Teacher effectiveness: an issue in educational administration.

M of the lustre of the 1950-60 era of an abun­ dance of faculty positions, polite students, and a swift increase in salary has changed considerably. A paucity of faculty positions, student revolts, and" a declining economy are present-day realities. Faculty members are enjoined to do more socially profitable research, to teach m ore students and more courses. They are adm onished to understand students’, to be in­ terested in their development, to be ‘relevant’ in their teaching, and are constantly reminded that learning in­ volves more than mastery o f the abstract content of the discipline. Teaching in this decade has therefore become a com ­ plex endeavour, as evidenced by a copious am ount of literature dealing with the m ounting concern about mediocrity of thought and perform ance in teaching. Teaching effectiveness or excellence in teaching has thus become one aspect o f education that has been fre­ quently discussed by a multitude of educators and citizens. How to define, identify, measure, and evaluate excellence and how to detect and remove obstacles to its achievement have thus become a m atter of pivotal im­ portance. This article will therefore deal with teacher effec­ tiveness as an issue in educational adm inistration, delineating the role o f the dean in prom oting effec­ tiveness in her faculty.