NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Gwich'in Settlement Area, Sahtu Settlement Area, Dehcho Region, North Slave Region, South Slave Region

Tags: social sciences, education, employment, teachers

Objective(s): To explore how current methods of teacher performance appraisals contribute to teacher growth and improvement over time in the Northwest Territories.

Project Description: The objective of this qualitative study is to explore how current methods of teacher performance appraisals contribute to teacher growth and improvement over time in the Northwest Territories. This study explores how current methods of teacher performance appraisals result in teacher growth and improvement over time. Teacher perceptions about the value, benefit, and purpose of teacher performance appraisals will be studied. The study will generate data about the amount of time, energy, and effort that teachers put into annual performance appraisals and how teachers act upon the recommendations and feedback provided by the principal. This qualitative study will include interviews with 20 K-12 teachers from around the Northwest Territories. The interviews will primarily involve open-ended questions that attempt to have subjects share their perceptions about the motivational value of current teacher performance practices. The subjects will be purposefully selected to include teachers with varying amounts of experience and from all regions of the Northwest Territories. As interviews progress, the researcher will identify themes that require more in-depth exploration in subsequent interviews. Interviews are anticipated to last an hour in length and will be conducted at Aurora College Community Learning Centres in the subject's home community outside of the regularly scheduled workday. Interviews will be audiotaped and transcribed for analysis. Interview subjects will be recruited through contact with the schools and asking for volunteers to participate. Research subjects will be K-12 teachers in the Northwest Territories. Benefits are a better understanding of performance appraisal processes for teachers and how they are perceived by teachers to motivate them to improve their teaching performance. Subjects may gain a better understanding of their own attitudes and perceptions about performance appraisals thereby gaining greater self-knowledge. An electronic copy of the completed dissertation will be made available to educators in the Northwest Territories. It will be forwarded to superintendents of all school divisions in the Northwest Territories for their information. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from April 13, 2011 to December 31, 2011.