Effects of Open Performance Review and Appraisal System on Improving Teachers’ Professional practices in Public Secondary Schools:  A Case Study of Temeke Municipality, Dar Es Salaam Region

Abstract

Open Performance Review and Appraisal System (OPRAS) was introduced in Tanzania for the purpose of assessing public servants work progress in 2004. Though OPRAS intended to improve teachers’ professional practices in public schools, its implementation has proved failure or has never been completed in Temeke Municipality secondary schools due to the existence of educational challenges.  OPRAS can support teacher professional development but its known little how this can be achieved.  Therefore, this mixed research approach under convergent parallel design, thematic and descriptive analysis of data by the aid of MAXQDA 2020 analysis and SPSS version 20, aimed at investigating the effects of OPRAS towards improving teachers’ professional practices in public secondary schools. The study involved 78 respondents: 71 teachers, 5 school heads and 2 WEOs. Data were assembled via open and closed-ended questionnaires, documentation review, unstructured face-to-face interviews and single focus group discussion. The study found that the concept of OPRAS is an essential mechanism in developing teachers’ professional practices and uplifting students’ performances.  Teacher’s practices OPRAS effectively, has improved professionally, and students perform excellent in National examinations.  It was also found that, in some schools’ teachers had inadequate or no knowledge and skills on using OPRAS.  To these, the study recommended knowledgeable employed teachers and school heads who are proficiently in OPRAS implementation and school management or retrained through OPRAS seminars.