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In the educational world of the eighties, despite burgeoning technologies and the silicon chip, and despite a multiplicity of aims and philosophies of education, it is axion~tic that progress amongst learners depends on the effectiveness of teaching and so on the quality of teachers. The definition which "effective teaching" assumes in any particular society is determined, of course, by many inter-related factors, not least the prevailing political, religious and economic ideologies. The successful teacher is generally viewed, it would appear, as one who succeeds in the transmission or generation of "valid" knowledge, and judgment by others is impl icit in the concept of validity. Because participation in the process of learning at school is essentially a human experience, a matter of interpersonal relationships, any statement about it is open to question; but as the evaluation of teacher expertise plays an important role in systems of education, the methods and concerns of such evaluation merit close study. In the Republic of South Africa the evaluation of teacher competence has recently assumed considerable significance with the introduction of a "merit assessment" system, and one of the chief concerns of the present work is a critical study of such assessment. Related concerns include teacher attitude towards assessment (in which context the Natal Teachers' Society Conference motion 19 of 1981 is apposite: "That this Conference expresses its total opposition to the merit award system as presently implemented" Mentor September 1981 p.152) ; and the place of such assessment in the context of contemporary models of organization theory, of educational administration and of school management. Cognisance has been taken of the Report of the Human Sciences Research Council Investigation into Education (1981) which was initiated, in part, by "grave dissatisfaction in the teaching profession" 1, and which proposes real consultation for teachers in the administration of education, based on participation, involvement and negotiation. Though seen from a wide-ranging and international perspective, teacher competence will in this work ultimately be defined from a South African perspective; and as the data are Natal based, Natal will be taken as an example of the Republic of South Africa. However, sight will never be lost of broader perspectives. The concerns, aim and scope of this work do not end with teachers, but are also bound up with children for it is they whose benefit or advancement depends on competent teaching. In an attempt to determine what children thought about teacher effectiveness, Musgrove and Taylor (1969) analysed 1379 essays by school pupi 1s on the topi cs "A good teacher" and "A poor teacher". Sca 1es were drawn up with statements reflecting the ideas most frequently voiced by pupils on teaching method, discipline, teachers' personal qualities and organizing abilities, and these scales were subsequently tested on hundreds of other children and teachers. Musgrove and Taylor, in reviewing their research, concluded inter alia that "Pupils expect teachers to teach. They value lucid exposition, the clear statement of problems, and guidance in their solution. Personal qualities of kindness, sympathy and patience are secondary .... (teachers) are expected to assume an essentially intellectual and instrumental role." (as quoted by Morrison and McIntyre, p.17l) The findings tended to uphold the idea of a structured "formal" relationship reminiscent of Waller's 1932 dictum that the effective teacher should maintain a social distance from his pupils and be relatively meaningless as a person. Other writers such as Postman and Weingartner (1969) suggest very different advice to teachers! The meaning of "good teaching" will be investigated in chapter three of this work, in terms of a survey of the appropriate literature but the specific criteria of good teaching in a particular country, for example South Africa, depend on a range of overt and hidden factors, and are the material of much ongoing debate. " The variety of the comment calls to mind the important question of how a teacher's effectiveness mayor (perhaps more important) should be judged: whether in terms of instrumental goal-attainment by pupils, or in terms of personal growth through satisfying classroom relationships or somehow in between these ends. In a world where technology and its application in education through a skills-Qased or objectives-centred approach is tending to debase the essentially person-to-person element of teaching, the concept of competent teaching is in danger of being reduced to allegedly measurable entities. In true handbook tradition, some texts, for example Stones and Morris (1972), almost suggest checklists for success 1n teaching, thus reducing a complex act of communication to a set of clinical procedures. While inexperienced student teachers may need direction and guidance in the development of particular skills, there is a danger in viewing or assessing the qualified person merely in terms of such skills or categories. Esland (1977) distinguishes between two extremes in teacher presentation. One, the "psychometric", stresses measurable advancement and reflects a behaviourist outlook. The other, the "epistemological", finds expression in education which stresses personal development. Depending on how a society interprets the elements of curriculum, pedagogy and evaluation, identified by Bernstein and Young (1970) as basic to any process of education, or on what view of the teacher and his task prevails, the criteria of good teaching will vary. Apart from the mere criteria, there is the important matter of interpretation and subjectivity on the part of anyone attempting to evaluate performance in a complex web of interaction. When, in turn, evaluation (implying overall judgment) is linked with assessment (which by definition involves some kind of measurement and therefore presupposes valid units and instruments), as in the case in South Africa, the situation becomes more problematic. Any assessment system is obviously grounded on a philosophical view of man within the organization. In this regard Ramos (1975) has warned social scientists and organization theorists about holding outdated versions of the model of organizational man. He claims that many contemporary organizations have a mechanistic view or a humanistic view of employees, which ignore the fact that man has a rationality beyond administrative behaviour and that man "in striving to be autonomous, cannot be explained by the psychology of conformi ty" (Ramos, 1975, p. 50) • This model of man, Ramos asserts, has emerged from a wealthy technological society, and (he) "would have a strong sense of self and an urge to find meaning in life. He would not uncritically accept standards of achievement, though he might be a great achiever when assigned creative tasks" (ibid. p.51). It would be tragic if education authorities were to ignore the creative thinker with the capability to change the prevailing environment, or as Ramos terms him, the parenthetical man, through the development of assessment systems which promoted and rewarded conformity. It must be recognised that the teacher has virtually unparalleled responsibility in society, for his actions contribute to the fate of society; it is the teacher who, ideally, "critically appraises, edits, sifts and clarifies society's trends, extracts its highest values and makes them implicit in himself as a man .... and explicit in his teachings" (Prosser, 1976, p.6). Such actions imply leadership and initiative of the highest order, and remind one of the importance of the teacher as a humanizing influence and as an element of stability in a world of increasing change. A brief overview of the scope and coverage of this work now follows. Chapter one reviews the concepts of assessment, evaluation and quality in teaching. It sketches problem areas such as the difficulties of assessment within differing political and social systems, the demands for the accountability of teachers because of massive financial investment in education, and the position of a professional in a bureaucratic structure. Semantic differences emerging from the terms assessment, .evaluati_o~ and ~FlJr~lis~ hdve largely been ignored in this work because of differing usages in which the words tend to blend into synonyms. In the writer's own use of the words, influenced by the Concise Oxford Dictionary, evaluation is seen as the act of observing a teacher's performance and indicating general aspects of strength or weakness (from OF aprisier, ! - to and prlsler - praise). Appraisal (from F evaluer, e - ex and valuer - value) suggests a slightly more judgmental response based on specific aims or values. Assessment (from L assessare - a combination of frequent and sit, originally to fix taxes) is seen more as an act of judgment based on numerical or other fixed expressions. As previously indicated, current practice in South Africa attempts to combine these processes. In chapter two the focus shifts to the behaviour of people within organizations and the need to take into account organization theory, as well as administrative and managerial concepts, in order to establish implications for the assessment of teachers. Views of man, as an organizational being, are reviewed and current practices in hierarchical systems with regard to delegation of responsibility and development of staff are indicated. A specific consideration of the act of teaching occurs in chapter three, where a review of the literature on teacher competence is undertaken. No such review could be exhaustive, and is meant in the present context to serve as background rather than as a definitive pronouncement. Chapter four includes a consideration of procedures for the assessment of teacher competence within centralized and decentralized education authorities, and a comparative study of methods used in England, the United States and Australasia. A full account is given of the policy and practices of all aspects of teacher assessment, including assess-. ment for promotion, operating in the Natal Education Department, and comparisions are drawn with procedures in other provincial education authorities. The question of "merit assessment" of teachers in the Republic of South Africa is broached and teacher reaction to it is indicated. In chapter five, an historical and criticdl account is given of the assessment of teachers in South Africa, with specific reference to Natal, and with emphasis on the "merit assessment" system as established in 1978. A detailed study is made of answers to a questionnaire drawn up by the writer and distributed to assessors of teachers in two education authorities in Natal. Chapter six contains a summary of major conclusions ar1s1ng from the study. Innovations are suggested, on established principles, with a view to recommending change 1n the assessment of teachers. The situation in Natal is borne 1n mind throughout, but the conclusions and suggestions are of a general nature. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal, 1982.

Teacher evaluation is a management tool for all educational organisations as it is used to research information on teacher performance. Information on teacher performance is important in the decision making process regarding employment of teachers, confirmation of appointment, identifying potential for promotion and staff development. Over the years teachers have raised serious reservations about teacher evaluation procedures in the United States of America, England and Wales and the Republic of South Africa . As a result, the United States and England and Wales have moved towards teacher evaluation intended for staff development. In this study the researcher investigated the perception of KwaZulu secondary school teachers towards teacher evaluation along the lines of the US and English system of evaluation, i.e. staff development. This study consists of three objectives. The first objective was to ascertain the perception of KwaZulu secondary school teachers with regard to teacher evaluation. The second objective was to find out whether these perceptions are influenced by personal variables of the respondents. The third objective was to determine whether teachers exhibit significant differences with regard to: purpose of evaluation, degree of independence, willingness to be evaluated, attitude toward evaluators, their involvement, and conditions under which evaluation was conducted. The researcher administered a questionnaire to KwaZulu secondary school teachers from Mehlwesizwe Inspection Circuit in urban and rural schools. Unfortunately the research sample was small but it yielded significant results. Over 71% of the respondents were positively disposed toward the evaluation of teachers for professional development, 27% were uncertain about teacher evaluation and 2% were negative. The results also indicated that perception of teacher evaluation was less likely to be influenced by personal variables such as gender, qualification, experience, area of specialization and area of operation. The majority of the respondents in the research sample have shown that the following purposes of teacher evaluation were very important: improvement of staff performance, identification of in-service training needs and the encouragement of self evaluation among teachers. Secondly, the respondents indicated that they were willing to be evaluated if they have control over decisions related to their teaching activities . Thirdly, the respondents revealed that they were willing to be involved in developing an evaluation system but lacked the necessary skills and knowledge about evaluation procedures . Fourthly, they indicated that they trust and they have confidence in their evaluators. Finally, they indicated that the decisions related to the type and use of evaluation data should be shared among all those involved in the evaluation process. The researcher made the following recommendations : ? the KwaZulu Department of Education and Culture should adopt a goal or target setting approach towards the development of the evaluation system. ? classroom observation and the evaluation interview should form part of the overall process of teacher evaluation. pre-service and in-service training of teachers and training of prospective evaluators should be undertaken in a form of seminars, workshops , conferences and a negotiated curricula be included at Universities and Colleges of Education. most importantly, evaluation should concentrate on the improvement of teaching practice. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, 1993.

In a study of perceptions of teaching and teaching improvement, data was collected from 68 CEGEP and university faculty members. Content analysis revealed that faculty members and faculty developers have different perceptions of the need for and the nature of teaching improvement, and that their improvement activities grow out of their perceptions of the critical variables, their controllability and stability. / Most faculty members reported doing some work on improving their teaching, but they were likely to engage in these activities only when they saw a problem and felt it was solvable; they used improvement services only when those services were seen as relevant and necessary to the solution (which was rare). / It was demonstrated that attribution theory and adult learning theory provide the theoretical bases for interpreting professors' descriptions of (a) the factors which limit their teaching effectiveness, (b) their own past and future improvement efforts and the usefulness of formal improvement strategies.

The study was designed to facilitate the development of a set of guidelines which might be used by administrative personnel of a school system to plan and implement a program of teacher evaluation. A review of literature and research relative to teacher evaluation programs was made to identify principles and desirable practice relative to the development of evaluation philosophy, approaches and activities. The review of literature was intended to also focus upon purposes of evaluation, responsibilities for making evaluations, criteria for evaluation and acceptance of evaluation procedures and techniques by professional faculty.The study also included a review and analysis of evaluation programs conducted within the seventeen member school systems of the Northwest Indiana Public School Study Council as of September 1973. Written descriptive materials and all directions, forms and regulations relative to the teacher evaluation programs were provided by the superintendents of the member school systems. All materials were analyzed in order to determine the nature, scope and procedural characteristics of practical. on-going evaluation programs.From the analysis of literature in the field and from the analysis of the selected number on on-going evaluation programs actually being used in school settings, it was intended that guidelines and suggestions could be developed which could be of vague to school officials and administrative personnel desirous of planning and implementing a program of teacher evaluation.Review and analysis of teacher evaluation literature and on going programs utilized by the member school corporations of the Northwest Indiana Public School Study Council were used in formulating and recommendations. The recommendations focus on procedures deemed necessary for the development of an effective teacher evaluation program and include recommendations relative to responsibilities of school organization personnel, developmental procedures, evaluation program content, and implementation and follow-up procedure.The findings from a review of literature and on-going programs of teacher evaluation made it possible to draw certain conclusions. Conclusions were also based in part on the unreported reading done, conversations held with professional educators, personal experiences as an educational administrator as well as personal observations and reflections. Sixteen separate conclusions were drawn. A few of the most important ones are: Teaching performance can and must be evaluated by administrators and/or supervisory personnel within the public school setting. The board of School Trustees must specify the purpose of a teacher evaluation programas it relates to the goals of the local system, and the implementation of an evaluation program is the responsibility of the administrative staff of the corporation.The guideline recommendations for planning and implementing a teacher evaluation program touches on the following considerations. These are the responsibilities of the board of school trustees, the superintendent of schools, and the evaluation committee which has been established by the superintendent of schools. The content of the teacher evaluation program should include purposes of the program, operational considerations, a development of assessment guide, and the development of report forms to be used in addition to assessment guide. Implementation and follow-up recommendations are also a part of the guideline recommendation3 made as a result of the study.

This study was formulated around the critical issues of teacher selection, potential discrimination, and candidate competence. This study investigated the effects of teacher candidate's age, ethnic name and undergraduate Grade Point Average (G.P.A.) on the school principals' evaluation of the candidate in the resume screening stage of selection.One hundred secondary school principals from a national random sample rated the hypothetical teacher candidates with different age conditions and resume conditions (ethnic name and G.P.A.). The principals' ratings for each candidate on the six selection criteria on the evaluation form were computed to yield a composite score for the candidate. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to examine the differences among composite scores for the candidates with different age and resume conditions. There was no statistically significant difference found in the principals' ratings for the candidates with different age conditions. This finding indicated that candidate's age did not have an effect on the principals’ evaluation. There was a statistically significant difference in the principals' ratings for the candidates with different resume condition. This finding indicated that candidate's resume condition had influence on the principals' evaluation.A post-hoc procedure, Tukey (HSD), was further used to detect the specifics of the resume condition effect. The data analyses indicated that candidate's G.P.A. had a direct effect on the principals' evaluation only for the Anglo-Saxon name candidates not for the Hispanic name candidates The data analyses also indicated that candidate's ethnic name had an indirect effect on the principals' evaluation, and the effect was in favor of the Hispanic name candidates with a high G.P.A. / Department of Educational Leadership

Assuring quality of the education is the overriding role of the Ministry of Education. The new adopted model for Whole School Evaluation is different from the previous school inspection system carried out in South Africa under the apartheid regime. Accountability is the cornerstone of all the programmes that are aimed at improving the quality of learning and teaching in our schools. It is therefore important to evaluate whether or not our efforts have an impact in the schools. It is against this background that the monitoring and evaluation became a reality and a necessity. Accountability is anchored by monitoring and evaluation. Formerly it was assumed that the systems would work without any monitoring and evaluation process. But the dawn of democracy dictated that monitoring and evaluation process is a clear reality and an integral part of any programme. This research project looks into the effectiveness of the performance management programmes with regard to Whole School Evaluation to the educators in the Mafikeng District of the North West Province. Some of the issues discussed in this research are t How effective is this programme in building up the school education system as a whole? • Are there any problems encountered in the proper implementation process? • Is this programme functional? The findings suggest that evaluation is an integral part of the education system that can build an educator if applied in the right way. / (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2003

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