Teachers' appraisal and its impact on their perceived effectiveness and efficacy beliefs

This study seeks to explore the effectiveness of teachers' appraisal programs as perceived by teachers in primary schools in Israel and to examine teachers’ appraisal effects upon their feelings of self-efficacy. More specifically, 290 teachers from 30 primary schools in Israel, where a systematic appraisal system exists, received two sorts of questionnaires: the first one was concerned with the overall perceived effectiveness of teachers' appraisal and the other one was investigating teachers' efficacy beliefs. Research findings revealed that, according to teachers' perceptions, an effective teaching evaluation system reflects more on teaching, applies fair assessment of teachers' performance, helps teachers improve their effectiveness, understands the teaching process and applies a feedback evaluation by trustworthy appraiser. As a result, the principal or the school supervisor, who takes an active formative appraisal and cares for teachers' improvement, supports teachers and strengthens their efficacy beliefs.