Teacher appraisal for development: The role of school leadership

At the heart of the success of any school improvement process is teachers' willingness to change and improve their knowledge, attitudes and practices. The role of school leadership is crutial in combining professional and accountability measures for effective collaboration of teachers in this regard. Using a case study design, the study explored the role of school leadership in mediating teacher appraisal for development. A purposive sample of two schools and nine participants were selected for the study. The study established that proactive leadership is key for any teacher appraisal system. The culture and professionalism created in school was found to be essential in creating an effective appraisal system. Furthermore, the existence of on-site and off-site professional development activities are were essential for appraisal system. Finally, the study found that any effective teacher appraisal system requires mediation between externally and internally initiated teacher development activities.