Appraisals not altering teachers

MORE than half of teachers fail to change the way they teach after being appraised, according to a new national survey which casts doubt on the Government's appraisal policy.

The two-year study of 1,137 teachers and appraisers published today shows that teachers found appraisal soothing, but only 49 per cent thought it affected their teaching.

The researchers from Exeter University, who have sent their findings to Gillian Shephard, Secretary of State for Education, conclude: 'If appraisal is to be truly effective, rather than merely a soothing or irritating process, then in theory 100 per cent of teachers should have said they changed their classroom practice as a result, only those in a state of perfection being exempt.'

Kenneth Clarke, then Secretary of State for Education, made appraisal compulsory for all teachers two years ago, amid suspicion from the profession that it would be used to determine pay.

Professor Ted Wragg, who led the Exeter team, said yesterday: 'The results are disappointing. You have to ask if all the teacher time spent on this was worth it.'

The research, funded by the Leverhulme Trust and to be presented at the British Educational Research Association conference in Oxford tomorrow, shows that most teachers were happy with the outcome of appraisal and 69 per cent felt they had benefitted by increased confidence or self-awareness.

Men were happier than women with the result. 'Perhaps it was because of the male bonding 'buddy' culture, but men who had been appraised by a male appraiser reported higher satisfaction than did women appraised by a female.'

Several teachers felt that performance-related pay was a good idea. Some thought the link between appraisal and teachers' prospects was inevitable.

The report said lack of time and resources were obstacles to good appraisal. Despite the requirement that teachers should be observed twice, about 28 per cent were seen only once. Three teachers said they had been observed for less than 10 minutes.

Appraisers who could not resist joining in the lesson were another problem.

Children need to be better informed about what is happening, the study suggests.