published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / abstract / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

The problem of this study is concerned with the relationships between selected requirements for admission to elementary teacher education and teaching performance. The purposes of this study were (1) to investigate the relationships between teaching performance, as evaluated by a principal, and five selected admission criteria (the GPA at the time of admittance to teacher education; achievement test scores in reading, language, mathematics; and instructor appraisal of the student during the first education course); (2) to determine whether or not the five selected admission criteria used singly, or in some combination, predict success in teaching performance.

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions,)[ elementary school principals of teacher evaluation practices in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Specifically, the current study was guided by the following research questions: 1) What are the perceptions of elementary public school principals regarding the effectiveness of teacher evaluation in public elementary schools? and 2) To what extent do elementary school principals' perceptions of the effectiveness of teacher evaluation vary by selected demographic variables (e.g. socio-economic status (SES), Academic Performance Index (API) score, student ethnicity makeup, and size of school)? The collective bargaining agreement for the school district was reviewed and the perceptions of the different principals regarding teacher evaluation practices as well as their specific evaluation procedures at the site level were compared. Results revealed that the collective bargaining agreement did not place serious limitations on evaluation practices. Results of this study also demonstrated that elementary school principals indicated overwhelmingly that teacher evaluation needed to be improved to be more comprehensive, including more informal observations and feedback to be taken into account during the evaluation!on process. In addition, concerns were present regarding the consistency of how the teacher evaluations were conducted and the meaningfulness of the teacher evaluation process. In addition, concerns were present regarding the consistency of how the teacher evaluations were conducted and the meaningfulness of the teacher evaluation process. Results further indicated that time constraints and other factors limited the ability of principals to provide meaningful feedback to teachers. The results of this survey reflect a desire on the part of elementary school principals to see the teacher evaluation process changed to become more effective. This change in the teacher evaluation process will help principals make a difference for everyone- principals, teachers, and students alike.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Many schools in South Africa face challenges of poor teacher performance as a result of implementing performance evaluation systems that are not developmental. In an attempt to resolve the current implementation challenges of the South African Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) which is theoretically aligned to the TQM principles, the focus in this study is on the perceptions of school-based managers and educators regarding the effectiveness of the developmental supervision model as a possible tool for improving the quality of teaching. A mixed methods research design characterised by the explanatory sequential design was used to address the research questions. Out of the 350 randomly selected participants in all 15 districts of the Gauteng Province responded to the quantitative phase in the form of questionnaires. This was followed by analysis of the qualitative data from three focus group interview sessions that were conducted in Sedibeng East, Sedibeng West and Johannesburg North districts of the Gauteng Province in order to get in-depth explanations on perceptions of school-based managers and educators. Each of the three focus group interviews comprised of ten purposefully selected participants embracing two principals, two vice principals, two HODs and four educators per district. The results indicate that school-based managers and educators strongly believed that the developmental supervision model is an excellent tool for improving quality of teaching by applying implementation strategies comprising of the clinical supervision, self-directed supervision, peer supervision and connoisseurship strategies. These results were based on the opinion of the participants that the characteristics of the developmental supervision implementation strategies align with the Total Quality Management principles which were perceived to have a positive influence on improving the quality of teaching. The same supervision strategies were also found to match different levels of teacher development according to their levels of expertise and commitment. In contrast, the IQMS performance evaluation process, which also involves self-evaluation and peer evaluation, was believed to lack compliance with the developmental supervision strategies and the TQM principles during practical implementation because of characteristics related to the traditional inspection approaches to professional development. It is therefore recommended that the developmental supervision model should be introduced in South African schools to effectively implement the IQMS in order to ensure improved quality of teaching. / Educational Management and Leadership / D. Ed. (Education Management)

The study measures the productive vocabulary size of Grade 6 English Second Language learners and teachers in 16 township schools in Gauteng Province. Data from learners (n-881) and teachers (n-19) were collected by testing the participants with versions C and A respectively of the Productive Vocabulary levels Test of Controlled ability. In addition, samples of learners’ written work were examined. Interviews and lesson observations with a sample of teachers were conducted to triangulate the data. Using SPSS version 23, means for each word level were calculated. The ANOVA, t-tests and post hoc tests were performed. Bonferroni corrections were applied. Results indicate that both learners and teachers have not mastered the vocabulary at the levels tested. The results also indicate that poor vocabulary teaching methods and poverty contribute to poor vocabulary development among learners. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / M.A. (Applied Linguistics)

Many schools in South Africa face challenges of poor teacher performance as a result of implementing performance evaluation systems that are not developmental. In an attempt to resolve the current implementation challenges of the South African Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) which is theoretically aligned to the TQM principles, the focus in this study is on the perceptions of school-based managers and educators regarding the effectiveness of the developmental supervision model as a possible tool for improving the quality of teaching. A mixed methods research design characterised by the explanatory sequential design was used to address the research questions. Out of the 350 randomly selected participants in all 15 districts of the Gauteng Province responded to the quantitative phase in the form of questionnaires. This was followed by analysis of the qualitative data from three focus group interview sessions that were conducted in Sedibeng East, Sedibeng West and Johannesburg North districts of the Gauteng Province in order to get in-depth explanations on perceptions of school-based managers and educators. Each of the three focus group interviews comprised of ten purposefully selected participants embracing two principals, two vice principals, two HODs and four educators per district. The results indicate that school-based managers and educators strongly believed that the developmental supervision model is an excellent tool for improving quality of teaching by applying implementation strategies comprising of the clinical supervision, self-directed supervision, peer supervision and connoisseurship strategies. These results were based on the opinion of the participants that the characteristics of the developmental supervision implementation strategies align with the Total Quality Management principles which were perceived to have a positive influence on improving the quality of teaching. The same supervision strategies were also found to match different levels of teacher development according to their levels of expertise and commitment. In contrast, the IQMS performance evaluation process, which also involves self-evaluation and peer evaluation, was believed to lack compliance with the developmental supervision strategies and the TQM principles during practical implementation because of characteristics related to the traditional inspection approaches to professional development. It is therefore recommended that the developmental supervision model should be introduced in South African schools to effectively implement the IQMS in order to ensure improved quality of teaching. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)

The purpose of this study was to examine the leadership styles adopted by school principals and their influence on the job performance of primary school teachers in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. The study was designed to gain insight into the kinds of leadership styles presently used, the leadership preference of principals, the perceptions of the teachers and principals regarding the leadership styles of the principals and the effect of the leadership styles on teachers’ performance. The main research question that guided this study was: Which leadership styles are most commonly used by primary school principals in the Tigray region and what is their effect on the performance of teachers? A mixed-methods research design was used with questionnaires as well as a focus group interview as means of data-collection. One hundred and seventy eight principals and 446 teachers comprising 69% male and 31% female teachers participated in the study. The path-goal leadership questionnaire as well as a self-constructed questionnaire to measure teacher performance was self-administered to collect data from the selected principals and teachers, which secured a 97% response rate. During the qualitative phase, eight supervisors participated in the focus group interview. The questionnaire data were analysed using the Statistical Analysis System (SAS) software. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were conducted and presented in a clear and logical manner. The principals and teachers indicated that all the leadership styles, except the directive leadership style, have a positive impact on the teachers’ performance. Furthermore, the supportive leadership style is the most frequently used style. Importantly, age, qualifications and experience as independent variables had an effect on teachers’ performance. The data also indicated a statistically significant relationship between the job performance of teachers and the leadership styles employed by the principals. The study results make a contribution to the research on the relation between leadership styles and teachers’ performance, especially since no study has been conducted on this issue in the Tigray region of Ethiopia before. It was possible to make several meaningful recommendations for implementation in the Tigray region. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)