Between accountability and agency: a comparative analysis of faculty performance evaluation policies in the UAE
This study interrogates faculty performance evaluation policies across UAE higher-education institutions using Saunders’ RUFDATA and Priestley’s educator-agency frameworks. RUFDATA proved a robust meta-evaluative lens, revealing that most policies align with established best practice: they articulat...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Cogent Education |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/2331186X.2025.2538964 |
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| author | Rami Alsharefeen Mutasim Al-Deaibes |
| author_facet | Rami Alsharefeen Mutasim Al-Deaibes |
| author_sort | Rami Alsharefeen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study interrogates faculty performance evaluation policies across UAE higher-education institutions using Saunders’ RUFDATA and Priestley’s educator-agency frameworks. RUFDATA proved a robust meta-evaluative lens, revealing that most policies align with established best practice: they articulate explicit purposes (faculty development, merit pay, academic excellence), specify uses (diagnosing improvement areas, fostering collegiality, informing promotion and contract renewal), embed faculty in goal-setting, and impose clear timelines. Nonetheless, notable deficiencies persist. Policies rarely stipulate aspirational targets, permit staff to identify requisite resources, or address the complexities of cross-departmental appointments, thereby constraining evaluative equity. Policy orientation is further shaped by institutional age and affiliation. Concerning agency, discourse varies: while dialogic goal formulation and mid-cycle reviews are generally encouraged, opportunities for faculty to register dependencies and resource needs are limited, circumscribing their practical autonomy. Overall, UAE institutions have embraced many contemporary recommendations, yet must widen provisions that enable staff to negotiate goals and secure support, especially where responsibilities traverse departmental boundaries. Enhancing these dimensions would strengthen educator agency and, by extension, the developmental and organisational value of evaluation systems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d69bfda85c2341efbd0b1e59d7fedf2b |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 2331-186X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cogent Education |
| spelling | doaj-art-d69bfda85c2341efbd0b1e59d7fedf2b2025-08-01T17:38:03ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Education2331-186X2025-12-0112110.1080/2331186X.2025.2538964Between accountability and agency: a comparative analysis of faculty performance evaluation policies in the UAERami Alsharefeen0Mutasim Al-Deaibes1Department of Academic Affairs, Academic Affairs Rabdan Academy, Abu Dhabi, UAEEnglish Language and Literature, Yarmouk University, Irbid, JordanThis study interrogates faculty performance evaluation policies across UAE higher-education institutions using Saunders’ RUFDATA and Priestley’s educator-agency frameworks. RUFDATA proved a robust meta-evaluative lens, revealing that most policies align with established best practice: they articulate explicit purposes (faculty development, merit pay, academic excellence), specify uses (diagnosing improvement areas, fostering collegiality, informing promotion and contract renewal), embed faculty in goal-setting, and impose clear timelines. Nonetheless, notable deficiencies persist. Policies rarely stipulate aspirational targets, permit staff to identify requisite resources, or address the complexities of cross-departmental appointments, thereby constraining evaluative equity. Policy orientation is further shaped by institutional age and affiliation. Concerning agency, discourse varies: while dialogic goal formulation and mid-cycle reviews are generally encouraged, opportunities for faculty to register dependencies and resource needs are limited, circumscribing their practical autonomy. Overall, UAE institutions have embraced many contemporary recommendations, yet must widen provisions that enable staff to negotiate goals and secure support, especially where responsibilities traverse departmental boundaries. Enhancing these dimensions would strengthen educator agency and, by extension, the developmental and organisational value of evaluation systems.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/2331186X.2025.2538964Higher educationfaculty evaluationfaculty performanceevaluationRUFDATAeducator agency |
| spellingShingle | Rami Alsharefeen Mutasim Al-Deaibes Between accountability and agency: a comparative analysis of faculty performance evaluation policies in the UAE Cogent Education Higher education faculty evaluation faculty performance evaluation RUFDATA educator agency |
| title | Between accountability and agency: a comparative analysis of faculty performance evaluation policies in the UAE |
| title_full | Between accountability and agency: a comparative analysis of faculty performance evaluation policies in the UAE |
| title_fullStr | Between accountability and agency: a comparative analysis of faculty performance evaluation policies in the UAE |
| title_full_unstemmed | Between accountability and agency: a comparative analysis of faculty performance evaluation policies in the UAE |
| title_short | Between accountability and agency: a comparative analysis of faculty performance evaluation policies in the UAE |
| title_sort | between accountability and agency a comparative analysis of faculty performance evaluation policies in the uae |
| topic | Higher education faculty evaluation faculty performance evaluation RUFDATA educator agency |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/2331186X.2025.2538964 |
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