1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Performance Management in Schools
The atmosphere of schools from the viewpoint of a management process has tensions due to the
bureaucratic systems and the professional autonomy. As schools have management units based on
their structures and size, these units are performing based on management responsibilities. In this
respect, there is the need to consider the bureaucratic system of assessment, evaluation, verification,
review and appraisal in order to control the professional works in schools (Cutler, & Waine 2001;
Fitzgerald, Youngs, & Grootenboer 2003).
According to Darling-Hammond (1990), schools are agents of the government that can be
administered by hierarchical decision-making and controls. Rules and procedures are shaped and
transferred based on policies, and teachers and headmasters are the key personnel to implement these
rules and procedures. In this respect, the work experience of teachers and headmasters plays a great
role in managing rules and procedures within decision making process.
As teachers’ professionalism relies on enhancing useful and meaningful knowledge about what
it means to be a teacher in their particular context, the terms of performance, management and work
experience play a great role in supporting the reflective practice of teachers and headmasters in their
work contexts. In this respect, performance management system is needed to evaluate their
performance for providing a rationale for a positive framework to improve the quality of teaching and
learning (Kagioglou, Cooper, & Aouad 2001; Randall 2009). Performance management provides the
recognition of the importance of teaching for the quality in education. In other words, teachers
improve the teaching profession by managing their performance (Down, Chadbourne, & Hogan 1999).