How to improve teachers’ instructional practices: the role of professional learning activities, classroom observation and leadership content knowledge in Turkey

Abstract

PurposeThis study focused on the impact of principals' leadership content knowledge, evaluation practices and teachers' professional learning activities on classroom instruction.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 425 teachers who worked in 46 elementary and lower secondary public schools within two provinces in Turkey. Teachers were asked to fill out a questionnaire on principals’ leadership content knowledge, evaluation feedback, professional learning activities and changed instructional practices. This study employed multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM) by using the Bayesian estimation method to analyze the research hypotheses.FindingsFindings indicate that if teachers perceive the evaluation progress as more useful, then they will participate in more professional learning activities, and they will be more effective in their classroom practices. This study also indicates that teachers' professional learning activities stimulate their instructional practices.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the number of schools and teachers allows using multilevel analysis, it limits the findings generalized beyond the sample. To compensate for this limitation, the author confirmed that the sample was representative of the larger population by examining the size of students and teachers, SES and teachers' job experience. The author also conducted a Bayesian estimator to strengthen the test of significance of effects.Practical implicationsThis study underlines the critical role of leadership content knowledge in evaluating practices and providing useful feedback perceived by teachers in elementary and secondary schools. Principals should lead to instruction by knowing how to address a lack of teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge and classroom practices. The Ministry of Education should support principals in becoming effective instructional leaders to observe teachers and provide them meaningful feedback on teaching.Originality/valueDespite increased interest in this construct, research on principals' and teachers' responses to adapt the recent form of teachers’ performance evaluation systems is scant, especially in developing countries’ context. Moreover, little is known about the paths through which principals can enhance classroom practices by providing useful feedback. Given these trends in policy and practice context, this study provides empirical evidence that principals can enact the teachers’ performance evaluation that affects classroom instruction.

Teacher-Tailored Classroom Observation for Professional Growth of EFL Instructors: An Exploratory Case Study

“…Electronic ISSN 1803-1617 play in appraisals (Montgomery, 2014;Taylor, 2016). Previous research also confirms the fact that such observation causes anxiety (e.g., Ali, 2007;Cockburn, 2005;Merç, 2015) and that teachers prefer their lessons to be observed by those who have content knowledge in their field (Dos Santos, 2017;Özdemir, 2020) as opposed to those in administrative positions. By contrast, teachers' self-observations or peer observations appear to be more bottom-up and transformative as teachers are encouraged to reflect on their own or with the help of their peers (Farrell, 2014;Mann, 2005).…”

Analysis of the principal’s performance during COVID-19 pandemic: It’s impact on teacher’s performance

“…This finding strengthens the opinion and previous findings that the role of the principal will have an impact on teacher performance (Aslamiah et al, 2019). Supervision by the principal will also determine teacher performance (Handayani et al, 2021;Özdemir, 2020;Rahmatullah & Saleh, 2019). The role of the principal during online learning is increasingly complex, ranging from managing teaching and learning activities to providing emotional support to teachers who are tired and frustrated at work (González & Madrid, 2020).…”

Are School Leaders in Tanzania Effective in Fostering Instructional Change? Unveiling This Black Box from the Feedback Perspective

“…A case in this later point is when a teacher has just completed a highly stressful classroom experience. Perhaps more importantly, some people are happy to wait slightly longer for feedback if this increases the feedback quality (Mulliner & Tucker, 2015;Özdemir, 2020). On these grounds, both immediate and delayed feedback can be useful depending on the context.…”