Budget Amount *help |
¥2,600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,600,000)
Fiscal Year 2005: ¥900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000)
Fiscal Year 2004: ¥900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000)
Fiscal Year 2003: ¥800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000)
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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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