Session Information
99 ERC SES 05 D, Educational Improvement and Quality Assurance
Paper Session
Contribution
This literature review presented in this paper was completed to fulfill the assignment for my PhD study. As an emerging researcher I am interested in teachers’ teaching quality and how it is assessed. Therefore, I would like to present in this paper the most interesting finding I have encountered in my literature review journey. I have looked at numerous conducted research, scholarly written articles and books related to international and Kazakhstani practice of teaching quality assessment. As I am from Kazakhstan, it was in priority for me to look at its performance in teaching assessment quality and how it could be improved. However, to have wide and diverse view and to discover teaching assessment practices by leading countries in education, I have selected six countries to compare with Kazakhstan.
There is an interesting argument that the school’s quality cannot exceed its teacher’s quality (OECD, 2014). The idea of the statement could be interpreted as a teacher’s quality is crucial in fostering positive outcomes in the classroom. If a teacher’s quality is important, then how to determine whether a certain teacher is well-qualified? There are frameworks practised worldwide known as teacher appraisal, performance appraisal, and teacher evaluation. In the Kazakhstani context, it was given the name of teacher attestation by the Ministry of Education and Science (MoES, 2000). Therefore, I will use the term teacher evaluation to refer to international teacher assessment systems while teacher attestation will be used in relation to Kazakhstan’s teacher assessment system.
According to Danielson (2007), teacher evaluation serves as a foundation for assessing, improving, and maintaining the quality of teaching. The Kazakhstani teacher attestation is defined by Pak (2020) as a periodical process which takes place to identify the level of professional and qualification training of teachers to determine the level of pedagogical skills. Although both teacher evaluation and teacher attestation are generally implemented for assessment and development of teaching quality, the aims and structure may vary. For instance, countries such as Finland and Singapore are often cited for having effective teacher evaluation systems. Teachers in Finland are urged to reflect and learn continuously (Sahlberg, 2010). Professional learning communities, mentoring, and an emphasis on collaboration among teachers are all included in Singapore's model (Ong Kelly et al., 2008). Every system seeks to address the teachers' continuous growth and development.
In case of Kazakhstan, the reviewed teacher attestation was introduced and implemented in Kazakhstan in 2000 and its aim was to assess teachers' competencies, subject knowledge, and adherence to educational standards (MoES, 2000). Therefore, it was implemented to enhance the quality of education and professional development among educators. This assessment often included the review of instructional practices, student outcomes, and professional responsibilities. However, changes in the policy of teacher attestation as well as in its aim is a frequent practice in Kazakhstan. Therefore, in Kazakhstan as well as in other countries, teacher attestation and teacher evaluation systems have faced and been facing challenges.
In this context, this paper provides a systematic review and analysis of scholarly written works, policy documents, and empirical research. The evaluation systems of countries such as Finland, Canada, China, Japan, Singapore and South Korea were selected to be compared with the Kazakhstani teacher attestation. The paper is written to explore the aims of selected international teacher evaluations and Kazakhstani teacher attestation.
The systematic literature review aims to answer the following questions:
- What are the aims of Teacher Evaluation globally and in the Kazakhstani context?
Method
The process of the systematic literature review guided by research questions took the following steps. Initially, academic and scholarly related to the topic of interest articles from reliable journals were considered. The criteria of relativity and reliability were created in selecting articles. The criteria were based on the book Doing Your Own Research by Judith Bell (2010). According to Bell (2010) the keywords should be well grouped and organized before starting the search. In case of this research, the following keywords were identified and implemented: “teacher evaluation”, “teacher appraisal”, “performance appraisal”, “teacher attestation”, “Finland”, “Canada”, “China”, “Japan”, “Singapore”, “South Korea”, and “teacher evaluation critique”. The search included the university, national libraries in Kazakhstan as well as electronic databases as Google Scholar, ERIC, Taylor & Francis, Sage Publications, and SCOPUS. After the articles were accessed on the criteria of reliability and relativity, they were thematically grouped and divided. The initial number of articles was 60, however, after reviewing and analysing, 20 articles were removed, and 40 articles were opted and used in this systemic review. Moreover, apart from articles and empirical research, official standards by ministries were also included in the review according to the nationally standardised nature of teacher attestation. The selected literature was divided according to the themes such as the Formation of Teacher Evaluation, Teacher Evaluation Systems Globally, Historical Background of Teacher Attestation, Aims of Teacher Evaluation and Teacher Attestation Systems, and Critiques towards Teacher Evaluation and Teacher Attestation. However, there is an important aspect I have to mention as an emerging researcher who wants to be an ethically honest researcher. Unfortunately, through my current place of study and due to their absence of subscription and access to databases such as SCOPUS and other databases with peer-reviewed articles and scholarly works, I had to be involved in a process of obtaining the articles related to the topic of my interest through the website as Sci-Hub which is a shadow library website that provides free access to peer-reviewed and scholarly works. I do understand that my actions are unethical, however, in order to read reliable literature, I had to obtain them through the shadow library website. The reason why I have mentioned my such actions is because I would like to highlight my struggles as an emerging researcher of accessing reliable information, so in future universities will be obtaining official subscriptions not to make their students unethical as researchers.
Expected Outcomes
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the topic of my interest and identify the gaps through the review of the literature. According to the review of the existing literature which were covered in this systematic review of literature several gaps have been identified. It was identified that both goal teacher evaluation systems worldwide and the teacher attestation system in Kazakhstan are concerned about the quality of education. However, it was explored that the aims of the considered teacher assessment systems in this paper significantly vary. Moreover, some teacher evaluation systems face critiques and challenges as well as the attestation system of Kazakhstan. The literature review emphasises the importance of effective teacher evaluation systems that are contextually relevant, supportive, and growth oriented. Moreover, undertaking this literature review has not only been done to fulfil the assignment, but has also been a personally enriching experience, by providing a valuable and deeper understanding of the topic of my interest. However, I have encountered challenges such as limitations of accessing peer-reviewed literature. Despite the hurdles, through this journey of literature review, I have learned important aspects as an emerging researcher such as being systematic, critical, able to analyse and interpret.
References
Danielson, C. (2007). Enhancing professional practice: A framework for teaching (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Maharaj S. (2014). Administrators’ views on teacher evaluation: Examining Ontario’s teacher performance appraisal. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, 152, 1-58. Martinez, F., Taut, S., & Schaaf, K. (2016). Classroom observation for evaluating and improving teaching: An international perspective. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 49, 15-29. OECD. (2014). Reviews of National Policies for Education: Secondary Education in Kazakhstan. OECD Publishing. Ong Kelly, K., Yun Angela Ang, S., Ling Chong, W. and Sheng Hu, W. (2008), "Teacher appraisal and its outcomes in Singapore primary schools", Journal of Educational Administration, 46(1), 39-54. Order of the Minister of Education and Science (MoES) of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On approval of the Rules on the certification of attestation staff,” dated April 28, 2000 No. 422. Registered with the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan on July 13, 2000 No. 1193. Retrieved [5.12.2023] from [https://adilet.zan.kz/rus/docs/V000001193] Order of the Minister of Education and Science (MoES) of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On approval of the Rules and conditions for certification of civil servants in the field of education and science,” dated January 27, 2016 No. 83. Registered with the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan on February 29, 2016 No. 13317. Retrieved [23.10.2023] from [https://adilet.zan.kz/rus/archive/docs/V1600013317] Pak, V. (2020). Teacher Appraisal System in one Nazarbayev Intellectual School in Kazakhstan: Teachers’ Perceptions and Experiences. Retrieved [22.11.2023] from [https://nur.nu.edu.kz/handle/123456789/4914] Sahlberg, P. (2010). "The secret to Finland's success: Educating teachers." Teachers College Record, 112(10), 2603-2634. Tarhan, H., Karaman, A., Lauri, K., & Aerila, J. A. (2019). Understanding teacher evaluation in Finland: A professional development framework. Australian Journal of Teacher Education (Online), 44(4), 33-50. Whyte, J. B. (1986). Teacher assessment: a review of the performance appraisal literature with special reference to the implications for teacher appraisal. Research Papers in Education, 1(2), 137–163. Yoo, J. (2018). Evaluating the new teacher evaluation system in South Korea: Case studies of successful implementation, adaptation, and transformation of mandated policy. Policy Futures in Education, 16(3), 277-290. Zhang, X. F., & Ng, H. M. (2017). An effective model of teacher appraisal: Evidence from secondary schools in Shanghai, China. Educational management administration & leadership, 45(2), 196-218. Zhumykbayeva, А., Ablayeva, М. (2023). “Teacher Attestation: Identifying the Factors Influencing Teacher Reflective Skills.” BULLETIN Series of Pedagogical Sciences, 79(3), 256–264.
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