Effectiveness of Performance Appraisal Among Public School Teachers: A Narrative Inquiry

Abstract

This study explores the effectiveness of performance appraisal among public school teachers of Kathmandu valley. Two head teachers and two permanent teachers of two public schools in Kathmandu valley were purposively interviewed to elicit in-depth information. Narrative inquiry was adopted to explore the participants' lived experiences about dimensions of performance appraisal. Herzberg’s two-factor theory was adopted to overview the effectiveness of teachers’ appraisal. This research revealed that performance appraisal was an annual process in public schools. However, the intention did not meet the expectations. Rather than being a regular process, the annual process was simply like a formality where the teachers were expected to submit one of their best works and get eligible for promotion rather than being provided with a detailed evaluative review of their continuous practice. Rather than involving the feedback from different members of the organisation, only one person got involved in the process, who usually got nervous about it for being blamed for being biased and, thus, provided positive grades only by hesitating to be critical. Teachers took this process as a burden and were not usually involved in it after securing their permanent position in the schools. Meanwhile, the temporary teachers were never made a part of the process. This study concludes that performance appraisal is seen as no more than providing secret feedback without a proper rubric as a mere formality.