The Perspectives of School Leaders about the Teacher Competency Evaluation System and the Obstacles to its Application: A Mix-Method Study

The study explores and evaluates the views of school leaders about the teacher competency evaluation system and the obstacles to its application. The study adopted the descriptive approach by adopting the mixed method in collecting data by applying a questionnaire consisting of (40) items and conducting personal interviews. The participants were (353) leaders working in public education schools in the State of Kuwait, and it also included (16) leaders participating in personal interviews. The results showed a moderate level in leaders’ perspectives regarding the teacher competency evaluation system, as the content of the teacher competency evaluation elements received the highest response of the sample, while the use of the competency evaluation system in school improvement received the least response of the sample. The results of the personal interviews showed that there are obstacles to the application of the teacher's competency evaluation system, which were: the lack of comprehensiveness of the teacher's evaluation system, the shortage in school attendance items, and the lack of disclosure in the results of the teacher's evaluation process. The study recommended a review of the items for evaluating teacher competence, including special items to collate between teacher evaluation and student achievement, and providing training courses for evaluating teacher competence. Keywords: Teacher evaluation, school leaders, Ministry of Education, Teachers, Mix method study.