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Abstract
The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine how teachers and principals in a charter school system constructed understandings of teacher performance evaluation process related to differentiated instruction. The researcher used a combination of theoretical and conceptual frameworks to examine the interpretation of a complex process from the points of view of different actors, teachers, and school principals. The findings revealed that the sensemaking of differentiated instruction by teachers and principals were informed by personal experiences, educational backgrounds, and professional responsibilities. Additionally, the way teachers incorporated differentiated instruction into their teaching was influenced by their own understanding of the concept and the academic environment in which they worked. The principals, on the other hand, made sense of the teacher evaluation process for differentiated instruction based on their experience as a teacher and leader, the context they worked in, and their role as an accountability policy enforcer. Finally, teachers made sense of the evaluation process based on a combination of personal beliefs and experiences, as well as administrator expectations. These findings have implications for educational policy and for school and district administrators and teachers who seek to shape teacher evaluation practices to measure differentiated instructional instruction in current teacher evaluation policy. The study highlights the importance of considering personal and contextual factors when interpreting evaluation results related to differentiated instruction. The results suggest that teacher evaluation should be informed by a broader understanding of the teacher's experiences and professional background, as well as the context in which they are teaching. This study adds to the existing body of research on teacher evaluation by shedding light on the subjective and personal factors that influence how teachers and principals make sense of differentiated instruction and how they use this understanding to inform their teaching practice. Overall, this study provides important insights into how teacher evaluation can be improved to better capture the complexity of differentiated instruction in the classroom.