Thesis advisor: Joseph O'Keefe / This qualitative case study examined how central office administrators (COAs) and principals in one school district made sense of the new Massachusetts Model System for Educator Evaluation (MMSEE) and how COAs communicated their understanding and expectations of MMSEE to principals. Specifically, this study utilized the sensemaking property of enactment as central to its conceptual framework; thus, sensemaking was defined by what COAs enacted to implement MMSEE for principal evaluation. Data gathered from semi-structured interviews with COAs and principals revealed that COAs and principals lacked consistent understanding of MMSEE implementation. The data also illustrated that COAs and principals viewed communication about MMSEE in different ways. The study indicated that the district has invested in developing principals to be instructional leaders but has not yet created coherence between district initiatives and MMSEE expectations. The study recommends that COAs clearly communicate to principals the alignment of enacted district level supports with MMSEE evaluation. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

Thesis advisor: Martin Scanlan / This qualitative case study of a medium-sized Massachusetts school district was part of a larger study exploring how educators throughout a school district make sense of and enact culturally responsive practice (CRP). This individual study focused on how school leaders and teachers incorporated their understanding of CRP into the supervision and evaluation process. Despite a growing body of literature on the effectiveness of educator evaluation standards on teacher practice, there is little on how these tools increase teachers’ capacity to support the learning of historically marginalized students. Specifically, this research asks two questions: (1) How do teachers and school leaders understand CRP? (2) How does the supervision and evaluation process contribute to a shared understanding of CRP for teachers and school leaders? Data were collected from 22 semi-structured interviews of school leaders and teachers, document review, and an online survey. Incorporating a cognitive framework for policy implementation, findings revealed that school leaders and teachers understand CRP through their own identities and life experiences and through their interpretation of the district’s professional environment. Findings further noted that the lack of a shared definition of CRP in the district contributed to inconsistent application and prioritization of CRP in the supervision and evaluation process. Without a shared understanding, educators often pivoted to other district initiatives to describe CRP. Implications include the need to establish a system of reflection and practice for educators to explore the beliefs they hold about historically marginalized students and how those beliefs inform practice. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

A strong focus has been placed on accountability for the educational process and the achievement of all students. This has put tremendous pressure on teachers, as well as school administrators, superintendents, and school board members, to seek innovative ways to increase student achievement and to ensure that effective teachers are in all classrooms, so emphasis is on developing effective evaluation systems. Given the development and implementation of the Mississippi Teacher Evaluation System (MTES) in 2010, there is a need to discover the perspectives of the teachers who are evaluated within this process. The success of an evaluation process will only be successful if teachers use it to enhance their professional growth and effectiveness in the classroom. In order to gain an understanding of the perceptions of Mississippi teachers in Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) schools and their insight into the MTES, this study focused on three research questions: (1) how do Mississippi teachers perceive the usefulness of the MTES, (2) how do Mississippi teachers perceive that the MTES develops their effective teaching practices, and (3) how do Mississippi teachers perceive that the MTES supports teachers’ professional growth? A qualitative approach provided descriptive, narrative, and percentage responses to the research questions of this multiple-case study. Results showed that the majority of the TIF teachers who participated in this study perceived that the MTES to have some degree of usefulness, especially when implemented consistently across the campus. Teachers who did not experience the entire evaluation process and feedback conferences were frustrated and irritated by the process. Overall, teachers did experience an improvement in their instructional practices because of their participation in the MTES, and most perceived that the MTES supported their professional growth because of targeted professional development and the development of professional-growth goals. With timely feedback and evaluator support, teachers are enriching their teaching practices which enhance student engagement, but they are concerned that the instrument is not being implemented consistently in all schools. There is a lack of confidence in navigating the observation rubric and implementing the process with consistency.

In recent years, the South African education system has experimented with different appraisal systems in an attempt to evaluate the performance of educators in public schools. Educator appraisal is receiving attention throughout the world as governments become aware of the need to examine educational provision critically to ensure that it is both relevant for and appropriate to, the needs of the youth. Before 1994, the appraisal of educators was mainly based on traditional approaches to evaluate their performance. For instance, it was the responsibility of the inspectors from the Department of Education (DoE) to evaluate the performance of educators in schools. Consequently, a great deal of criticism was levelled at this appraisal system such as the prevalence of political bias in the system, the unchecked power that the inspectors wielded, the incompetence of inspectors and irrelevance of some evaluation criteria and absence of contextual factors. After 1994, there was a paradigm shift from the traditional to the developmental approach to evaluate the performance of educators in public schools. That is, there was a need to develop educators through appropriate appraisal schemes with a view to enhancing their continued professional growth. Therefore, the present education system calls for a decentralised appraisal system, which places greater emphasis on the professional development of educators. Stakeholders such as educators and teacher unions have also made higher demands for improved educator evaluation and professional growth. In 1998, at the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC), the Department of Education (DoE) agreed to introduce the Developmental Appraisal System (DAS) followed by the Whole-School Evaluation (WSE) in 2001. Both these policies were rejected by educators and their teacher unions since they regarded these appraisal systems as summative, judgmental and that failed to offer opportunities for further development. In August 2003, the DoE and the unions signed two collective agreements, which led to the Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) and it was intended to integrate and strengthen various components of DAS, WSE and performance measurement (PM). The IQMS was first implemented in South African schools in 2005 with the aim of enhancing the continuing professional growth of educators. Furthermore, the National Department of Education (NDoE) introduced the National Policy Framework on Teacher Education and Development (NPFTED) in 2006. This policy aimed to equip educators to undertake their essential and demanding tasks and to enable them to enhance their professional competence and performance on a continuing basis. Even though the IQMS was introduced as a new system to evaluate the performance of educators and to enhance their professional growth, it does not actually serve its purpose since it is not properly implemented and monitored in schools. Instead of using it as a tool to enhance the professional growth of educators, its emphasis is on getting assessment scores, which are directly related to remuneration. As a result, the ultimate aim of professional development for educators is neglected. This means that the IQMS is regarded as a separate entity that is not linked to the continuing professional growth of educators and its developmental programmes are criticised for being traditional since they are only confined to class visits, which are conducted once or twice a year for PM purposes. Therefore, since the introduction of the IQMS in 2003 and its implementation in 2005 in South African schools, no empirical research has been conducted on the need to link appraisal to professional development in the IQMS in South African schools. The study conducted by Bisschoff and Mathye (2009) focusses on the advocacy of an appraisal system for teachers. Another study conducted by Dhlamini (2009) concentrates on the role of the IQMS to measure and improve teaching and learning in the South African further education and training (FET) sector. Furthermore, the study by Rabichund (2011) focusses on the assessment of the IQMS and its implications for whole school development. Furthermore, the study by Mahlaela (2011) investigates the IQMS as a transformational strategy for teacher development in South Africa. Accordingly, this study builds on these studies and it seeks to investigate how appraisal and professional development can be linked in the IQMS in South African schools. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)

In recent years, the South African education system has experimented with different appraisal systems in an attempt to evaluate the performance of educators in public schools. Educator appraisal is receiving attention throughout the world as governments become aware of the need to examine educational provision critically to ensure that it is both relevant for and appropriate to, the needs of the youth. Before 1994, the appraisal of educators was mainly based on traditional approaches to evaluate their performance. For instance, it was the responsibility of the inspectors from the Department of Education (DoE) to evaluate the performance of educators in schools. Consequently, a great deal of criticism was levelled at this appraisal system such as the prevalence of political bias in the system, the unchecked power that the inspectors wielded, the incompetence of inspectors and irrelevance of some evaluation criteria and absence of contextual factors. After 1994, there was a paradigm shift from the traditional to the developmental approach to evaluate the performance of educators in public schools. That is, there was a need to develop educators through appropriate appraisal schemes with a view to enhancing their continued professional growth. Therefore, the present education system calls for a decentralised appraisal system, which places greater emphasis on the professional development of educators. Stakeholders such as educators and teacher unions have also made higher demands for improved educator evaluation and professional growth. In 1998, at the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC), the Department of Education (DoE) agreed to introduce the Developmental Appraisal System (DAS) followed by the Whole-School Evaluation (WSE) in 2001. Both these policies were rejected by educators and their teacher unions since they regarded these appraisal systems as summative, judgmental and that failed to offer opportunities for further development. In August 2003, the DoE and the unions signed two collective agreements, which led to the Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) and it was intended to integrate and strengthen various components of DAS, WSE and performance measurement (PM). The IQMS was first implemented in South African schools in 2005 with the aim of enhancing the continuing professional growth of educators. Furthermore, the National Department of Education (NDoE) introduced the National Policy Framework on Teacher Education and Development (NPFTED) in 2006. This policy aimed to equip educators to undertake their essential and demanding tasks and to enable them to enhance their professional competence and performance on a continuing basis. Even though the IQMS was introduced as a new system to evaluate the performance of educators and to enhance their professional growth, it does not actually serve its purpose since it is not properly implemented and monitored in schools. Instead of using it as a tool to enhance the professional growth of educators, its emphasis is on getting assessment scores, which are directly related to remuneration. As a result, the ultimate aim of professional development for educators is neglected. This means that the IQMS is regarded as a separate entity that is not linked to the continuing professional growth of educators and its developmental programmes are criticised for being traditional since they are only confined to class visits, which are conducted once or twice a year for PM purposes. Therefore, since the introduction of the IQMS in 2003 and its implementation in 2005 in South African schools, no empirical research has been conducted on the need to link appraisal to professional development in the IQMS in South African schools. The study conducted by Bisschoff and Mathye (2009) focusses on the advocacy of an appraisal system for teachers. Another study conducted by Dhlamini (2009) concentrates on the role of the IQMS to measure and improve teaching and learning in the South African further education and training (FET) sector. Furthermore, the study by Rabichund (2011) focusses on the assessment of the IQMS and its implications for whole school development. Furthermore, the study by Mahlaela (2011) investigates the IQMS as a transformational strategy for teacher development in South Africa. Accordingly, this study builds on these studies and it seeks to investigate how appraisal and professional development can be linked in the IQMS in South African schools. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)