School self evaluation; how involved are educators in the process?

Abstract

Studies show that although evaluation policies regarding educator development and whole-school improvement have been put in place and even though schools express willingness to participate in such evaluation actions, they remain deeply suspicious of, and even subvert the original goals of these policies. This study explores the involvement of educators in School Self Evaluation, an internal evaluation which is a pre-requisite in the process of Whole School Evaluation (WSE) and their views on School Self-Evaluation (SSE) in relation to their professional development. WSE is the official evaluation system in South Africa. Schools undergo both external and internal evaluation. Results thereof are used by schools together with the District Support System to draw up School Improvement Plans (SIP's). In this study, a mixed mode approach was used. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used. Data were gathered from 125 educators in sixteen randomly sampled evaluated schools. The research findings suggest that educators are neither sufficiently trained nor are they aware of the significance of their role in the process, as well as the impact of school self-evaluation on their professional learning. Educator's learning appears to be influenced by the learning environment nurtured by the school and the way the school implements SSE. The study also provides an insight to how stakeholders involved in the implementation of School Self-evaluation would foster the educator's professional development as well. Supportive school administration, adequate school leadership and collaborative educator culture would contribute a lot to constructive learning environment.