The Value Rethinking Of Teaching Evaluation In Universities

Teaching evaluation in universities, as an important means of higher educational administration, is playing a significant role in teaching administration. Meanwhile, some relevant problems have emerged. This study is concerned with this work characterized by taking the value of teaching evaluation as a key theoretical point and making reflects and insights into it reasonably from meta-evaluation. This study is designed on such theoretical hypothesis, that is, the understanding of the value of teaching evaluation in universities is a primary factor restricting the teaching evaluation progress. The problems in the evaluation, in a great degree, originates from contradiction and conflict of its value orientation. Therefore, further development of teaching evaluation requires a theoretical innovation of its value. In this study, the "value" problem is not only taken logically as a starting point but also as an important research method. Following the way of "exploring the problems behind the phenomena –the value orientation implied in the problems," this paper presents a theoretical discrimination and analysis to its practice in order to find out a effective solution to the problems. In the light of this premise, firstly this paper deals with teaching evaluation theoretically. It holds that education evaluation is marked with value and functionally derives from a development of administrative means. However, in terms of its purpose, this evaluation does have its value. In the theory, the value of teaching evaluation should be viewed in dual-degrees, such as its legitimacy and efficacy. The former represents the essential value embodied in the education, while the efficacy bears formal value with scientific nature. Teaching evaluation in universities has gradually developed and intensified with the progress and changes of higher education. In analyzing its developing orientation and educational philosophy, the core value of teaching evaluation lies in two aspects: managerial value and educational value. With the growing of marketing economy and the whole society involved in higher education, the "accountability" function of teaching evaluation has been intensified manifested by prominent administrative value and weakened educational value in contrast, which is the focus of this study. This paper proposes that teaching evaluation is a value choice, as well as a value competition . At present, the problem in evaluation work is virtually embodied in conflict between educational value and managerial value and consequently accompanied by a series of problems and contradictions in value orientation, paradigm, rules, models and so on .In reality this evaluation tends to demonstrate the value orientation of more "managerialism" than "value" .In methodology, the evaluation is marked by more positivism and less humanism. Therefore, the legitimacy of teaching evaluation in universities may be questioned and its effectiveness is to be improved. Factually the evaluation acts as an institutional interference, which has clearly brought about some effect on running sovereignty of universities and their academic freedom. For promoting sustainable development of higher education, the requirements from various aspects in the evaluation have to be integrated and unified aiming at raising the education quality and academic progress .As a result , a unification can be achieved in the formal value as well as essential value. Furthermore, reconstruction of value idea and realization of value innovation can be obtained on the basis of rethinking of the theory and educational value. It is pointed out that the developing tendency in the evaluation should be characterized by complexity as a chief. In this way, various interest requirements might be balanced and restrained. Certainly the theoretical innovation of the evaluation will in turn promote the teaching evaluation practice because evaluation is not only a value judgment but also a process in which value can be discovered and built up. All these are significant in promoting the development of teaching evaluation. Finally value innovation should fall on the institutional innovation to create a educational value culture. And in the end, by starting from innovation of multiple systems and construction, self-disciplinal mechanism of universities will surely be set up. This paper shows some breakthrough and innovation in studying perspectives, methods, thinking ways. And the value analysis, a completely new viewpoint, is employed to explore and illustrate in the depth the university teaching evaluation. For the first time, the author proposes managerial and educational value as a core of teaching evaluation, andmakes comparatively profound exposition and analysis. In addition, the author, by making use of value conflict theory, makes thorough analysis on real problems existing in university education evaluation and reveals its managerial inclination, the conflict between scientific nature and educational nature, and also the conflict between evaluation systems in current practice and academic freedom in universities ,etc. Moreover, with her own understanding and viewpoint, the author gives exposition about value discovery and function of value construction. These are just the theoretical innovation of this paper.