Job Discussion Forums

[james]

Every year ELC faculty members where I teach are evaluated by the Director of our university's ELC. I think that it is only fair that the sword cut both ways, i.e. the faculty member ought to have the right to submit an evaluation of ELC management in the form of a questionnaire.

I would like to get some ideas for relevant questions that could be included in such a questionnaire. If you have any good ideas please post a reply.

Thanks,
james

[Sherri]

I am not teaching in Saudi (I am in Japan) so I don't really understand what your teaching context is about but here are some ideas anyway.

Think about the reasons why you want to do this. You mentioned "that it is only fair that the sword cut both ways". It doesn't sound like a very positive start--more like revenge--but that is just my interpretation. If you genuinely want to provide constructive feedback to the management then your whole questionnaire, the way in which it is framed and presented to the management has to be done very carefully, with their consent and support, as well the support of all of the teachers you work with.

Do the other teachers know that you are planning this? Do they support you? Some people might be afraid to take part in your questionnaire--even the development of it. You could try to make an anonymous questionnaire but it lacks impact and it would probably be fairly easy to trace who said what. If you present it to the manangement as a fait accompli you may find that they just bin it and/or use the information gathered against the teachers who took part in it.

If you do decide to procede with this I would suggest getting together with the other teachers in your department and working together to brainstorm your objectives (keep swords out of it) and some items to be included. Then take your proto type to the management and ask for their feedback on your idea and try to get their endorsement. Again, I am not sure about what kind of place you work in and how secure your job is, but in many places the management would be very threatened by this kind of action--tread carefully!

[johnslat]

Dear James,
How about starting off with:
Why does the administration NEVER plan ahead and NEVER consult with the staff before making significant changes.
OK - just kidding. I work in a pretty decent place ( the Institute of Public Administration ), but after almost 19 years here, I feel very sure of 2 things:
1. The administration does not want your feedback.
2. The administration will totally ignore any feedback it gets.
Then, there's a number three I'm fairly sure of:
3. If you submit an " evaluation " to the management, far from its being seen as an attempt to improve matters, you will be viewed as " trouble-makers ", and your tenure here will be rather short.
Just how of curiosity - how long have you been in the Kingdom?
Regards,
John

[james]

John,
I've been here for 5 years now and what I've found in my short tenure is that the Saudi's (upper management) that I've dealt with have been, to a large extent, honest and fair in their dealings with expat faculty members. Upper mangagement does not usually handle the day-to-day details of running ESL programs; expats do. So, it isn't Saudi's that ought to be evaluated, but rather expats that are placed in positions of authority over their ESL-compatriats.

While there are plenty of expats in positions of authority in ESL programs throughout this country that are very professional and work hard to develop good programs and foster good relations with their staff, there are also those that abuse the authority which they are given and behave as if they were Victorian-age school masters beating their charges just because it suits them. While I have not suffered at the hands of such tyrants, I have seen good and diligent teachers treated harshly and unfairly simply because the mid-level expat manager wanted to act in an arbitrary and capricous manner.

I beleive that any manager that is worth his (or her) salt would not fear being evaluated by his (or her) staff. Most ESL professionals that I have encountered in the Gulf are just that...PROFESSIONAL. If they have good and effective management that works for the good of the program and the staff, such professionals will surely give high marks and a hearty "well done" on any evaluation. It is only those that abuse their positions that may be fearful. Such people deserve to be exposed for what they are ..tyrants that make the professional and personal lives of others miserable.

Upper management is not opposed to a fair and balanced questionnaire being developed to measure the respect and confidence that the faculty has for its program manager. As the staff is made up of well over 75 teachers, one ought to be able to accurately measure how the faculty feels about its first-line leader. Furthermore, how is upper management to know what is going on in the trenches and how the troops feel if there exists no instrument to provide such infomation.

What I envision is a tool that is used to boost moral and give teachers a voice in the management of their programs rather than a tool which is used to unfairly harm otherwise professional and hard-working administrators.

[johnslat]

Dear james,
Well, evaluating administrators who are also expats rather than Saudis does alter the situation - somewhat. And you do, I assume, have good grounds for making the following statement:
" Upper management is not opposed to a fair and balanced questionnaire being developed to measure the respect and confidence that the faculty has for its program manager. "
In other words, the Saudi " upper administration " HAS given you a clear and unambiguous " green light " to evaluate? It would still be healthy to bear in mind that criticism of expat management will also be seen as indirect criticism of the Saudi " upper management ", since, I presume, it was those Saudis who appointed those expats to their positions. Please don't misunderstand - I think your idea is a very good one. Everyone should be " evaluated ", and, if he/she is mature enough, such feedback can often be very valuable and cause improvement. But that's the " ideal " and, of course, I have no way of knowing whether such an evaluation would work in that way where you are, or whether it would
result only in bad feelings, recriminations and, possibly, attempts at " payback ". For another thing to remember is that no matter how anonymous such an evaluation is, NOTHING stays secret for very long here. And even if it did, parties who might take umbrage at being " evaluated " will not feel any necessity for clear-cut proof of who is criticizing their job performance - they would, I'd say, feel no compunction about acting on mere suspicions. So, only you can judge whether the probable outcome of such an evaluation would be positive or negative.
Regards,
John