2005 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
A Study on the Legal Principles and Actual Conditions of Public School Teacher Evaluation System in the United States of America
| Project/Area Number |
15530494
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Educaion
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| Research Institution | HIROSHIMA UNIVERSITY (2004-2005)
Joetsu University of Education (2003) |
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Principal Investigator |
KOGA Kazuhiro Hiroshima University, Graduate School of Education, Professor, 大学院・教育学研究科, 教授 (70170214)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2005
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| Keywords | Teacher Evaluation / Personnel Administration / Public School / U.S.A. / Peer Review / NEA / AFT / Educational Administration |
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| Research Abstract |
Traditionally, teacher evaluation in the public schools in the U.S. were conducted by the principal. However, recently, in some school districts, teachers are being evaluated by their peers, normally an experienced teacher (also called a "consulting teacher"). Furthermore, even the teachers unions which were initially against the idea, have changed their stand and have begun to view it favorably thus attracting a great deal of attention.
Therefore, this research, a part of a study on personnel administration in the public school in the U.S., attempted to clarify the background and the actual conditions of the peer-teacher evaluation system in the developed school districts and also consider the characteristics and the problems of the system.
Although this project is officially carried out by a school district in cooperation with a teachers union, the peer-teacher evaluation system has, by and large, been managed by, and at the initiative of a teachers union from the time of its inception. Thus, compared to teacher evaluation by a principal, it would seem that the teachers union would be in a position to influence the outcomes in a peer-teacher evaluation system. Despite the merits in this system, it, however, cannot be concluded that this system is far better than evaluations conducted by school principals.
If the peer-teacher evaluation system is purely to play a supportive function and it disregards the function of removing incompetent teachers, then this system will be unable to deal with issues related to teacher accountability in public schools. The primary goals of the peer-teacher evaluation system, i.e. improvement in the objectivity of evaluation and the development of the departments and the teachers who are being evaluated, in themselves suggest a host of problems in its implementation. Thus, it would be difficult to predict if the adoption of the system will be widespread.
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