Teacher Evaluation Using ISSA Standards: A Tool
for Professional Development and Quality Improvement
by Tatjana Vonta, EdD, Director, Developmental
Research Center for Educational Initiatives, Slovenia
Published in Educating Children for Democracy,
Issue Number 7, Summer/Fall 2004
 The ISSA Teacher Standards, developed by the International
Step by Step Association (ISSA, 2002), provide a
model for teacher certification in the Step by Step
Program. We were interested in the question of whether
the certification process, using the ISSA Teacher
Standards, could also be an effective strategy for
teacher evaluation and professional development.
A study was implemented in Slovenia (Vonta, 2003)
to address the following research questions:
- How good are ISSA Standards as a measure of quality?
- Does the quality of teaching improve for teachers
who participate in the certification process?
- What kinds of factors influence the results
on ISSA Standard scores?
- What are teachers’ opinions about the certification
model and process?
- What are certifiers’ opinions about the certification
model and process?
- Do these opinions change over the duration of
the whole certification process?
| ISSA Teacher
Standards |
Standard
1: Individualization
Teachers use their knowledge of child
development and their relationships
with children and their families to appreciate the diversity
of each class and to respond to each
child’s unique needs and potentials.
Standard 2: Learning Environment
Teachers promote a caring, stimulating, and inclusive classroom
by organizing the environment in ways that best facilitate children
taking learning risks, practicing democracy, and working both
cooperatively and independently.
Standard 3: Family Participation
Teachers build partnerships with families to ensure optimum support
for children’s learning and developmental needs.
Standard 4: Teaching Strategies
for Meaningful Learning
Teachers design and implement varied strategies to promote conceptual
understanding and to encourage innovation, creativity, independent
inquiry, social cooperation, and exploration within and across
the disciplines.
Standard 5: Planning and Assessment
Teachers create plans based upon national standards, program goals,
and individual needs of children and use a systematic approach
for observing and assessing each child’s progress.
Standard 6: Professional Development
Teachers regularly evaluate and strengthen the quality and effectiveness
of their work and collaborate with colleagues to improve programs
and practices for young children and their families.
|
|
Research Design and Instruments
Based on the following characteristics, a representative sample of 20 preschool
teachers was drawn from all 123 preschool teachers implementing the Step
by Step methodology in classrooms for children three- to six-years old during
the 2002/2003 school year in Slovenia:
- Years of job experience
- Level of formal education
- Average age of children in the classrooms
- Amount of in-service training
- Number of Step by Step classrooms in the preschool
- In-service training of teacher assistants
Two instruments were used to measure quality: the
ISSA Teacher Standards Observation Form (ISSA, 2002)
and the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale
(ECERS) with 37 items (Harms & Clifford, 1980).
We selected ECERS as a second instrument because
ECERS has frequently been used for comparative studies
on quality.
ECERS
(1980):
37 Items organized into 7 Subscales
|
Personal
Care Routines
1. Greeting/departing
2. Meals/snacks
3. Nap/rest
4. Diapering/ toileting
5. Personal grooming
Furnishings/Display
6.
Furnishings (routine)
7. Furnishings (learning)
8. Furnishings (relaxation)
9. Room arrangement
10. Child-related display
Language/Reasoning
11. Understanding
language
12. Using language
13. Reasoning
14. Informal language
|
Fine/Gross
Motor
15. Fine motor
16. Supervision (fine motor)
17. Gross motor space
18. Gross motor equipment
19. Gross motor time
20. Supervision (gross motor)
Creative Activities
21. Art
22. Music/movement
23. Blocks
24. Sand/water
25. Dramatic play
26. Schedule (creative)
27. Supervision (creative) |
Social
Development
28. Space (alone)
29. Free play
30. Group time
31. Cultural awareness
32. Tone
33. Exceptional provisions
Adults
34. Adult personal area
35. Adult opportunities
36. Adult meeting area
37. Parent provisions |
|
The study proceeded
in two phases: preparation and evaluation. In the
preparation phase we trained
certifiers in the use of the instruments, tested
the certifiers on inter-rater reliability, and created
instruments for assessing teachers’ and certifiers’ opinions.
In addition, we held meetings with teachers to share
information and materials about the certification
process. Teachers completed a self-evaluation according
to the standards and registered for certification. The activities in the evaluation phase of the research
are listed in Table 1.
Quality Improvement Planning
Continued on next page.
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