In this paper key aspects of the teacher performance appraisal, currently underway in Portugal, are discussed. In the first sections, general issues on teacher appraisal are analysed, namely in regard to concepts of being a teacher, teacher professionalism, teaching quality, standards and appraisal purposes. Then, after a brief overview of the Teacher Career Statute, issued in 2007, the model of teacher performance appraisal in the Portuguese context is described. Its process of implementation and the climate of turbulence and contestation, which were associated with issues of bureaucracy, an increase in workload and hierarchy and differentiation in teaching, are analysed. The paper concludes with some reflections about the implications and the risks that this model, and the ways in which it has been implemented, presents.

Teacher performance appraisal, concept of being a teacher, appraisal purposes, teacher professionalism.