Perceptions of teaching performance assessment in higher education: A study in Portugal

Abstract

The paper presents an analysis of the impact of European and international educational and economic policies on the process of the faculty performance assessment in a national context. An empirical study was conducted at a school of education in a public research university in Portugal, with the purpose of identifying academics’ perceptions about the assessment process. To that end, 17 semistructured interviews were conducted with academics from a public university using a phenomenological approach. The results indicate that academics find the assessment process to be both necessary and relevant; however, they also highlight its contradictions within the stated goals. Teaching assessment in higher education is perceived as strongly influenced by neoliberalism and performativity; it is considered a legal imposition, bureaucratic, mostly quantitative, and bearing uncertain consequences. In their view, any assessment process should include professional development along with accountability aims.