The perceived effectiveness of perfomance appraisal in Gauteng Independent Schools

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2014-03-24

Authors

Weaver, Simon

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Performance appraisal is being used in many schools to improve the effectiveness of Organisations as well as develop individuals, South Africa is currently moving away from the old inspection system which was used in Government Schools and has implemented a new appraisal system for its schools. It is important at this time to ensure that the most appropriate path is embarked upon so that the process adopted and implemented is effective. This research aims to investigate the appraisal systems currently in use in the Independent Schools in Gauteng and to inform the debate on what the critical issues seem to be. A proposal is offered on the future of appraisal systems in schools. All 95 head-teachers of the Independent Schools registered with the Independent Schools council were sent questionnaires to complete. Three Preparatory schools were selected and the teachers in each of the schools were sent a similar questionnaire which gathered information about their perceptions of appraisal. The head-teachers from the three schools were also interviewed. The results indicate that teachers do not feel consulted about the process and thus lack ownership. This implies that there are problems with the implementation of appraisal in schools and that teachers do not really support the system. There was a large discrepancy between the perceptions of the head-teachers and the teachers with the head-teachers being far more positive about appraisal. Both groups generally felt that business is different to education and that systems developed in business should be adapted to the educational field rather than being transferred straight across. The positive aspects of appraisal which were reported oh included useful reflection on practice, ‘otivatioh of the teachers, improvement of performance and personal growth. The negative outcomes indicated that it was a threatening process for the teachers, that it sometimes encouraged individualism and competition, it involved subjective assessments and evaluations, it lacked continuity and feedback and did not really build relationships of trust, In order to overcome the problems encountered, it was recommended that performance management be jooked into as an alternative.

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