Evaluation and Self-Evaluation of Teachers During the Educational Process

Abstract

The position of teachers in modern teaching and changes related to educational reforms require a high degree of professionalism from teachers themselves, which, as Marentic Pozarnik (2000, p. 4) points out, is essentially “the ability of detailed professional judgment appropriate to the situation (reflection) as well as methods and procedures”. It is important for "trained” teachers to know, in a special, responsible way, to learn from their practice. At the same time, experiential and reflective approaches to learning imply a changed role of teachers, and only in the second step the application of specific methods and techniques are suitable for encouraging experiential learning (Vizek Vidovic & Vlahovic Stetic, 2007, p. 303). In the concept of "critical professional", the teacher in the educational and wider social field implies an awareness of the responsibilities of his profession at an individual level and society as a whole. A critical professional is able to think critically, both about his practical work and about the context of his work. He has developed an implicit understanding of the practical situation and the wider context. Professionals - experts at a higher level of professional activity are able to monitor and reflect, reconstruct and articulate knowledge gained from experience (Valencic Zuljan, 2001, p. 136). The very concept of reflection comes from the Latin reflectere that means reflection, contemplation, judgment. It is a process of experiential learning based on in-depth analysis of one's own practice and cognition, in other words connecting and directing the thinking and actions of an individual (metacognitive process) (Bell et al., 1993, as cited in Skok, 2002, p. 14).