Teacher performance appraisal as a formative experience: a case study in two teachers’ training schools in Benguela, Angola

Abstract

Teacher appraisal (TA) or teacher performance appraisal (TPA) has assumed a central importance in educational systems and reforms worldwide, contributing to the improvement of teaching practices, and therefore it is considered an essential factor for teachers’ early training, teachers’ professional development, school management, and promotion of critical reflexivity and self-regulation among teachers and school administrators. The main purpose of this study is to understand how the TA process is implemented in teachers’ training schools in Angola. Four research objectives were established: i) to identify teachers’ perceptions of TA’s goals; (ii) to characterise the procedures and instruments used in TA; (iii) to describe the impact of TA on teachers’ career; and (iv) to present proposals for improving the TA process. The study adopts a qualitative research design with a descriptive and interpretive approach. Research data were collected through semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and document analysis, involving a sample of 13 teachers in two different teachers’ training schools in the province of Benguela, Angola. The results show that the implementation of TA is not highly effective because of two main reasons: firstly, evaluators lack specific training and expertise; secondly, evaluated teachers perceive this process as being unfair and useless, given that they do not consider themselves accurately appraised and that the TA system, violating legal regulations, has no effects on career development or salary recognition.