Attitudes towards school self-evaluation

Research reveals that a positive attitude towards self-evaluation is a pre-condition which favours successful school self-evaluation. This article describes how self-evaluation is regarded in schools and investigates whether school characteristics can explain differences in the attitude of individuals. We report on a survey study conducted among 2716 school principals and teachers in 96 schools. Our research shows that respondents expressed themselves more positively with regard to the possible results of self-evaluation than with regard to the self-evaluation process itself. We also found that school principals exhibit a more positive attitude than teachers. Multi-level analyses demonstrate that the attitude towards self-evaluation is related to the characteristics of the broader functioning of the school where the respondent works (such as school culture and whether or not the school concerned meets the criteria of a professional learning community).