Effectiveness of the Teacher Appraisal System in Public Higher Secondary Schools of Punjab (Pakistan)

Abstract

Quantitative research was conducted to find out the effectiveness of the existing performance appraisal system (PAS). A survey research design was planned to determine the level of awareness of the teachers with the existing teacher appraisal system; moreover, the effectiveness was determined by the level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction of teachers with PAS and its probable effect on teaching practices. A random sampling technique was used to access the target population. A self-constructed questionnaire was distributed among 78 principals of public higher secondary schools and the reliability of the instrument was found to be .862. Step-wise regressions inform us dissatisfaction of teachers is associated with the transparency of the appraisers. Management support and motivation were not found to be significant predictors need for improvement. The results further highlighted that a lack of awareness about PAS negatively affects motivation to perform better. A lot of improvement is needed to make the appraisal process more effective.

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“…This view of school leadership supports the earlier findings from Pakistan that in the private schools teachers work hard as they are held accountable by parents, and there is a risk of losing students to other schools in case of poor performance (Andrabi, Das, & Khwaja, 2008). In addition, school leaders hold authority to hire and fire teachers, which makes them more conscious of their practices and growth (Nadeem et al, 2019). On the contrary, when teachers are recruited by a central authority as in case of public schools, it becomes difficult for parents and school leaders to make them accountable (Mbiti, 2016).…”

“…Consequently, the appraisal system not only lacks a potential to enhance the quality of teachers (Hyun & Sajjad, 2018;G. Khan, Khan, Hussain, & Shaheen, 2017) but also results in their demotivation (Nadeem, Arif, & Asghar, 2019). Although, government officials in the public sector pay occasional visits to schools to monitor compliance with standards, their focus is mainly administrative such as enrolment, attendance and so on (Mbiti, 2016).…”

“…Teachers are then awarded or reprimanded based on their performance. It is the fear of being fired that teachers in private school perform better (Nadeem et al, 2019). Otherwise, teachers do not see any connection between appraisal and their PD (Khan, 2015).…”

Factors Affecting the Satisfaction of School Teachers with Performance Appraisal System in Punjab

“…The goal of modern performance evaluation is not to punish but reinforce employees to learn and create a quality improvement culture. This objective is the most fulfilling for the goals of quality education in Pakistan, yet recent research (Nadeem, Arif & Asghar, 2019;Nadeem, Arif & Naeem, 2020) highlights that change of performance appraisal system has not worked wonders in 7 years for the school education system in Punjab.…”

“…Several discrepancies have been found in the conduction of PAS in public higher secondary schools. It is observed that mostly performance evaluation is conducted on teachers whose promotion is due; hence, the process has lost its objective quality, continuously demoralizing the schoolteachers (Nadeem et al, 2019). This attitude has undermined the credibility of the appraisal system; hence a comprehensive study was planned to fill the gap.…”