TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS OF CONSIDERING STUDENT VOICE AS PART OF THEIR COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATIONS AND/OR PROFESSIONAL GROWTH PLANS

[摘要] This study was designed to understand teachers’ perceptions of considering student voice as part of their comprehensive evaluations and/or professional development programs.Literature related to the impact of student voice in education has increased considerably over the past few decades.Research, however, related to the integration of student voice into teachers’ evaluations and professional development planning has been limited. This study is grounded in social constructivism, the theory that the social world is without meaning prior to one’s experience of it.The social constructivist perspective provided the context to interpret teachers’ perceptions of three models that were linked to form the conceptual framework of this study.The three models were:The Spectrum of Student Voice-Oriented Activity (Toshalis & Nakkula, 2012), The Peer Enhancement of Teaching, Assessment and Learning (Marshall & Deepwell, 2012) and The Educator Effectiveness Project (Pennsylvania Department of Education, 2012). The use of focus groups was the primary research method because group processes can help people explore and clarify their views in ways that would be less accessible in one to one or group interviews.Three focus groups, each comprised of six teachers with various backgrounds and experiences, participated in this study.The interactions of the focus groups provided thick, rich data for identifying common units and themes for analysis.A limited number of follow-up questions were posed to understand the influence that the focus group discussions had on the participant’s perceptions of student voice. The major finding of this study was that social constructivist theory did ground teachers’ perceptions of considering student voice in teaching and learning and as part of their comprehensive evaluations or professional growth plans.Opportunities were identified for student voice integration within each component of the framework.The need for additional professional development for teachers around the use of student voice in non-traditional activities emerged.Educational leaders may be encouraged to explore methods for linking student voice to teacher development programs.Additional research related to considering student voice as an aspect of teacher evaluation programs could have useful implications for policy and practice.

[发布机构] the University of Pittsburgh