Identifies some issues emerging from Barnet College's involvement in the United Kingdom's National Pilot appraisal Scheme for Further Education. Explores varying perceptions of both appraisers and appraisees, focusing on individual staff member and special interest group reactions. Only 14 percent of staff surveyed felt that the process was…

Discusses teachers' perceptions of an externally imposed appraisal process at a small British special school. Examines teachers' experiences to explore whether appraisal can be a learning process enabling schools to become learning organizations. Teachers will only become conscious, competent learners if they design their tasks within a flexible,…

This paper examines theoretical and empirical evidence related to primary teachers' subject knowledge in mathematics and considers the relevance of an audit of higher-level subject knowledge to the subject knowledge required for teaching primary mathematics. Questionnaires and interviews were carried out to determine the views of generalist…

Issues for policymakers at the national and local authority levels concerning teacher appraisal are discussed, from the perspective of a local educational agency advisor in London, England. Teacher appraisal is one of the ways in which the plurality characterizing the English and Welsh education systems is being replaced by a national system. At…

Addresses three questions: (1) What is high quality geography teaching in higher education; (2) how can high quality teaching be identified and evaluated; and (3) to what extent are faculty and departments held accountable for teaching quality? Explores how the answers to these questions vary between the United Kingdom and the United States. (CMK)

Describes a cyclical model for identifying training and staff development needs within a local education authority in Gwent (United Kingdom). The model's features include local representation of school staff, prioritization of needs, and the evaluation of training effectiveness in schools. This model appears to be more successful than previous…

Reports on LEA appraisal coordinators' implementation of teacher appraisal based on 1991 Regulations. As coordinators' work is being shaped and increasingly marginalized through legal requirements and state restructuring, incumbents have sought opportunities to promote educational values. Values-based professionalism is being replaced by…

This paper examines the use of portfolio evaluation in accrediting higher education teachers in the United Kingdom. It explains portfolios as an approach to authentic assessment and discusses the issue of reliability in portfolio assessment when teacher accreditation depends on it. Researchers investigated one course, collecting data on 53…

Uses a case study format to describe a British rural primary school's experience with evaluating a School Teacher Appraisal Pilot Study. Tips are provided for others embarking on similar ventures. Findings showed that appraisal does not take place in isolation and that long-term effects depend on its integration with other review and development…

Teachers are under scrutiny as never before. Politicians, parents and pupils invest a great deal of capital in teachers' ability to deliver the goods, notably in terms of national test results. In this essay I challenge the view that a teacher's role and value should be defined solely with respect to measurable outcomes, and argue that the…

This paper analyzes the implementation of a staff development and appraisal scheme at the University of Birmingham, England. The analysis focuses on the stakeholders and the decisive factors that were influential in effecting this innovation. Explored are three perspectives on leadership on how appraisers can become more effective. (GLR)

Systems chosen for teacher appraisal in both United Kingdom and United States frequently reflect interests of end users rather than teachers themselves. Drawing on experiences of group of teachers involved in open-ended evaluation process, this paper examines various appraisal systems and argues for those empowering teachers to reflect on their…

Describes how self-assessment was introduced into a Certificate in Education course for practicing British teachers in the post-compulsory sector and how the method and instrument of self-assessment was refined over successive cohorts, focusing on an action research project that was developed to change students' responses to the self-assessment's…

Responds to Jean Rudduck's argument that teachers should research their own practice. Maintains the teaching profession needs an autonomous body to accredit teacher education and to regulate curriculum content and assessment procedures. Encourages development of an action research approach to professional development and upgrading quality of…

This final edition focuses on two global issues that encompass most, if not all, of the topics explored in previous issues. With an emphasis on academic success for all children, the authors look at a method of universally designed assessment developed by the Kentucky Department of Education and based on the tenets of universal design for…