Portfolio Use in the Teacher Hiring Process

Perceptions Regarding the Efficacy and Use of Professional Portfolios in the Employment of Teachers

Deering, T., Hardy, S., Jones, S., & Whitworth, J. (2011). Perceptions Regarding the Efficacy and Use of Professional Portfolios in the Employment of Teachers. International Journal of ePortfolio, 1(1), 95-106.

In recent years, portfolios have been increasingly promoted as essential tools for employment and career advancement as advancements in technology have turned to digital or electronic portfolios.  Electronic portfolios are more efficient, flexible, and convenient.  Previous studies found that school administrators felt that portfolios provided a more comprehensive understanding of teaching abilities.
 
This study explores the perceptions of school administrators and teacher educators on the use of portfolios for hiring new teachers.  The authors focused on three questions:

1. What are the perceptions of school administrators and teacher educators regarding the value and use of portfolios in the employment of teachers? 
2. What are the perceptions of school administrators and teacher educators regarding the quality and accuracy of teaching portfolios in documenting applicants’ teaching skills?
3. What are the perceptions of school administrators and teacher educators regarding the problems and barriers in the use of teaching portfolios in the hiring process?

While electronic portfolios (ePortfolios) are currently required in many teacher education programs for use in the employment process, it is unclear if school administrators value their use in making hiring decisions. 

To answer the questions, a survey instrument was developed consisting of twenty-one items including ranking, rating, multiple choice, and short answer questions and concluding with one open-ended response item allowing further comments or observations. 

A total of 988 teacher educators and 624 school administrators were identified in Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, Missouri, and Illinois through websites, attendance lists from professional conferences, and state education agencies.  An email request was sent with an explanation of the study and a link to the online survey.  A follow-up email was sent approximately one month later.  Of the 988 requests sent to teacher educators, 127 participants responded.  Of the 624 school administrators, 41 responded.

One of the first interesting results is that 50.5% of teacher educators believe their graduates are using digital portfolios in the hiring process while only 17.5% of school administrators report them being used.  The authors noted some possible reasons for teacher candidates still presenting paper-based portfolios:

• Teacher preparation programs use ePortfolios for other purposes and don’t stress them as employment tools.
• Teacher candidates may not feel as comfortable using digital portfolios in job interviews.

The results also found that the majority of schools do not require portfolios as part of the hiring process and very few gave preference to hiring candidates with portfolios.  While teacher educators and school administrators agreed that portfolios are given some weight in hiring decisions, they are not given as much consideration as several other factors. 

There was some agreement that portfolios can “accurately reflect a teacher candidate’s teaching ability and skills” and both groups agreed on the “quality of portfolios in terms of their appearance, format, and technical components” (99).  Portfolios were rated as well-organized, creative, and interesting, but the respondents didn’t believe that they present an accurate reflection of teaching skills.

In regards to the hiring process, portfolios were ranked seventh in importance by teacher educators and eighth by school administrators.  This shows that portfolios are considered useful, but not as useful as direct observation, responses to interview questions, actual experience, reputation, information from previous employers and other direct sources. 

While school administrators found definite value in using portfolios to make hiring decisions, they do not believe that they give accurate information on teaching ability (100).  One of the perceived barriers of using portfolios in the hiring process is a lack of time for review and in regards to this barrier, some administrators remarked that electronic portfolios would be preferred.

Recommendations from the authors of this study:

1. Teacher applicants should reduce the amount of time it takes school administrators to view portfolios.
2. Various forms of portfolios should be produced for different purposes rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
3. The focus should be accurate documentation, not “bells and whistles” of style.
4. School administrators should be more involved in the design and development of portfolios in teacher education programs.
5. To increase the value of portfolios as employment tools, education programs should focus on how to use the portfolio and not just the development process.  Portfolios should be integrated in the hiring process rather than existing as a stand-alone component.
6. More wide-spread use of ePortfolios as opposed to paper-based portfolios would alleviate several barriers such as the time factor, flexibility, convenience, and even the criticism of “sameness” among formats.