With the increased concerns about Saudi students’ results in multiple ESL/EFL standardized tests, educational districts in Saudi Arabia are now, more than ever, working hard to ensure that students are receiving the best education and teaching practices possible. While research has well documented the importance of effective teachers for students’ learning, it states that it is now essential for schools to identify them (Herrera, 2010). Schools’ principals are by large considered important predictive individuals to identify the effective teachers, novice and veterans, from those who are not. The current study investigates the principals’ assessment of the performance of pre-service English teachers in Saudi Arabia based on Danielson’s first dimension of FFT framework, planning and preparation. Mixed- methods approached, namely classroom observations and semi-structure interviews, were used to collect the data. Twenty three pre-service English teachers who were observed, and three schools principals who had been as the school principal for three years or more were interviewed. The finding of the study indicates that, 1) the pre service English teachers obtained a relatively high scores on the performance with the mean score was 84.09 (sd = 11.71); 2) the highest mastery was in the component E, Designing Students Assessment, with a mean 19.6 and sd = 2.44; 3) all the principals interviewed stressed the importance of self-efficacy for the pre service teachers, and 4) all principals shared a common thought by gradually emerging them in schools’ responsibilities is the key to pave the teaching road for them.
Keywords: Saudi EFL; Pre-service teachers; school principals; teaching
