Identification and Prioritization of Key Performance Indicators in Elementary Schools by Fuzzy Delphi and SWARA Methods
Publisher: name: The University Of Kurdistan
Year: 2021

description: In today’s competitive scenario, organizations are forced to monitor their\nperformance on a sustained basis, across several dimensions. However,\ndeveloping an effective performance management system (PMS) remains a\nchallenge. Several problems regarding the building of a performance\nmanagement system, such as the accuracy of data, the definition of\nmeaningful metrics to support decision-making processes, and the\nmeasurement of company’s intangible aspects, continue to represent\nchallenges for managers. In order to be useful, performance management\nsystems should ensure that performance is clearly defined and metrics\naccurately measure performance. Closely related to this subject is the\nselection of valuable performance indicators Any effective performance\nmanagement system has to adopt a limited number of indicators, i.e., key\nperformance indicators (KPIs), capable of providing an integrated and\ncomplete view of company’s performance and to measure progress toward\norganizational goals. In many organizations, the basic issue is that\nperformance appraisal should be done with what criteria and indicators.\nBecause if an appropriate indicator is introduced, they can better manage\ntheir resources in particular and guide the sectors to the strategic goals of the\norganization in general.\nThe selection of performance indicators is one of the major challenges of\norganizations developing and implementing a performance management\nsystem. The performance indicators represent the means for monitoring  processes and related outcomes to drive management actions. Therefore, the\nselection of performance indicators has to be addressed: limiting the number\nof indicators to prevent information overload, to avoid confusion for their\npotential users, to provide a clear picture of the critical organizational\ncompetitive factors and to facilitate the overall measurement. Measurement\nof performance allows to make clear performance issues, compare the current\nsituation to the goals and to provide exact steps towards the elimination of\nthe problems.\nKey performance indicators in education are also important for improving\nperformance. The origin of KPIs in education can be traced back to the\nrequirement of accountability of education providers to different\nstakeholders. According to Wu & Chen (2014), educational KPIs have a dual\npurpose: first, they predict the outcomes of educational operations and\nsecond, they describe important characteristics of the educational system.\nAlso, their purpose can be described as summative and formative. In\nsummative case, the evaluation based on PIs can help an applicant choose an\neducational institution to apply to, inform prospective employee, inform the\nallocation of resources to institutions by financing agencies, or inform the\nlicensing or accreditation of a degree of an institution. Formative purposes\nmay include: helping to communicate to all members of educational\ninstitution the importance of good organizational performance and its\ncontribution to the desired direction, motivating members to reach\ninstitution’s targets or promoting continuous improvement and accountability\nto all stakeholders.\nFor educational institutions, determining their KPI should include all\nstakeholders of the organization, and should have had a direct effect on the\ncore budget. According to (Burke et al, 2002)using KPI are important\nbecause “how well college and universities meet the needs of students, states,\nand society” (p. 116) is the true test of accountability. Key performance\nindicators are measurable values that show how effective schools achieve key\ngoals in different criteria (To enhance the quality of elementary schools, KPIs\nmust be explored and measured. KPIs deem as a measurable value which\nexplains the effectiveness of a school and how it is achieving key objectives.\nSchools use KPIs for ensuring that they are going on the right way or not.\nA challenge that schools now are faced with is to correctly select the key\nindicators for standardizing leaders and teachers performance in accordance\nwith educational areas. Public education’s changed mission dictates the need\nfor a new type of school leader -- an executive instead of an administrator.\nNo longer are school executives just maintaining the status quo by managing\ncomplex operations but just like their colleagues in business, they must be\nable to create schools as organizations that can learn and change quickly if\nthey are to improve performance. Schools need leaders who are adept at creating systems for change and at building relationships with and across\nstaff that not only tap into the collective knowledge and insight they possess\nbut powerful relationships that also stir their passions for their work with\nchildren. The wrong selection of key indicators will bring this risk to schools\nto place them in a wrong direction and encourage them to achieve something\nthat will not cause any progress for them , while performance management\nwill help them to use key performance indicators as a management\ndashboard. When dashboard is properly designed, it can be a rich tool for\nindicators, reports, and charts that can be dynamically acted so that managers\nby citing it be able to observe the performance of organization at any time\nand compare and investigate its status to short and long-term prospects and\nultimately to be a powerful and unique tool to monitor the performance of\norganization.\nThe purpose of this study was to identify and prioritize key performance\nindicators in elementary schools using fuzzy Delphi and SWARA methods.\nExperts (statistical population), including faculty members and specialists in\nthe Ministry of Education, were selected through a purposive sampling\nmethod to reach the theoretical saturation of 15 people. The data collection\ntool is a structured interview. At first, by reviewing the existing literature,\neffective components and indicators were selected and a list of identified\ncomponents and indicators was provided to the experts, and then the desired\ncomponents and indicators were selected based on the expert opinion. Fuzzy\nDelphi method was used to identify and screen the indicators. Research\nfindings showed that elementary schools have 102 indicators in 6\ncomponents of human relations development, strategic planning, growth and\nlearning, instruction and evaluation, management and leadership, and\nenvironment and community. In the end, the final weight of the key\ncomponents and indicators was determined by the SWARA method. The\nmost important components of management and leadership, growth and\nlearning, and environment and community were introduced. According to the\nresults of the research, it can be acknowledged that the Ministry of Education\nstill needs more effective measures in the field of performance management\nin primary schools.