Exploring teachers’ experiences within the teacher evaluation process: A qualitative multi-case study

This multi-case study explores teachers’ experiences of the teacher evaluation process implemented in schools across the UAE. Data were collected using interviews and document analysis and covered the seven emirates using the same evaluation process; seventeen teachers—15 female and 2 male teachers––participated in online and face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Our objective was to examine teachers’ experiences in the yearly evaluation cycle enacted in public schools during the 2021–2022 academic year, from the formative evaluation process to the summative evaluation review. It uncovers the overall quality of the evaluation cycle, role of administrators, how the formative evaluation process promotes professional growth, and challenges and outcomes of summative evaluation. An analysis of the collected findings reveals four themes related to teachers’ experiences as recipients of the evaluation process: (1) unreliable indicators to judge teacher quality, (2) lack of motive to provide evidence of performance, (3) episodic superficial feedback, and (4) compliance versus the satisficing mindset of teachers and evaluators. These findings have implications for practice and further research to inform stakeholders of teachers’ raw experiences within the evaluation process and promote positive communication channels with teachers to improve the cyclical education process.