Perceptions of Teacher Performance Evaluation in Higher Education: A Study in Portugal

The proposal presents an analysis on the impact of the educational and economic policies that take place in Europe and internationally, in the faculty performance evaluation process, in a given national context. An empirical study was carried out at a public research university in Portugal, with the purpose of identifying the perceptions of the faculty about the evaluation model in place. To that end, 17 semi-structured interviews were carried out using a phenomenological approach in its design. The results indicate that teachers find relevance in being evaluated, but highlight the contradictions in the stated goals of teacher performance assessment in higher education. Teacher evaluation is perceived as a legal imposition, bureaucratic, mostly quantitative and with uncertain consequences. In their view, any evaluation model should include professional development along with accountability aims.