Teacher Evaluation in Oman: Policy, Implementation, and Challenges
Journal of Educational and Psychological Studies - Sultan Qaboos University Pages (513-524)
Vol.7 Issue 4 2013
Teacher Evaluation in Oman: Policy, Implementation, and Challenges
Hamed H. AL-Yahmadi*
Ministry of Education, Oman
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Submitted: 7/5/2012
Revised: 26/3/2013
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Accepted: 31/3/2013
Teacher evaluation is a significant means for ensuring accountability and promoting teacher professional development. However, the road to good implementation of teacher evaluation system
rarely goes without challenges and constraints. The fourteen interviewees who participated in
this study faced several constraints in implementing teacher evaluation in the Sultanate of Oman.
Some of these obstacles were: Lack of incentives; inadequate evaluators’ training; heavy burden
of administrative duties with less empowerment; lack of teachers and evaluators’ commitment
towards teacher evaluation system. These organizational and technical factors inhibit the performance of teachers and evaluators alike. The study recommends that teachers and evaluators
must be given the needed assistance so that the evaluation process is implemented effectively for
the teacher development and performance improvement.
Keywords: teacher evaluation, professional development, evaluation, Oman.
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513
Teacher Evaluation in Oman: Policy, Implementation, and Challenges
Hamed H. AL-Yahmadi
tion in which “two masters are served” by
combining formative and summative elements
in the process. They suggest that “the principal features of such an integrated system include a differentiated approach to a culture of
professional inquiry, and carefully designed
evaluation activities”.
Teaching quality has been long considered a
significant factor that has a potential to affect
the student learning. Darling-Hammond
(1990, p. 18) pointed out that “the public has
come to believe that the key to educational
improvement lies in upgrading the quality of
teachers as in revamping school program and
curricula”. Teacher evaluation is widely acknowledged as an important mean that can
improve teaching quality. That is, according to
Andrews (2004, p. 73) “defining and knowing
quality teaching is the first step in the appraisal process of teachers."
Teacher evaluation in Oman is considered as
an important tool to identify the professional
needs as well as enhance the teacher performance. Thus, it is compulsory for schools and
districts around the Sultanate to evaluate
teachers regularly. Article (20) of the Civil Service law promulgated by Royal Decree Number (120/2004) states, “Annual performance
assessment reports of the employees shall be
prepared according to the efficiency measurement system set by the Civil Service Ministry in the way that suits the nature of work
in the units. All employees shall be subject to
the said system, except the employees of special grades, experts, and advisers.”
Assessing the actual teaching and learning
process is not an easy task. It needs understanding of the contexts that shape teaching
and learning process. These contexts are a result of several variables interwoven together.
These variables according to DarlingHammond and Snyder (2000, p. 524) are such
as “school organization, resources, materials,
amount of time and how it is structured for
learning, the duration and nature of relationships among students and teachers, community norms and values that influence the
processes and outcomes of teaching decisions”. All of these variables should be considered in studying the effectiveness of teacher
evaluation
Objectives of the study
A growing body of research shows that the
quality of the teacher in the classroom is the
single most important schooling factor predicting student outcomes (e.g., stronge, 2006;
Goldhaber & Anthony, 2007; DarlingHammond et al., 1999, Natriello, 1990). Teacher evaluation is considered to be a significant
constituent in teaching quality and teaching/learning enhancement. Accordingly, this
study aims at investigating whether teacher
evaluation in the selected schools in the Sultanate of Oman is implemented as such to
achieve the desired main goals i.e. accountability and teacher professional development.
Therefore, the guiding questions framing this
study are as follows:
Most scholars asserted that the essential purposes of teacher evaluation are improving
teacher performance and ensuring accountability (stronge, 2006, Danielson & McGreal,
2000; Duke, 1995, and Darling-Hammond,
1990). Many authors noted that the perception
of professional development is associated with
the formative evaluation, while accountability
is allied with the summative evaluation. During the evaluation sessions information is gathered by systematic observations and other
tools, not merely to gauge the teacher performance, but also to strengthen this performance
via identifying insufficiencies, providing feedback, and guiding teacher to develop his/her
professional development truck than pursue
it.
(1) What are teachers and evaluators’ perspectives regarding the implementation of
teacher evaluation policy in Oman?
(2) What are the organizational and technical
factors influencing teachers and evaluators
perspectives about the implementation of
teacher evaluation in Oman?
As a result, the integration of the two types of
teacher evaluation, the formative and the
summative is the best way to avoid any contradictories that might appear while pursuing
the ultimate goals of teacher evaluation by
ensuring accountability and promoting the
professional development of the teacher. Danielson & McGreal (2000, p: 28) support a posi-
Theoretical framework
Strong & Tucker (2003) assert that “Highquality performance evaluation can become a
mechanism to promote lifelong learning and
instructional effectiveness for teachers” (p. 10).
For the policy makers in the educational or-
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Journal of Educatio (...truncated)
