Investigating faculty perception of instrument used for evaluating teaching effectiveness: A case of two universities in Sunyani

Abstract

This study aimed at examining the perception of faculty members towards the use of student evaluations of faculty members as a basis to assess teaching effectiveness and for decision-making for annual faculty review. The study was conducted with the participation of 62 full-time members at Catholic University and Sunyani Technical University. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through questionnaires and interview guides. The main findings revealed that faculty members positively perceive the current Students’ Evaluation of Faculty (SEF) instrument as effective in evaluating teaching effectiveness but do not perceive the use of the current instrument as effective in decision-making for annual review. The study also revealed that there was no association between the objectives for the adoption and usage of the Students’ Evaluation of Faculty (SEF) instrument for private and public universities. Finally, the findings show that faculty are challenged both administratively and humanly in their endeavour to effectively implement SEF. Based on the findings, it was concluded that the evaluation method and instrument needed to be revised further to include a multidimensional procedure. This multifaceted method should produce independent instruments for annual faculty reviews and teaching improvement.

Keywords: Faculty evaluation, perception, teaching effectiveness, decision-making.