Performance Appraisal Practices and Teachers’ Job Performance in Private Universal Secondary Schools in Manafwa District, Uganda

Abstract

The study examined the effect of performance appraisal practices on teachers’ job performance, and sought to investigate the effect of 1) target setting 2) performance monitoring and 3) employee feedback on teachers’ job performance. A cross-sectional survey design with a mixed-method approach was adopted. The target population of the study was composed of 211 respondents spread across four private universal secondary schools; 207 teachers and four head teachers; and a sample size of 189 respondents with 185 teachers and four head teachers selected using a simple random sampling approach coupled with a fish-bowl technique, while census inquiry was adopted to select head teachers. A self-designed closed-ended questionnaire was administered to collect data from teachers while an interview guide was adopted to collect data from head teachers. The CVI obtained for the instrument was .90 and a reliability index of 931 Cronbach alpha co-efficient. Data was analyzed using frequencies, percentages, and simple regression. Findings indicate that target setting (β = 0.375, p< 0.05), performance monitoring (β = 0.435, p< 0.05) and employee feedback (β = 0.375, p< 0.05) had very strong significant effect on teachers’ job performance. The study concludes that performance appraisal practices can significantly aid teachers’ job performance in private USE schools if well handled in terms of comprehensiveness, clarity and timeliness. It recommends that target setting should involve teachers and their individual differences be reflected; academic meetings should be held monthly and performance support should be extended to teachers; whilst feedback given to teachers ought to be timely, comprehensive and interactive.