Literature Review - Coursework Example

Problem ment Problem ment The problem is that performance evaluations for educators do not always adequately reflect the true effectiveness of the teachers themselves. In an era of increasing scrutiny facing America’s educational system, it is not surprising to know that educators themselves are finding that they are held to a higher standard than in the past. At the same time, there are a variety of external factors that have contributed to the rapid decline in quality of that nation’s school system, and not all of these can be seen as a direct reflection of the quality of teaching and the instructional methodologies implemented into the classroom.

As such, there is a growing concern that the performance evaluations being used today are outdated and to not reflect the true nature of the profession. Evaluations are certainly used in nearly every professional occupation as a measure of an employees effectiveness on the job. Teaching, however, is a unique profession where employees are expected, to some degree, to be individualistic in their approach to the job in order to bring out their own unique skills and abilities. As such, one evaluation to fit every educator is no longer suitable in an era of increased accountability being faced at all levels.

In addition, many evaluations are tied to student performance, both in and out of the classroom, yet such situations are often outside of the control of most teachers. To directly link a teacher’s effectiveness with the ability of their students is creating problems that might be best addressed by evaluating the very educator evaluation system currently in place. ReferencesBoehm, V. (1980). Research in the real world: A conceptual model. Personnel Psychology, 33(3), 495-503.