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Effects of different types of performance appraisal information on self-efficacy and job preference
Abstract
This study explored changes in individuals' confidence for job performance as a function of performance evaluation methods. It was proposed that individuals would change their confidence judgments after they learned about the methods used to collect information regarding teacher performance at two schools. Participants were college students taking coursework leading toward education-related employment. These participants reviewed evaluation guidelines of two hypothetical schools under the assumption that they were considering employment in one school or the other. The schools differed in that one focused performance evaluation on directly observable teacher behaviors whereas the other focused evaluation on the end-products remaining following teachers' efforts. Baseline teacher-efficacy was assessed after the participants read a generic teacher job description. Then participants' teacher-efficacy was reassessed following their exposure to each of the performance evaluation guidelines used by the different schools. Results showed increases in participants' teacher-efficacy in the low-efficacy group, but not in the high-efficacy group. Participants with low teacher-efficacy showed increases in efficacy following review of guidelines for either evaluation method. Participants with high teacher-efficacy showed no change from baseline efficacy levels. Contrary to two hypotheses of the study, reduction in teacher-efficacy did not occur when participants with low teacher-efficacy reviewed the end-product-based method or when participants with high teacher-efficacy reviewed the direct-observation-based method. Neither low nor high teacher-efficacy participants showed a preference for employment in a school using a particular evaluation method. Sensitivity of low-efficacy individuals to evaluation information suggests that interventions and training should be tailored to an individual's initial efficacy level. Furthermore, interventions that are successful with low-efficacy individuals may not be effective when used with high-efficacy individuals. It is suggested that researchers need to use baseline efficacy measures to define their sample populations and the sample population's confidence in dealing with tasks used in their research manipulations.
Subject Area
Educational psychology|Teacher education
Recommended Citation
Fulton, Randy Lee, "Effects of different types of performance appraisal information on self-efficacy and job preference" (1995). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9611050.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9611050