Again, students rated learner-centered instructors higher in all dimensions, but results were not statistically significant. Recommendations for further research with the ALCP instrument are made, including research to determine whether specific factors and/or questions prove to be statistically significant in predicting student evaluations of effectiveness. Also recommended are replications of the study to investigate moderating variables influencing accurate faculty self-identification of beliefs about teaching and learning.

M.Ed. (Educational Management) / Apprentices in South Africa must attend a technical college for their theory training. A major problem is that technical colleges experience difficulty in attracting suitable people to be appointed as lecturers in their technical departments. The majority of technical lecturers are artisans who are drawn from industry as they are needed to teach trade theory to apprentices. In most cases the young lecturer who teaches technical subjects does not have the necessary professional qualifications. One cannot assume that someone who is suitably qualified in a technical field of study is necessarily capable of successfully passing on his knowledge to the students. , The functions and tasks of the lecturer must be examined. Once these have been defined, one can concentrate on the recruitment of lecturers. The following factors must be considered: admission requirements, evaluation and acknowledgement of qualifications, promotion and conditions of service. It is not only important to recruit the most suitably qualified person but just as important to ensure that this person remains in the teaching profession. The problem is that salaries and benefits are determined by the education department and colleges cannot compete with industry. In most cases the suitable lecturers, as well as those with a few years teaching experience, are offered well-paid jobs with excellent benefits in the industrial sector. The technical lecturer is a member of the college staff. As many lecturers have the required professional qualifications, it is imperative that all lecturers fulfil the requirements set by the teaching profession. This means that most of the newly appointed technical lecturers must be professionally developed. The principal of the college plays a vital role in the professional training and development of the lecturer. He can promote this by adopting the correct managerial attitude and by creating the appropriate college climate. A good evaluation system is also important...

This investigation focused on describing cognition in performance judgment of teaching in higher education. The influence of appraisal purpose and cue dimensionality was observed on subjective importance and utilization of information. Information integration strategies were examined in relation to purpose and cognitive complexity. Exploratory analysis focused on the measurement of good instructor schema profiles, and on the effect of cognitive complexity on halo in performance ratings. Seventy subjects were assigned randomly to two purpose conditions in the experiment: summative and formative judgment. Two questionnaires, two rating tasks, and a Role Construct Repertory grid were adminstered for data collection. The data were analyzed through regression modeling at the individual level and via analysis of variance procedures at the group level. The results indicate that the impact of cue dimensions is strong on subjective importance and utilization of information but varies with the purpose of appraisal. Raters valued and utilized trait information more than behavior information in evaluation required for personnel decisions. Where evaluation was feedback on the quality of teaching and expressed the need for improvement, raters utilized behavior information more than trait information. This pattern of information utilization suggests that saliency of information in performance judgment is a function of purpose and cue dimensionality, and that appraisal purpose has an effect on raters' cognition through schematic processing. The results also show that the use of varied strategies in mentally integrating dimensions of information is affected by raters' cognitive complexity. Although subjects mainly used compensatory strategies, the complex individuals used noncompensatory strategies as well. Exploratory analysis shows that cognitive complexity also affects halo in rating judgments. The findings seem to support the validity of student rating of instructors, and the utility of cognitive complexity construct in understanding performance judgment. It is suggested that the influence of schematic processing and cue saliency be addressed in further theorizing and research on performance judgment. As well, the inclusion of purpose of judgment and developmental constructs, such as cognitive complexity, is recommended for theorizing and research on judgment processes. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

published_or_final_version / abstract / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

This study proposed (a) to identify the most important attributes of effective college teachers as perceived by students in Taiwan, (b) to investigate the influence of different factors on students' perceived attributes of effective college teachers, and (c) to determine if the students in various Taiwanese teachers colleges differ in their opinions of the most important attributes of effective college teachers. Students identified these factors as attributes of effective college teachers: rapport, effective teaching methods, enthusiasm, fairness, interaction, practical experiences, personality, clarity, and being well-prepared. The fact that sophomore students and freshman students value some factors differently was discovered in this study. In addition, students who have previous teaching experience value all of the important attributes higher than those who do not have teaching experience before they attended teachers colleges.

Considering the vita an important vehicle for self-presentation in the process of applying for post-secondary academic positions, this study examined how vita contents are valued by readers of vitae in different academic disciplines.

This study concerns the relationship between student evaluation of instruction and student achievement in the field of management at the community college level. Purposes of the study were to determine the subjective student evaluation of instructor performance in introductory classes of management, student achievement in the class upon completion of the course, and the relationship between the student evaluation of instructor performance and student achievement in knowledge of the course. The population studied was all 10 sections of the Principles of Management course taught by 8 instructors at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas during the fall semester of 1988. A pretest-posttest design was used to determine student achievement scores. The College Board provided sufficient copies of two versions of the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) tests for Introduction to Management for the pretest and posttest. A special statistical technique using multiple regression was used to calculate an achievement score for each student that was adjusted for entry level knowledge. Student evaluations of instructor performance were paired with the achievement scores and grades students received from the instructor. Additional confidential demographic data was obtained about the students and the instructors. Major findings of the study concluded there is no significant relationship between the student achievement scores and student evaluation of instructor performance. There was a wide variance in correlation of student grades and student achievement scores when individual sections or individual instructors were examined. The overall correlation of grades and achievement scores was statistically significant and was the highest of any of the factors studied. The study recommends using more objective measures of student achievement in evaluating faculty performance.

The problem with which this investigation was concerned was the determination of group perception profiles of selected higher education faculties. These group perception profiles were based upon faculty perceptions of the ten most important criteria considered in evaluating faculty members for purposes of rank, promotion, salary, and tenure. Also, the study determined whether or not cluster profiles existed at three levels or types of institutions-- university, liberal arts, and junior college--and how such profiles differed between levels. This study had several purposes. The first was to determine how group perception profiles of higher education faculties clustered in response to perceptions of criteria considered in evaluating faculty members. The second was to determine if similar clusters existed at three types of institutions. A third was to determine differences in the proportion of teachers belonging to each identifiable cluster at each level of institution. The fourth was to determine differences in profiles according to proportions of teachers across common clusters. And finally, the fifth was to determine differences in profiles among faculty members in identified clusters at each institutional level according to biographical characteristics: age, rank, teaching experience, seniority, and highest degree held.

The problem this investigation considered was the effect of student evaluation feedback upon subsequent classroom behavior and attitudes of university faculty. The results of analysis of the data revealed that neither the amount of feedback, nor the time of semester the feedback was given produced any significant change in the teachers' self-evaluation. The discrepancies between students' evaluations and teacher's self-evaluation which were present also had no effect upon the teacher attitudes or classroom behaviors. Other variables that were without effect upon the teacher attitudes were number of years of teaching experience of the teacher, elective versus required course offerings, level of course, and academic department. These results refute much of the findings in current literature concerning the effects of various external consequences upon the attitudes of both teachers and students. However, the associated procedural difficulties require further explanation of the results. A possible explanation for the lack of significant results is detailed in the conclusion section. The reasons include procedural difficulties associated with external considerations which could not be controlled through experimentation; however, these processes have a large effect upon the final results.

Thesis (MTech(Human Resource Management))--Cape Technikon, Cape Town, 2000 / This research project investigated the need for a method of determining an equitable workload for academic staffing in higher education. With the possibility of the introduction of a performance management system at the Cape Technikon it became imperative that an agreed, objective and user-friendly method of determining the workload of each academic member of staff be established. The research project established the main parameters of the job of an academic staff member and their dimensions that would influence both the quantity and quality of work produced. They were established based on the views of a panel of educators drawn from a diverse range of disciplines. Using the identified dimensions an algorithm was developed and refined to reflect the consensus views regarding the contributory weightings of each of the parameters' dimensions. This algorithm was tested and refined using a base group of academic staff who were identified by their colleagues as those whose workload could be considered a benchmark for their discipline. The most significant result of the research programme is the agreed algorithm that can form the basis for a performance management system in higher education. The user interface that was developed at the same time reflects the transparency of the system and allows for it to be adapted to the needs of various groups of users or individuals within an organisation. On the basis of this research it has been established that a system for determining an equitable workload which encompasses an extensive range of parameters can be developed using a participatory approach. Using a significant sample of academic staff as a basis, it would appear that the system is valid, reliable, useful and acceptable to academic staff in the context of a performance management system.