The use and misuse of teacher appraisal - Education International

T H E U S E A N D M I S U S E O F T E A C H E R A P P R A I S A L
FOREWORD
This year’s International Summit on the Teaching Profession focuses on how teachers
are evaluated or appraised. It is an issue which is fundamentally at the heart of
teachers’ professionalism and of young people’s learning. While there are many
teachers who find appraisal supportive, there are many others who distrust it.
’The Use and Misuse of Teacher Appraisal’ is Education International’s analysis of the
debate around teacher appraisal and the teacher unions’ experiences of appraisal in
different OECD countries. Distributed to all participants and observers at the Summit,
it is the only analysis currently of how teachers view appraisal.
Teaching in the 21st Century requires teachers to be equipped with a wide set of skills
and capabilities that can be used not only in classrooms but also in professional and
continuous dialogue with colleagues, parents and the wider community. Appraisal is
at its best when it enhances teacher learning and confidence. This requires quality feedback
and mutual reflection as in any interactive and collaborative work. For appraisal to have
any positive impact, it has to be seen by teachers as a process which supports them
in their daily working lives. Above all, appraisal is a process which must be trusted by
teachers; otherwise, it will completely fail to enhance teacher self-efficacy and
effectiveness.
The evidence from this study is that for every jurisdiction which sees appraisal as
developmental, there is another which sees appraisal as coercive. Education International
believes that it is vital that, within teacher policies, appraisal is developed in collaboration
with teachers and their organisations and that all involved in appraisal agree on its purpose.
I would like to thank OECD for consulting EI on its background document for the Summit
and for agreeing to its teacher appraisal survey instruments being used for our
analysis. I believe that ‘The Use and Misuse of Appraisal’ will give teachers and policy
makers alike invaluable information when considering how to develop appraisal.
Fred van Leeuwen
General Secretary
Education International
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