Perceptions of regular and special education teachers and administrators about the process of teacher evaluation

Few issues within the process of education elicit a response as emotional and controversial as teacher evaluation. A review of the literature reveals that the subject of teacher evaluation has long been a subject of debate and study. Two findings, however, are clear; the perceptions of educators toward the process of teacher evaluation are critical, and the area of special education teacher evaluation is underdeveloped. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions about the process of teacher evaluation held by four groups: regular education teachers; special education teachers; regular education administrators; and special education administrators so that improvements to the teacher evaluation process could be considered. The perceptions of these four groups were studied using an instrument developed for this study referred to as the Teacher Evaluation Perception Inventory (TEPI). Teachers and administrators from two midwestern states were randomly selected and asked to complete the TEPI. The results indicated that statistically significant differences existed between teachers and administrators, according to their perceptions toward the importance and use of the teacher evaluation process. The results further indicated that teachers, whether regular or special education, perceived the components of evaluation similarily, but that administrators (regular and special) held significantly different perceptions of the use of the teacher evaluation process. Implications of these differences and similarities are addressed on the several different levels, including teacher, administrator, building, district, and state and national. Finally, a call is made for further research in the area of teacher evaluation