Contradictions and Challenges: University Teachers’ Views on Performance Evaluation Models in Portugal and Spain
Abstract
Teacher performance evaluation is a key component of high performing quality assurance education systems. The main focus of the present paper is to examine how international trends in teacher evaluation policies determine teachers’ working conditions in different higher education contexts. A comparative study was implemented at two public universities of Southern Europe (Portugal and Spain), with the aim of elucidating university teachers’ perceptions regarding the current teacher evaluation model. To achieve this, we conducted 28 semi-structured interviews, employing a comparative approach in their design. The findings suggest that participants encounter discrepancies within the stated objectives of teacher performance evaluation in higher education. Such evaluation is perceived as an external imposition with a very poor democratic process, focusing mostly on the quantitative perspective and with uncertain consequences.
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