This study examines teacher evaluation in a Catholic school system and the problematic and recommended practices that effect teacher formative development in the teacher evaluation process. The Department of Catholic Schools in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in West Virginia expressed an interest in improving the teacher evaluation process in its school system. Informal comments from teachers and principals indicate that the process does not improve the formative development of teachers.
Historically, there has been limited literature about teacher evaluation in Catholic schools. Literature about teacher evaluation in general and in public schools, as well as one doctoral dissertation focusing on teacher evaluation in a single Catholic school, reveal that the formative development of teachers is a critical part of the evaluation process and that formative development is often lacking in the teacher evaluation process. The literature outlines both problematic practices that hinder teacher formative development in the evaluation process and recommended practices that promote teacher formative development in the evaluation process.
Three focus groups of teachers and three focus groups of principals representing the schools in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston were conducted by the researcher. Focus groups were chosen as the method of data collection to best explore and understand the full range of perceptions of the principals and teachers about the teacher evaluation process. The problematic and helpful aspects of the current teacher evaluation process and elements to promote teacher formative development within the teacher evaluation process were discussed by the teachers and principals.
A close relationship was found between the problematic and recommended practice identified in the literature and by the focus groups. Additionally, the focus groups stressed the inclusion of Catholic Identity as the most important component of the teacher evaluation process. The larger significance of this study for the teacher evaluation processes in other dioceses as well as in public schools is discussed.
Based on information in the literature and the focus group discussions, the researcher discusses implications for policy, practice, and future research in the teacher evaluation process to improve the formative development of teachers in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-01052009-225944 |
| Date | 06 January 2009 |
| Creators | Gaudino, Ann Cancilla |
| Contributors | Diane Kirk, Norma Greco, Cynthia Tananis, Michael Gunzenhauser, Charlene Trovato |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-01052009-225944/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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