Thesis (M.S.)--Worcester Polytechnic Institute. / Keywords: Performance based -- structural steel -- fire conditions. Includes bibliographical references (p. 138-141).

As the evaluation of teachers becomes prominent in the current climate of educational reform, the details of teacher evaluation systems become important. The goal of the research was to gain perspective about a little-studied group key in education reform efforts to improve teacher evaluation--the peer evaluator. Teachers serving as peer evaluators were interviewed to reveal their perceived lived experiences before undertaking the role, benefits and challenges they perceived during the role, and their perception of how the experience will impact their future as educators. Extensive profiles of three peer evaluators were crafted based on in-depth interviews. The themes revealed from phenomenological reduction analysis included Idealism, Non-Collegial Reality, Valued Experience and Residual Optimism. The study found common elements in the backgrounds and interests of the participants, including previous leadership roles and a shared a sense of idealism entering the role. The study also found that participants' perceived expectations of being able to help fellow teachers were not fully met as they progressed in the role. Among the perceived challenges and benefits of being a peer facilitator, the study found that time constraints and dealing with non-receptive teachers were perceived as the most challenging for participants, while they valued seeing a "bigger picture" beyond a single classroom as beneficial. As such, the ability to see the bigger picture, along with being a good time manager and communicating well with teachers were perceived by the participants as being most useful in performing their jobs. Finally, the study found that the participants predominantly found their experiences as peer evaluators to be affirming of their previously held educational perspectives, and that the overall experience would impact their future performance as educators in positive ways.

The purpose of this dissertation is to provide an overview of teachers’ expectations of teachers’ performance appraisal (TPA) in Hong Kong secondary schools. Due to the implementation of School-based Management in 2000, all schools in Hong Kong were advised to implement TPA for long-term advancement and development. In other words, TPA seems to be a crucial practice for schools in Hong Kong nowadays. In this research, two secondary schools with different school cultures are the main focus to study. 85 teachers in these two schools were invited to provide their views by means of questionnaire. Besides, seven interviewees were selected to provide further details about their thoughts concerning TPA. Two of them are Principals of the two schools, one of them is the Assistant Principal, one is the Senior Graduate Master, one is Senior Assistant Master and the remaining two are Graduate Mistress and Graduate Master. In this research, respondents were asked to express their opinions towards four areas, namely, the purposes of TPA, the design of TPA, the relationship between appraisers and TPA, and the follow-up work of TPA. From the research findings, it is found that the main purposes of TPA, according to the respondents, are related to helping teachers improve their teaching and for accountability. For the design of TPA, most respondents are satisfied with the present design of TPA in their schools and it is carried out in a fair and objective way. Concerning the relationship between appraisers and TPA, the respondents think that the appraisers are professional enough for making the whole process reasonable and objective. When asking about the follow-up of TPA, most respondents reply that they do treasure the TPA results for the sake of making further improvement at work. It is hoped that after conducting this research, light could be shed on how the different school cultures influence the thoughts of staff towards TPA and also, the effectiveness of TPA. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Introducing a new performance-based review with 100% support from staff in a well-established university is difficult for the university management. Apart from measuring whether regulations have been followed or not, acceptance of academic staff is one key area that educational organizations should not ignore when evaluating effectiveness of a performance-based policy. Using the case university as an example, this study aims at investigating academic staff’s perceptions of gradually introducing an array of performance-based review policies, its design and its success in enhancing quality. By conducting in-depth interviews with eight academic staff in the case university, suggestions to improve the performance-based review policy have also been collected. Findings showed that academic staff basically supported its implementation and believed that it could bring positive impacts to the case university. Major areas of concerns of academic staff, which included assessment criteria, focus of university development, flexibility, reviewer composition and motivation, could be considered by peer universities when designing their own performance-based review policies and promote their policy effectiveness. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

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This study focuses on students’ perceptions of the characteristics of quality teachers. A total of 448 students enrolled in high performing schools in 10 mostly urban school districts participated in focus group interviews during which groups of students in elementary, middle school, and high school were presented with the question, “What are the characteristics of quality teachers?” Student responses were recorded and analyzed using the three steps of Grounded Theory. Six characteristics of quality teachers emerged from the data. Student responses for each subgroup (elementary, middle school, and high school) were analyzed to determine the prevalence of each emergent characteristic among and between subgroups; each characteristic was then compared between subgroups to isolate intersecting and salient characteristics. Emergent characteristics were cross referenced to existing research on quality teacher traits to identify congruent as well as emergent descriptions of quality teachers. The goal of this study was to illuminate students’ voices by bringing their perspectives into the discourse of what constitutes quality teaching. / text

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published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration