The purposes of this study were to determine (a) what teacher evaluation processes or instruments are used in the 45 independent schools of the Southwest, (b) what types of professional development activities or programs are provided for teachers in these schools, and (c) how the development and implementation of the teacher evaluation process and professional development programs are perceived by the teaching faculty in selected schools. Questionnaires were administered to chief administrators of the 45 member schools of the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest. From the 28 schools submitting completed questionnaires and evaluation instruments, it was found that: (a) 3 of the schools had a very informal process, (b) 7 of the schools had an informal process, (c) 12 of the schools had a formal process, and (d) 6 of the schools had a very formal process. Four generalizations emerged from factors evident at the 5 schools selected for on-site visitations which should be addressed by independent schools regardless of the type of evaluation process used: (a) each school should develop a teacher evaluation policy; (b) each school should develop evaluation criteria and procedures that relate to each teacher's classification; (c) each school should delineate the specific role of the chief administrator in the evaluation process, and (d) each school should design a program of preferred professional development activities for each teacher's classification and level of the school. Finally, the recommendation was made that further research on teacher evaluation in independent schools include the investigation of how and why schools select a particular teacher evaluation process.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education