Impact of teacher performance observation on the professional development

Abstract

The objective of this research is to analyze the impact that peer observation has on teachers, i.e., being observed while teaching. This is an innovative system, although other countries such as United Kingdom already have a tradition of using this system under different formulas that pursue teaching professional development. In Spain, this system is little implemented and relatively unknown, although there are a few experiences. The lack of experience and information are factors that may explain this fact. In this research, with 118 teachers from different schools, we administered a questionnaire on professional development that measured whether the participants had been evaluated by their peers using observation methods. The results show a higher score in professional development for observed teachers compared to unobserved teachers, highlighting the value of teacher observation as a training tool. This was particularly true regarding responsibility, confidence on teaching practice and motivation to continue developing professionally of participants in this study.