Teachers' Epistemological Beliefs and their Relationship with Professional Development Linked to the Teacher Evaluation System

Abstract

Professional development is an essential factor in ensuring high-quality education and teacher evaluation systems can help to strengthen it. In this study, the relationship between teachers' epistemological beliefs and professional development associated with the teacher evaluation system is analyzed in a purposive, non-probabilistic sample of teachers from 9 municipalities in the Maule Region, Chile. The data were collected using the Epistemological Beliefs Questionnaire and the Questionnaire of Perceived Consequences of Teacher Evaluation Systems for Professional Development. Both instruments were administered to 251 primary education teachers from urban and rural areas; men and women between 25 and 66 years old. Correlation analyses were performed between the variables using Spearman's r and a structural equation model. Results show that teachers with naive beliefs about knowledge are more likely to believe that teacher evaluation systems contribute to their professional development. Context-related differences are observed: rural teachers perceive that teacher evaluation processes foster self-reflection on teaching practice, while urban teachers consider that they enrich learning through collaborative work. These findings indicate that teachers' personal characteristics, such as their beliefs and other contextual factors, influence the impact of teacher evaluation systems on their professional development. The limitations of having uniform standards in educational policies such as the national teacher evaluation system are discussed, considering the evidence obtained regarding the influence of personal and contextual factors