Abstract

ARAYA ALPIZAR, Carlomagno  and  VARGAS BARRANTES, Élida. Faculty evaluation: ¿is it a reliable and equal mechanism or a flawed process that does not accomplish its goal?. Rev. Actual. Investig. Educ [online]. 2013, vol.13, n.1, pp.110-141. ISSN 1409-4703.

This article is the result of the student evaluation conducted to the faculty professors who work at the San Ramón branch of the University of Costa Rica. The results of 4817 student evaluations, distributed in 348 groups, are shown during the first cycle of 2011. Two hundred and four faculty professors (119 males and 85 females) were assessed by using a questionnaire. The study found that there is a positive linear correlation between two quantitative variables: the average grade earned by students in the courses and the average score received by teachers. This means that there is a probability that as the average grade per group increases, the faculty evaluation improves, and vice versa. In the Department of Natural Sciences, students earn the lowest average grades in the courses (7.1 ± 1.69); similarly, faculty professors obtain averaged lower scores (8.5 ± 1.25). At the other end, there are other departments like the Departments of Philosophy, Arts and Letters, and the Department of Education where students and faculty members get the best scores (8.3 and 9.2 respectively). In the same way, an intermediate rating corresponds to the professors working in the Department of Social Sciences and the General Education System. The authors recommend a more integrated method of assessment: one which fosters encouragement and improvement in the teaching-learning process, and that takes into account other areas of the workspace as well as the teaching responsibilities

Keywords : Faculty  Evaluation; Students’  Perception; University  of  Costa  Rica  Branch In San Ramon; Higher Education.

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