can an incentive scheme raise competences among teachers?
TRANSCRIPT
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STUDENTNAME CATALINARODRIGUEZMERINO
STUDENTNUMBER 1133372
MAPROGRAMMENAME MAEDUCATIONMANAGEMENT
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DEADLINEDATE NOVEMBER23TH,2012
DATESUBMITTED NOVEMBER23TH,
2012
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Cananincentiveschemeraisecompetenciesamongteachers?
CatalinaRodrguezMerino
M.AinEducationManagementKingsCollegeLondon
November2012
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ABSTRACT
Thesupplementaldissertationwilltrytooffercluesonteacherscompetencies,andhow
theycanberaisedthroughanincentiveprogramme.Empiricevidenceshowsthereisa
strongbondbetweenqualityofteachersandstudentsperformance.
However,sometimesteachersdonotworkontheircompetencies.Oneofthesolutions
toaddressthisissueistocreateanincentiveschememotivatingteacherstoperformin
theirbestquality.Theuseofincentivestomotivateemployeesiswidelyusedinseveral
industriestoaligntheobjectivesandresultsofthefirmswiththoseoftheemployees.
Thefirstaimofthisdissertationwastoidentifywhichcompetencieswerethebestones
forevaluatingteacherperformance.Todoso,acasestudyinaChileanprivateschoolwas
usedtoaddresswhichcompetencieswereexpectedinagoodteacher.Itwasimperative
tocreate thesetofcompetencies (indicators) tomeasure teacherperformanceonthe
schoolandlateron,determinewhichonesofthosecompetenciescouldberaisedifthe
schooldeterminetogiveincentivestotheteachingstaff.
The research question of the dissertation was: Can an incentive scheme raisecompetenciesamongteachers?Also,thedissertationplannedtogiveananswertoseven
objectives. (1) Determine what it is understood by competencies, incentives and any
relevanttopicrelatedtotheresearch.(2)Createatemplateofcompetencies.(3)Mapthe
set of competencies that are expected from the administration. (4) Map the set of
competenciestheteachingstaffoftheschoolthinktheyshouldpossessand/ordevelop.
(5)Discoverandinvestigateifobjectivethreeandobjectivefourarealigned.(6)Develop
a set of competencies using the data collected in the focus groups. (7) Answer the
researchquestion.
A purposefully methodologywas chosen to fulfill the requirements. A Chilean private
school was selectedbecause they have freedom and independence to implement any
typeofteacherevaluationandrewardsystemstheywantto.Themethodchosenwasa
qualitative research. Four focus groups were conducted to: the administration of the
school,Nursery,PrimaryandSecondaryTeachers.
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People were asked to fill a template that divided different types of competencies in:
SystematicKnowledge,ProceduralKnowledge,LocalKnowledge,SocialCompetenceand
Self-Competence.Inthelightofthedatathatwasgatheredduringthefocusgroups,it
was possible to say administration and teachers were aligned in their thoughts. In
addition, thirty competencies were identified as the most important ones for the
participants.However,notallofthemweresuitabletorisethroughanincentivesystem.
The findingsofthe studyshowed thereare some competencies thatworkbetterwith
incentivesand some that simply donotwork.Amongthe competencies that couldbe
favoredare the ones that are easy tomeasure and quantify, suchas: proficiency ina
foreignlanguage,useoftechnology,literacyandnumeracyskills,knowledgeofinclusion,
and First Aids. On the other hand, soft skills and competencies related to Self-
Competencewerehardertoattachtoanindicatorandlesslikelytoworkinanincentive
scheme.
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TABLEOFCONTENTS
TABLEOFCONTENTS..........................................................................................................5
CHAPTER1:INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................7 A.TheBackgroundoftheDissertation......................................................................................................................7 B.TheGoaloftheStudy................................................................ ................................................................. ................10C.ResearchQuestionandobjectives.......................................................................................................................11 D.OverviewoftheMethodology...............................................................................................................................12 E.OverviewoftheDissertationmap.......................................................................................................................13
CHAPTER2:LITERATUREREVIEW.....................................................................................14A.Mainconcepts...............................................................................................................................................................14 1.Incentivesasamechanismtoimprovetheeducationallearningprocess .......... .......... ......142.StudentPerformanceversusTeacherCompetencies .......................................................................163.Competencies:lookingforthebestsetofknowledge,skillsandattitudes ........................18
4.Personalqualities:animportantingredientofteachersperformance ...............................235.Havingmotivatedteachers ................................................................................................................................246.Finalthoughts.............................................................................................................................................................26
B.EducationalChileanbackground.........................................................................................................................27 1.Theimportanceofthestudy .............................................................................................................................272.TheChileansystemofeducation ......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ........283.TheChileansystemofincentives ...................................................................................................................28
CHAPTER3:METHODOLOGY............................................................................................31A.Introduction..................................................................................................................................................................31 B.QualitativeResearch..................................................................................................................................................31 C.FocusGroupthechosenmethod..........................................................................................................................33
D.Validityoftheresearch............................................................................................................................................33 E.Ethics................................................................................................................................................................................34 F.Creationofthetemplate...........................................................................................................................................34 G.Sample..............................................................................................................................................................................36 H.DataCollectionandManagement........................................................................................................................37
CHAPTER4:FOCUSGROUP..............................................................................................38 A.Introduction..................................................................................................................................................................38 B.AdministrationFocusGroup..................................................................................................................................39 1.Systematicknowledge: .........................................................................................................................................392.Proceduralknowledge: ........................................................................................................................................403.Localknowledge: ......................................................................................................................................................40
4.Socialcompetencies: ..............................................................................................................................................405.Self-Competence: ......................................................................................................................................................40
C.NurseryFocusGroup.................................................................................................................................................40 1.Systematicknowledge: .........................................................................................................................................402.Proceduralknowledge: ........................................................................................................................................413.Localknowledge: ......................................................................................................................................................414.Socialcompetencies: ..............................................................................................................................................415.Self-Competence: ......................................................................................................................................................41
D.PrimaryFocusGroup................................................................................................................................................41 1.Systematicknowledge: .........................................................................................................................................412.Proceduralknowledge: ........................................................................................................................................41
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3.Localknowledge: ......................................................................................................................................................424.Socialcompetencies: ..............................................................................................................................................425.Self-Competence: ......................................................................................................................................................42
E.SecondaryFocusGroup............................................................................................................................................42 1.Systematicknowledge: .........................................................................................................................................422.Proceduralknowledge: ........................................................................................................................................423.Localknowledge: ......................................................................................................................................................434.Socialcompetencies: ..............................................................................................................................................435.Self-Competence: ......................................................................................................................................................43
CHAPTER5:DISCUSSIONANDINTERPRETATIONOFDATA...............................................44A.Introduction..................................................................................................................................................................44 B.Identifyingthesetofcompetenciesforeachgroup.....................................................................................44 C.Knowledgeofthesubject.........................................................................................................................................45 D.Inclusion.........................................................................................................................................................................46 E.Literacyandnumeracyskills.................................................................................................................................47 F.Foreignlanguage.........................................................................................................................................................48 G.Technology.............................................................. ................................................................. ......................................49H.Leadership.....................................................................................................................................................................50 I.Motivation/vocation...................................................................................................................................................51 J.Definitions,thefirststeptoestablishanincentivescheme....................................................... ................52K.Clarityoftheincentive............................................................. ................................................................. ................53L.Typeofincentive.........................................................................................................................................................55 M.Yearsofexperiencev/sperformance...............................................................................................................55
CHAPTER6:CONCLUSION................................................................................................57 A.Expectedsetofcompetencies.......................................................... ................................................................ ......57B.Raisingcompetenciesthroughincentives....................................................... .................................................60
CHAPTER7:APPENDICES.................................................................................................63 A.TemplatesinSpanish................................................................................................................................................63 1.NurserysheetfilledbyAdministration ......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ......... .....632.NurserysheetfilledbyNurseryTeachers .................................................................................................653.PrimarysheetfilledbyAdministration .....................................................................................................664.PrimarysheetfilledbyPrimaryTeachers ...............................................................................................675.SecondarysheetfilledbyAdministration ................................................................................................696.SecondarysheetfilledbySecondaryTeachers ..................................................................................... 70
B.TemplatesinEnglish.................................................................................................................................................72 7.NurserysheetfilledbyAdministration .....................................................................................................728.NurserysheetfilledbyNurseryTeachers ................................................................................................ 73
9.PrimarysheetfilledbyAdministration.....................................................................................................74
10.PrimarysheetfilledbyPrimaryTeachers ............................................................................................7511.SecondarysheetfilledbyAdministration .............................................................................................7612.SecondarysheetfilledbySecondaryTeachers .................................................................................. 77
C.Questionsmadeduringthefocusgroups.........................................................................................................78
REFERENCES.....................................................................................................................79
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CHAPTER1:INTRODUCTION
A.TheBackgroundoftheDissertation
AsMizalaandRomaguera(2002)affirmthereisarecentinterestofquantifying
everysingleresultoftheeducationprocess.Theeducationsystemhasmanyparticipants
involved: parents, headmaster, classmates, nursery teachers, primary teachers,
secondary teachersandeverysinglehumanbeingwhoworksinaschool and interacts
with the student at some point. However, there is one actor who takes the biggest
responsibility in this endeavour: the teacher. Schools, governments and parents are
looking for good teachers. Teacherswith the enough quality to impact in the student
learningprocess.AsWaterreussuggests,teacherqualitycouldbedefinedasteachers
abilitytocontributetopupilachievement(2003,p.29).
Researchshowsthatteacherqualityaffectsstudentsachievementmoregreatly
than any other school-based variable (Goldrick, 2002, p.2). This affirmationmade by
Goldrick ten years ago was supported by several studies (Darling-Hammond and
Loewenberg, 1998, Fergusonand Ladd, 1996, Sanders etal., 1997). Knowing that this
variablewassoimportantforthelearningprocesshelpedtheGovernmentoftheUnited
States toannounce theAct NoChildLeftBehind(USDE,2007)wherea highly skilled
teacherineveryclassroomwasanationalaimandstillis.AsCarnoy etal.stressakey
elementinbetterschoolingisbetterteaching(2007,p.190).
The main problem and concern is teaching quality is not directly observable.
Becauseofthisgapbetweenwhatitisobservableandwhatitisnot,theschoolhasto
create a set of indicators that will help the administration with the accountability
process (Mizala and Romaguera, 2004). With those indicators, schools generate
information that will help in the decision-making and will make possible to evaluate
teachersandtheirquality.
Thisproblemispresentatschoolswheredifferentactorssuchastheheadmaster
andtheparentswanttohavethebestteachersfortheirchildren,understandingthata
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betterteacherwillproduceabetteroutcomeamongstudents.However, itispractically
impossible to place every parent and the administration of the school inside the
classroomcheckingthattheteacherisdoingher1bestefforttoteachthestudents.That
was one of the concerns examined by Eberts et al.: Education involves multiple
stakeholders, disparate and conflicting goals, complex and multitask jobs, team
production,uncertain inputs,andidiosyncraticelementscontingenton theattributesof
individual students, the efforts and attitudes of fellow teachers, and the classroom
environments(2002,p.914).Thatiswayitissodifficulttofindanindicatorcapableof
measuring students performance. The complexity of variables and people involved
sometimesblursthefinaltarget,whichistohelpinthelearningprocess.
So,thefirstaimofthisdissertationistoidentifythoseindicators,whichindicators
arethebestonesforevaluatingteacherperformance.Todoso,acasestudyinaChilean
private school will be used to address which competencies are expected in a good
teacher.Oneoftheobjectivesoftheresearchistocreateasetofcompetenciesthatwill
beusedintheschoolasindicatorstoevaluateteacherperformance.
The first goal is clear, to identify qualified teachers. The second goal of the
researchis toanalyze ifit ispossible toraisethosecompetenciesand having the bestteachersinsidetheclassroom.AsSantibaezpointsouttoensurequalifiedteachersget
to the classroom (and remain there), salariesmust be set accordingly (2010, p.481).
SomethingthatitiswellknownintheUnitedStates,whereseveralstudies(Brewer,1996,
GritzandTheobald,1996,Kirbyetal.,1999,Podgurskyetal.,2004,StockardandLehman,
2004)implyapositivelinkbetweengoodsalariesandlowerattritionofgoodteachers.
InLatinAmerica,Gonzalez(2001)analyzedhowsalariesofprimaryandsecondary
teachersraisedinChilebetween1990and2003andfoundapositiveeffectonstudents
testscores.SameconclusionwasobtainedbytheOECD(2004)initsreportaboutChilean
reality. However, it was impossible to determine which teacher in particular was
responsible of that score. One of the concerns is how to identify the individualistic
teacherperformanceoneachstudent:MizalaandRomaguera(2002)finditdifficultto
addressacorrelationbetweenstudentstestscoresandgoodteacher:howmuchofthe
1Forthepurposeofthisdissertationandtosimplifythenarration,theteacherwillbeafemalecharacter.
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testscore isattributable to certain teacher, to studentgenetics, toparentseducation,
etc.
What itis clear isthatempiricevidenceshowsthereis astrong bondbetween
qualityofteachersandstudentsperformance(Rivkinetal.,1998).But,ontheotherhand,
the relationbetweenqualityofteachers and salariesis not asconclusiveas the above
connection(BallouandPodgursky,1997,Figlio,1997,Hanusheketal.,1999).Oneofthe
solutions toaddressthis issue isto create an incentive schememotivating teachersto
perform in their best quality (Gonzlez, 1998). With an incentive scheme the gap is
solved, something Santibaez agree with: this situation in a way that improves
educationaloutcomes, incentiveprogramsineducationare being increasingly favored
(2010,p.481).
Theuseofincentivestomotivateemployeesiswidelyusedinseveralindustriesat
alllevelstoaligntheobjectivesandresultsofthefirmswiththoseoftheemployees.This
solutionwasdevisedtosolvewhatisknownineconomicsastheprincipal-agentproblem
whenobjectivesofdifferentpartiesarenotinsyncorevendivergegreatly(Eisenhardt,
1989).
Business and economic literature explore these issues in depth, where theincentives most commonly found are financial, such as stock options, variable pay,
bonusesandnon-financialincentivesthatcanrangefromadditionaldaysofvacationto
patontheback.Inmostcasesfoundinthebusinessworld,benefitsareassociatedtothe
accomplishmentofspecificgoals.Particularlytrueforthecaseof thesaleforces,where
salariesaretiedtosalelevels(Ross,1973).
Fortheeducationprofessionals,setting,measuringandevaluatinggoalsisaless
straightforward endeavor since the appraisal of the effort, competencies and
performanceofteachersismoresubjectiveandspecific,needingacarefulreviewvis--vis
(Asch,2005).Itismoredifficultbutitwillbringpositiveoutcomestothegovernmentsto
useincentivesasacarrottoattractuniversitystudentstotheteachingpath.Cornettand
Gaines explain incentives are helping states recruit new teachers into theworkforce,
attract persons from outside education, retain teachers in the classroom and support
accountability programs that focus on school-by-school efforts to boost student
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achievement(2002,p.4).
As Lavy (2007) describes, incentives can be deliver in different ways: to the
individualortoagroup(teachers,department,schools);theycanbeseenasarewardor
asasystemofrewardandsanction;theycanbeaonceinalifetimeeventorhavea
regular periodicity. Finally, they can come in termsofmoney or offer non-monetary
compensation (trips, days off, diplomas, etc.) like Vegas and Umansky (2005) add.
Becausethescopeofthedissertationisnottoidentifywhichtypeofincentiveisthebest
one, but to analyze if an incentive (any) can raise competencies among teachers, no
distinctionwillbemadewhentalkingaboutincentivesingeneral.
Thedistinctionandthediscussionwillbemadeinthesenseofwhattorewardif
the students performance or the teachers competencies. Vegas and Umansky have
investigatedthatmostrecentincentiveprogramsaremeritpaystyleprogramsfocusing
on student test scores as the main measure of teacher performance (2005, p.481),
leading tothewell knownconcept teaching to the test (Glewweetal., 2003,Koretz,
2002).FiglioandWinicki(2005)evenaffirmtheareresultswhereteachersrisethecaloric
consumption of students the day of the test to increase the obtained results. Not
everything are bad news, Lazear believes there are teachers that actually improvestudentsscoresinagoodsense,butthemaindifficultywithoutput-basedpayisthat
evenifteacherscanaffecttheirstudentsearnings,theevidencedoesnotshowupuntil
manyyearsafterthestudentleavestheteachersclass(2003,p.179).Thistime-space
gapdifficulttheusingofthisindicatorasatooltorewardteachers.
B.TheGoaloftheStudy
The main issue is sometimes schools implement incentives scheme without
knowingorhaving clarityofthe purposeand expectedoutcomes. It isa try and error
system. As Figlio and Kenny note, teachers and schools engage in this process with
virtuallynoevidenceon[their]potentialeffectiveness(2007,p.902).Becauseofthat,
the aim of this research is to have evidence before implementing a new system of
incentives in the Chilean school used in the research. At the end, as Carnoy et al.
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emphasizewell-designedteacherincentiveschemescanhavepositiveeffectsonstudent
performance(2007,p.192).AndthatiswhytheChileanprivateschooldecidedtoengage
in the research and see if an incentive program could raise competencies among
teachers, becauseasseenaboveandaswillbe seen indepth intheLiteratureReview
Chapter,qualifiedteachersaffectpositivelyinstudentperformance.
Theschoolselectedhasnotimplementedanincentiveschemefortheirteaching
staff. The only thing they have done so far, in the past few years, has been to give
monetary bonuses to those teachers who prepared students for the National
StandardizedTests(SIMCEandPSU)andgotexcellentresults.But,itisnotanincentive
schemeitisjustsomethingextrainthesalaryforasmallanddelimitedgroupofteachers.
Theaimofthe school isto create awiderstructurewhereeverysingle teacherofthe
schoolcouldparticipate,notonlytheonesinvolvedwiththementionedtests.Todoso,it
is imperative to create the set of competencies (indicators) to measure teacher
performanceontheschoolandlateron,determinewhichonesofthosecompetencies
couldberaisediftheschooldeterminetogiveincentivestotheteachingstaff.Thatisthe
goal of the study, to determine if it is possible to raise competencies, because as
Arumugasamy(2012)indicated,teachersarethemostimportantfactortodevelopandimproveaneducationofquality,becausetheyarethecentreoftheprocess,theyarethe
onesteaching.
C.ResearchQuestionandobjectives
A. ResearchQuestion:Cananincentiveschemeraisecompetenciesamongteachers?
1. Objective one: Determine what is it understood by competencies,incentivesandanyrelevanttopicrelatedtotheresearch.
2. Objectivetwo:Createatemplateofcompetenciestoworkwithduringtheresearch.
3. Objectivethree:Mapthesetofcompetenciesthatareexpectedfromthecoordinatorsandtheheadmasteroftheschool.
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4. Objective four: Map the set of competencies the teaching staff of theschoolthinktheyshouldpossessand/ordevelop.
5. Objective five: Discover and investigate if objective three and objectivefourarealigned.
6. Objectivesix:Developasetofcompetenciesforthisparticularschoolusingthedatacollectedinthefocusgroups.
7. Objectiveseven:Answertheresearchquestion,analyzingifitispossibletoapplyan incentive scheme toraisesomeof the competencies settled in
objectivesix.
D.OverviewoftheMethodology
Toaccomplishtheaimofthedissertationandanswertheresearchquestionmade
above a purposefully methodology was selected to fulfill the requirements of the
dissertation goal. First, it was selected Chile as a country of research because the
investigator isa Chilean citizen and is currently living inSantiago, the country capital.
Second, a private school was selected to develop the research because they have
freedom and independence to implement any type of teacher evaluation and reward
systems they want to. Public schools and subsidized schools were left out of the
discussionbecausetheyhavetheirownsystemofevaluationandtheydependfromthe
MinistryofEducation(ContrerasandRau,2009).
Theprivateschoolselectedwaschosenbecauseitwaskeentoinvestigatewhich
competencies were necessary to have qualified teachers and wanted to create an
incentive scheme inside the school.The investigator knew the headmaster (she isalso
one oftheowners)ofthe schoolwho saidyes tothe invitationofparticipatingin this
research. In addition, it is a small school for the Chilean standards (700 hundred
students).So, itwasnotdifficulttogainthesupportof theentire teachingstaffof the
schooltoparticipateintheinvestigation.
Qualitative investigation was chosen because it was not necessary to create
indicatorsandinformationforulteriorpurposesoutsidetheschool,noneedofhavinga
transferable study. The scope of the investigation was to find answers and solutions
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withintheschool.Moreover,theauthorofthedissertationwantedtoknowtheopinion
oftheteachersandhoweachopiniondialoguedwiththeopinionofthecolleague.The
idea was to create a set of indicators using the inputs of everybody. That is why a
Qualitativeinvestigationwaschosen;andthemethodselectedwasfocusgroups.
The staff of the school was divided in four groups: administration, nursery
teachers, primary teachers and secondary teachers. Eight people participated in the
administration group (including the headmaster), eight nursery teachers, twenty-four
primaryteachersandnineteensecondaryteachers.Therefore,thestudyislimitedtothe
datathatwasprovidedbythepeopleinvolvedinthefocusgroups.
E.OverviewoftheDissertationmap
The dissertation will be divided in six chapters. The first chapter is the
introduction. The second chapter includes the literature review regarding to using
incentivestoraisecompetenciesamongteachers.Thissectionoffersabriefoverviewon
competencies,incentives,motivationamongotherconceptsrelatedtothesubject.Also,
providesaconcisebackgroundoftheChileanreality,sincetheresearchtookplaceina
Chileanprivateschool.
The third chapter of the dissertation describes the methodology used in the
research,abackgroundofthestudy,significanceofthestudy,limitationsanddefinitions.
Chapterfourprovidesanoverviewofthedatacollectedinthefocusgroupsandpresents
empirical results. Fifth chapter presents the findings from the focus groups and the
relationbetweenwhat the administrationof the school thinkandwhat teaching staff
believes. It also, includes discussion and interpretation of the data; and final chapter
containstheconclusionofthedissertation.
Regardingtotheresearchquestionandobjectives:objectiveonewillbeanswered
intheLiteratureReviewChapter;objectivetwointheMethodologyChapter;objectives
three and four in the Focus Group Chapter; objective five in the Discussion and
InterpretationoftheDataChapter.Objectivesixandresearchquestionwillbeanswered
intheconclusionofthedissertation.
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CHAPTER2:LITERATUREREVIEW
In the second chapter of the dissertation a brief overview on implementing
incentivestoraisecompetenciesamongteacherswillbeaddressed.Thechapterwillbe
dividedintwosections.Thefirstonedescribesandanalysesdifferentconceptsthatwill
help achieving objective one of the dissertation. What is understood by: incentives,
competencies;theimportanceofmotivationandvocationforateacher;thedifference
between student performance and teachers competencies; which specific qualities a
goodteachershouldhave,amongothers.
The second section offers a succinct background of the Chilean education
environment reality: basic knowledge of the educational system, the culture and how
incentivesandcompetenciesareusedinChileanschools.Theresearchwasconductedin
aChileanprivateschool,soitwasrequiredfortheclarityofthestudytotacklesomeof
thoseissues.
A.Mainconcepts
1.Incentivesasamechanismtoimprovetheeducationallearningprocess
Asseenintheintroduction,theconceptofincentiveshasspreadamongdifferent
industries as a tool to associate the aims and goals of the administration with the
thoughtsandobjectivesoftheemployeesofacertaincompany.Eisenhardt(1989),more
than twenty years ago, determined incentives helped solving the economic problem
knownasprincipal-agent:whengoalsofemployersandemployeesarenotalignedandit
isnecessarytosync them.Incentivesarein chargeoffillingthatgap.Theycanfillthat
space with different approaches: ranging from a public demonstration of value (i.e.
employee of the month) to monetary bonuses, extra days of vacation and fringe
benefits.AsRoss(1973)pointsout,thoseincentivesarenotforfree,theyarelinkedwith
certaingoals andperformances theadministrationisexpectingfromtheemployees to
achieve.
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Intheeducationalenvironment,incentivesschemesarewidespreadandprobed
tohaveapositiveeffect(FiglioandKenny,2007,Vegas,2005).AvalosandAssaelsuggest
theschemeaschoolshouldhavemayconsideracombinationofcontrolsandincentives
(asaresultofevaluationprocedures)willactascarrotstoimproveteachersorserveas
instrumentsto removeteacherswho are judged asbeing incompetent (2006, p.255).
ThesameinterrogationhasJulianLeGrand: should theeducationsystemincorporate
incentive structures that reward (or penalise) the knave, or ones that encourage (or
discourage) the knight? (2003, p.24). The best approach is the one where every
participantoftheschemeagreeson.TheconclusionsoftheinvestigationmadebyEberts
etal.regardingtotheimplementationofamerit-paysysteminahighschool,determined
monetaryincentiveswork,onlyifthemeasuresareagreeduponbybothteachersand
administration(2002,p.926).MizalaandRomaguerabelieveintheincentiveschemeas
a method to improve the learning process: the system is based on the idea that if
commonminimalstandardsaretakenintoaccount,schoolscanprepareandpayteachers
forthoseaspectsandfunctionsthattheyneedtodevelop(2004,p.741).Attheend,is
whatLazearaffirmstyingcompensationtotheappropriatemetricprovidesincentivesto
moveinthedirectionthathasbeenagreedon(2003,p.182).Ifthepartiesharmonizeoneveryconcepttheprincipal-agentissuewilltendtodisappear.
Once the idea of givingmonetary incentives is settled in the school is time to
determine andmanage the amount of the incentive in a productiveway: not to low,
otherwise teachers will not make an extra effort to gain it. Not to easy to achieve,
becauseasMizalaandRomaguera(2002)affirm,theideaofawardingbestteacherswill
dilute and itwillbecomeageneralizedraiseofteachers salaries. LikeFiglio andKenny
(2007)stateintheirresearch,thebestapproachtouseincentiveswaswhentherewards
wereverydifficulttogetandonlyasmallnumberofthestaffwasawarded.
AccordingtotheAmericanFederationofTeachers(2000),anaveragemonetary
incentive should be between 10% to 40% of the annual merit pay. Even though,
everybody will say they prefer more than less andwill fight to get that extra pay. As
Glewweetal.analyzelargerincentivesmightinducemoreeffortbyteachers,theycould
alsohaveinducedeffortatcounter-productivesignaling,forexamplethroughcheatingon
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testsorforcingweakstudentstodropout(2003,p.32).However,someauthors(Harris
and Sass, 2009, Guarino et al., 2006, Jesus and Lens, 2005) conclude cheating it has
nothingtodowiththeamountoftheincentivebutwiththepersonalcharacteristicsof
theteachingstaff,andtheincentivewillnotchangethosecharacteristics.Thisissuewill
betacklelateroninthemotivationsubtitle.
Asaconclusionoftheimportanceofhavingincentivesintheeducationalprocess,
itisusefultorememberwhatPrendergast(1999)saidinhispaper:Ifanincentiveisgiven
toa teacher shewillmakeanextraeffort and take ahigher riskonteaching, riskshe
wouldnottakeiftheincentivedidnotexist.Understandingthatwithriskinvolvedthere
willbeprogressintheeducationlearningprocess.
2.StudentPerformanceversusTeacherCompetencies
It is clear that using incentives will help with the aim of boosting educational
levels.Thequestionnowiswhattoincentive,wheretheadministrationoftheschooland
government set the carrot. Thereare twomain approaches:reward the output ofthe
process, the student performance (scores innational tests, the object);or reward the
skillsandcapabilitiesoftheteachers(thesubjectitself).
Inmany countries the bonuses to teachersare basedonstudentperformance
ratherthanteacherscompetencies:ItisthecaseofKenya,Glewwe etal.(2003)bonuses
arepaidbasedonteacherattendanceandstudentperformance.Theconclusionsofthe
Kenyanexperienceshowedthatteacherattendancedidnotimprove,thepedagogyused
inside the classroom did not progress and students kept missing classes. The only
significant difference was teachers started teaching to the test and raised students
competenciesinashort-runtogetbetterscoresonthenationaltests.
AdifferentexperimentperformedbyMuralidharanandSundararaman(2006)in
Indiagavebonuspaymentstoteacherswhentheirstudentstestscoresimproved.The
evidence showed there were improvements in math and language. Moreover, they
detectednoadverseconsequencesoftheprogramwithstudentperformanceimproving
onmechanicalaswellasconceptualquestionsandonincentiveaswellasnon-incentive
subjects(2006,p.34).
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Lazearhasadiverseperspectiveregardingtoattachingteachersincentiveswith
students outcomes: the problem is that the relevant earnings do not show up until
manyyearsaftertheindividualhasreceivedtheeducation.Therefore,itis impossibleto
tie teacher compensation to the earningsofher students, even if that is the relevant
metric(2003,p.183).Thatiswhytheauthorprefersusingteacherscompetenciesasa
relevantmetrictorewardteachersthanstudentsachievement.
Inadifferentapproach,Lavy(2002)equaledschoolsgettingmonetaryincentives
andschoolswithoutanincentiveschemewithinthesamecommunityandfoundpositive
effectsofincentivesonstudentsoutcomes(testresults).AuthorssuchasHarbisonand
Hanushek (1992), Hanushek (1996) and Lockheedand Verspoor (1991), claimthat ifa
systemiscreatedtoattachstudentsperformancewithteachersincentives,teacherswill
makeanextraefforttoachievethegoal.Ontheotherhand,authorslikeHolmstromand
Milgrom(1991)andHannaway(1992)stressstandardizedtestsonlyevaluateoneaspect
of a teacher performance and leave behind others properties such as innovation,
creativity, softskills, etc.However, theyrealize this happenbecausecompetenciesare
much harder to measure than observable outputs such as those standardized tests.
Waterreus (2003) agrees with Hannaway and that incipient hazard as teachers facemultiple (and often competing) tasks there is the risk that they focus their efforts on
performancemeasurementindicatorsattheexpenseofothereducationalgoals(p.150).
Theaimoftheschoolsandgovernmentshouldbetofindproperindicatorsthat
donot leavebehindany aspectofthe teachers competencies.AsGoldrick points out,
governments aredesigningperformance-based licensesthat require demonstrationof
subjectknowledgeandteachingskill,ratherthanbasinglicensesoncoursecreditsand
hoursof professional development (2002, p.4). And teachers are being evaluated by
theses demonstrations rather than students outcomes. If the aim is to compare the
performance between schools, using standardized national tests is the best solution
available.However, iftheaim isto compare teacherswithin the school, thenteaching
competencies is the tool thatwill help administrators to improve the performanceof
theirstudents(MizalaandRomaguera,2004).
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Eberts et al. address the issue of having performances evaluations saying it is
practicallyimpossibletohavestandardizedinstrumentsforeveryindicatorofteachers
performance,soschoolsmusthaveinminditwillbeasubjectiveevaluation(2002).And
sometimesteachersavoidbeingevaluated,sothetaskofmeasuringthosecompetencies
getsevenharder:surveysindicateaclearpreferenceforextrapayforextrawork.Pay
for performance requires that teachers be sorted or graded in some way, and the
majority of teachers resist this concept (Cornett and Gaines, 2002, p.16). They are
harder tomeasure but not impossible. That is the aimof the research, to be able of
measuringthosecompetenciesandalignthemwiththenecessaryincentive.
3.Competencies:lookingforthebestsetofknowledge,skillsandattitudes
Inordertoanswertheresearchquestionofthedissertation,itwasnecessaryto
clarify two main concepts: incentives and competencies. The first one was already
addressedandnowitistimeforthesecondone.
Theword competencehashadmanymeaningsand interpretations during the
decades.Someofthemlackofsubstanceandothersaretoocomplextoimplement.For
the purpose of thisdissertation the definitionofStoof,Martens and VanMerrinboer
(2000) intheir paperWhatis competence?Aconstructivistapproach asaway outof
confusion,wastakenandwillbeusedduringtheresearch.Thatdefinitionclarifiesthree
mainingredientsthatmustbe integratedwhentalkingaboutcompetencies:knowledge,
skills and attitudes. A set of competencies will be amix of those three ingredients. A
competentteacherwillhavetheknowledgeandtheskillstofulfillhertask,butalsowill
havetheproperattitudeamongherstudents,colleaguesandparents.Oncethecompetenciesaresettled,thereisanunderstandingofthemeaningof
theword;competencieshavetocometolifethroughimplementation.Inthatsense,as
Caprara and Cervone (2003) affirm competencies will be transformed into behavior.
Whenarethosecompetenciestransformedintobehavior?Whentheteacherbelievesin
them: we realize a teachers competencies are determined by his or her beliefs
(Korthagen,2004,p.80).Thisworksbothways,sometimestheteacherwillhavethebelief
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andthewillingtochangeherbehaviorbutwillnothavethebeneathcompetencetodoit
(Korthagenetal.,2001).Andsometimes,willhavethecompetencebutnotthewillingof
turnthatcompetenceintobehavior.
Itisclearateachershouldpossessanddevelopasetofcompetencies.But,why
theeffortofidentifyingthelistofcompetenciesagoodteachershouldhave.Themain
reasonisdescribedbyKorthagen(2004).Heemphasizesthattheeffortmadetocreatea
concretelistofcompetenciesisforthepurposesofidentifyingtheteachingbehaviors
thatdisplayedthehighestcorrelationwiththelearningresultsofchildren(p.79).Atthe
end, the aim is to know which competencies affect directly the learning process of
students; those are the ones the administration of the school will try to strengthen
throughincentives.
Since1950manyauthors(Barretal.,1961,Beecher,1953)havestudiedandlisted
themainattributesagoodteachershouldhaveinordertoteachproperly.Amongthose
characteristics they included flexibility, emotional stability, ethical behavior,
expressiveness,andpersonalmagnetism.Allthoseattributesareneededtocreateagood
atmosphereintheclassroom.Andoneofthewaystocheckthoseattributesisthrough
systemsliketheTeachingEvaluationRecordcreatedbyBeecher(1953).Lately,duringtheseventies,theU.S.accountabilitymovementmadeasignificant
efforttoquantifyandidentifythemaincompetenciesateachershouldhaveinorderto
beconsidered asaqualifiedteacher (CruickshankandHaefele,2001).However, itwas
Dodl et al. (1972) who created the biggest collection of teachers competencies
categorizedinthreemaincategories:communicationskills,howtoassessstudentsand
administrativeduties.
AlmostthirtyyearspassedbyandCruickshankandHaefele(2001),afteranalyzing
differenthistorictrends,cameupwithalistofcompetenciesateachershouldhavetoget
the labelof goodteacher.First, they saidagoodteachershouldmealignedwiththe
views and aims of the school she is working and she must share the same ideals.
Otherwise, there is the risk of having teachers objectives and employers objectives
(headmasters, school boards, authorities)mutuallyexclusiveand competing oneswith
the others as Santibaez (2010) addresses, the know problem of the principal-agent.
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Second,agoodteachermustbeanalyticandagoodobserveroftheenvironment.Third,
sheshouldbeaseffectiveaspossibleinthedeliveryofpedagogiccontent,settinghigh
standardsforstudents.Fourth,agoodteachershouldperformherdutiesproperlyandon
time.Fifth,agoodteachershouldbecompetentandreflectiveineverytaskshedecides
toperform. Sixth, shemustbeanexpertonherareaofexpertise,alwaysuptodated
knowledge. Finally, a good teacher should be respected because she has earned that
respectwithheractions.
Korthagen(2004)inhisarticlenamedInsearchoftheessenceofagoodteacher:
towardsamoreholisticapproach in teacher education discussed twomainquestions
regardingtothissubject:Whataretheessentialqualitiesofagoodteacher?andHow
canwehelppeopletobecomegoodteachers?(p.78).Theessentialqualitiesofagood
teacher is a task difficult to fulfill, many authors such as Becker, Kennedy and
Hundersmarck(2003)havecreated lists ofcompetencies tohelppolicy-makersin their
labor of creating standards for teaching education. It is difficult but not impossible,
Barnett(1994)andHyland(1994)agreeitis feasibletodescribethequalityofa teacher
bylistingitscompetencies,likeCruickshankandHaefele(2001)didtenyearsago.Amore
pessimisticperspective is the onemade byHamachek (1999) who says none of thesequestions have been answered yet. However, it is possible to create some sort of
frameworkwhereteacherscompetenciescanbeanalyzedandappliedinaconstructive
context.
In very recent study made by Rusu, oitu and Panaite (2012) seventy-seven
studentsfromtheUniversityofIasiinRomaniafromtheFacultyofLettersandtheFaculty
ofPhilosophy and Political Sciencewere asked toanswer the questionWhatare the
characteristicsofthe idealteacher?.Themainanswersemphasizedthatrelationaland
communicational competencies were the most important ones. The ideal teachers
featuresweresummarizedinahierarchizedchartstartingwiththemostimportantone
and descending to the less relevant ones: human relations skills, fair assessment,
knowledge of the subject, facilitator of students intellectual development, respectful,
dynamic teacher, availability, good listener, love for the subject taught, capable of
establishing links between related fields, being able to teach others how to learn for
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themselves(p.1018-1019).Oneofthefeaturesthatwassubjectofgreatdiscussionduring
thestudywastheconceptoffairassessmenttheevaluationofthestudentperformance
mustbeobjective, even if teachersare not scoringmachines (p.1019). Adebatewas
createdbecauseitlinkedtwotypesofcompetencies:inonehandthecapabilityofassess
(having the knowledge of the evaluation process) and in the other hand the value if
fairness,apersonalqualitythathadnothingtodowiththeevaluationitself.
Oneofthecompetenciesthatwasnottakenfromgrantedintheresearchwasthe
knowledgeofthesubject,studentswhowereinterviewemphasizedintheimportanceof
demonstrating expertise in the content, always making an effort of gaining new
knowledge:thefeatureequallyhighlightstheself-knowledge,theselfintrospectionand
the tendency of continuous advancing personally and professionally in terms of
competence(p.1019).
LikeRusu,oituandPanaite(2012);Rogers(2006)alsoreportedinhisresearch
that communicational competencies were amain factor inside the classroom: a good
teacher should be able to communicate with the students make them behave and
succeedinthelearningprocess;inaddition,studentswouldbeconfidentandmotivated
bythiscommunicativeteacher.HavingcontroloftheclassissomethingWillingham(2009)paysspecialattention.
He argues that being funny, a good listener, emphatic, etc. it is valuable, but if the
teacher doesnot have the capacityoforganizing the ideas ina structured lesson and
succeedonimplementingthelesson,studentswillnotunderstandthecontentandwill
notrememberwhattheyweretaught.
Jovanova-MitkovskaandHristovska hadthe samequestion fromaboveauthors
regarding to competencies: what are the key competencies the students-future-
teachers-to-beshouldhave,inaccordancewiththecommitmentforqualityinEuropean
teachers education? (2011, p.575). This question was answered with a chart
compressing twenty-must-have competencies in the European environment:
communicating in their native language; communication in at least one foreign
language;mathematical competence; competencies for scienceand technology; digital
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competence, learning competencies or learning how to learn; social and civic
competencies(p.576).
Anotherimportantfactortoconsiderwhenlistingtheattributesorcompetencies
expectedistheanxietyorfeelingsofvictimizationateachermayhave.AvalosandAssael
pay attention when teachers are being evaluated beyond what is their experience
specially if publicly the process ispresented asa strategy todealwithunsatisfactory
studentlearningresults(2006,p.255).Inaddition,anothermatterarisinginthistypeof
evaluationistheevaluatoritself.AsPrendergast(1999,p.29-31)addressesitisimportant
to take into account the task of the evaluator and the subjectivity of his labor: in a
competence model, the teacher will be evaluated by her direct boss (usually a
coordinator), colleagues and students. Colleagues maybe affected by a moral hazard
problem,theyareevaluatingandatthesametimetheywillbeevaluated,whichmayend
upwithcompresseddistributionofratings.Becauseofthisissueitisveryimportantto
haveaflawlesssetofindicatorswhendoingtheevaluationsoitwillbeasfairaspossible.
A different matter it is important to add to the equation, when using
competenciesasatoolofevaluation,istheexecutionofthelistcreated.Eventhough,if
theteacherknowsandagreesonthelistofcompetenciesthatwillhelphertoimproveherproductivityandworkinsidetheclassroom,Hamilton(2005)suggeststeacherswill
need help and support on figuringout how to implement those competencies during
theirlectures.Theyknowwhatit isbestforstudentachievementbutsometimesdonot
knowhowtoaccomplishthattask,andfailintheprocess.
As it has been seen, it is a widespread tool to use a list of competencies to
evaluateteachersperformance,however,asKorthagensaidlongdetailedlistsofskills
were formulated,whichgradually resulted ina kindof fragmentationof the teachers
role(2004,p.79).Attheend,agoodteachershouldnotbeminimizedtoalistofisolated
competenciesthataresusceptibletobelearnedbytraining.Thosecompetenciesshould
beusedasaguide,somenecessarybutnotsufficienttoevaluatetheoverallperformance
of the teacher. Tickle (1999) is one of the authors who advocates for personal
characteristicssuchasenthusiasmandloveofchildren,toaddtothelistofcompetencies
related to the occupational skills and abilities to evaluate teachers performance. It is
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better for the purpose of the incentive scheme to use a holistic approach in the
evaluation process and aggregate competencies involving personal qualities of the
teacher.
4.Personalqualities:animportantingredientofteachersperformance
Oneoftheareasthatitiswidespreadinthecompetenciesenvironmentistheone
regarding topersonal qualities.Qualities suchas trust,motivation, courage, creativity,
fairness,commitmentandflexibilityareexpectedamongteachers(Tickle,1999)butalso
qualitiesthataremoreholisticlikespirituality,transcendenceandvocation(Petersonand
Seligman, 2000).Others authors such asOfman (2000) chose a different word to talk
about personal qualities, but at the end it worked as a synonymous: core qualities.
SeligmanandCsikszentmihalyianalyzedifferenttypesofpersonalcharacteristicsandsay
itisimportantnottofocusontheweaknessandliabilitiesofapersonbutonthegood
ones:thebesttreatmentisnotjustfixingwhatisbroken;itisnurturingwhatisbest
(2000,p.7).Nurturingthosebestpersonalqualitiesthroughincentivesisthetrendthese
authorsagreeon.
AspinwallandStaudinger(2003)talkaboutcharactersstrengths,asamechanism
tosustainthegoodqualitiesamongteachers.Schoolsshouldfocusonstrengthensthose
characters rather than complaining about the weak ones. Stoddard (1991) creates a
concept for thisapproacheducationforgreatness,wheretheeducationprovided to
the teachers incentives the development of great human beings who will make a
contribution tothe humansociety. Inaddition, the author emphasizes thereare three
maincharacteristicsthatahumanbeingshouldnurturetobecomeagreathumanbeing:
astrong senseofself-worth,deep feelingsof love and respect for all people,and an
insatiablehungerfortruthandknowledge(p.221).
Themain concern isone Korthagen addresses and pays special attention: such
qualities or strengths are rarely included inofficial listsof teacher competencies and
assessments procedures (2004, p.93). They are harder to quantify and usually left
behind.Attheend,oneofthemostimportantquestionsheadmastersandpeoplefrom
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the administration ask themselves in order to define an accurate salary and bonus
scheme for the teachers is the one Steiner askswithout finding and answer: How to
placethevocationonthepayroll?(2005,p.19).
5.Havingmotivatedteachers
JesusandLensaffirmacommonteacherscomplaintisthedifficultyofkeeping
studentsmotivatedtolearnintheclassroom:Howmuchmoredifficultisitiftheteachers
themselves are not motivated? (2005, p.120). Motivation is a key factor among the
expected competencies ofa teacher,because asBentea and Anghelache stress work
motivationisarelevantconstruct,boththeoreticalandpractical,duetoitsassociation
anddirect implicationsonperformances at individual andorganizational levels (2012,
p.563).Amotivatedteachingstaffwillhavebetterperformancesthatwillaffectpositively
studentsoutcomes.
Almost fifty years ago, McClelland (1965) created a model of motivation that
companies and institutions are still using these days. The author suggests the school
shouldbeableofofferingtotheteachersthechanceoffulfillingthreetypesofneeds:
achievement (getting high standards, great performance and mastering of skills);
affiliation(feelingpartofacommunity,agroup,cooperationandfriendship);andpower
(tobecapableofinfluencingintheenvironment,berelevanttothecommunity).Ifthe
teacheraccomplishesthesethreeneeds,itwillbeamotivatedteacher.
OtherauthorssuchasHarrisandSass(2009)saidmotivationisnotsomethingthe
schoolshouldgive,ratherthanthepersonshouldpossess.Theyelaboratedacategoryof
threetypesofteachers:(1)peoplewithinnatevocationandtalent,(2)teacherswhoare
selfmotivated but donot possess the technical professional skills and (3) peoplewho
choseto teachbecause ofdifferent reasonsbutmotivationwas not one of them.For
example, sometimes the teacher iswilling and motivated toperform ather best, she
prepares the lesson, she isenthusiastic, but despite all her efforts the students show
disinterestandtheydonotachievetheexpectedlearningresults.Asaconsequencethe
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teacher is not longermotivated and becomes inhibited and stressed asEsteve (1992)
addresses.
It is important to clarify some concepts and vocabulary to make a distinction
betweenmotivationandbehaviour:thetermbehaviour[isused]todescribeasetof
actionsoractivitiesundertakenbyanindividual.Motivationisapsychologicalstatethatis
one,butonlyone,ofthefactorsthatmaydeterminebehaviour(LeGrand,2003,p.25).
Aswecanseethebehaviourofateacherwillbeaffectedbyhermotivation,butalsoby
herresources,skills,abilities,etc.Motivationwillbealwayslinkedwithbehaviour,ifthe
teacherexertsgreateffort, littleeffortornoeffortatall, the resultswillbethesame
(lowexpectancyofsuccess)(JesusandLens,2005,p.126).Motivationwillbethemotor
thatwillaffecttheperformanceoftheteacherintheclassroomandbecauseofthatitis
very important topay special attention to this variablewhen evaluating teachersand
incentive them to raise their competencies. Coming back to the question made by
Korthagen (2004) whatare the essential qualities ofagood teacher? A good teacher
whohasallthecompetenciesneededforthejobandappropriatebeliefsnotalwayswill
showgoodteachingandwillnotbehaveaccordingtheexpectations(ZeichnerandGore,
1990)ifmotivationisnotpresent.Guarinoetal.(2006)intheirresearchshowedthedesireofcontributingwiththe
development of young people and make a donation to the society as the principal
motivation for teachers toenter into the education field. One of the risksofhaving a
monetary incentive is that this firstmotivation comes to second place. Some authors
(Fehrand Schmidt,2004, Kreps, 1997)maintain that explicitmonetary incentivesmay
remove the intrinsic motivation a teacher should have. Kadzamira (2006) suggests a
monetaryincentivewillhaveapositiveeffect onteachersmotivationonly if they feel
theyarebeingunpaidfromthebeginning.Underpaidteacherswillhavelowmotivation
andmoral,byusingandincentiveschemethatissuemaydisappear.But,iftheteacher
feelshersalaryisfine,amonetaryrewardwillnotaffecthermotivation,becausethe
intrinsically motivated teacher undertakes and completes professional tasks for their
inherentvalue,asanendinitself(JesusandLens,2005,p.126).
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Asaconclusion,BenteaandAnghelachestatestudieshaveshownthatteachers
aremotivatedmore intrinsic than extrinsic (2012, p.564),professors knowteaching is
notawellpaidjobanddecidetobecometeachersbecauseofthesatisfactionofteaching
students. A paperpresented by LeGrand confirms altruistic behaviour exists (2003,
p.38). It is possible to find teachers who will not change theirmindset because of a
monetaryincentive.Theywillhaveanintrinsicaimtobethebestteacher,justbecause
theybelieveinthat.
Attheend,whyisitsoimportantfortheadministrationoftheschooltolookfor
motivated teachers? Does it make a difference? Beyond matters like happiness,
satisfaction and self-esteem; many authors (Jesus and Conboy, 2001,Mowday et al.,
1984,PorterandSteers,1973)havediscoveredamotivatedteacherwillhavelowerlevels
of absenteeism and the attrition of the school will decrease. In addition, if they have
intrinsic motivation, there is a greater chance of them staying in the teaching
environment (Jesus, 1996, Nuttin, 1984) and develop a long term relation with the
learningpathofthestudents.
Tosolvetheproblemofmotivationinadvance,Dixit(2002)suggestsheadmasters
shouldpaymoreattentiononintrinsicmotivationwhenrecruitingteachingstaff,becausethatwilllightentheissueregardingtoincentivesonlaterstages.
6.Finalthoughts
Allthosecompetenciesthathavebeenaddressedduringthisdissertationshould
bepresentwhenateacherisstartingherprofessionaljourney;however,duringtheyears
manyoftheteachersforgetsomeofthosecompetenciesthatmadethemgoodteachers.
Jovanova-Mitkovska and Hristovska emphasize the need for lifelong learning, lifelong
educationispresentamongallpeopleinallprofessions,andparticularlyhighlightsthe
needforcontinuingprofessionaldevelopmentofteachers(2011,p.573).AsJesusand
Lenspointout(2005)iftheteacherisseekingforcontinuousimprovementinhercareer,
it is easy to say that teacher is amotivated teacher, and as said above, amotivated
teacherwillencouragestudentstotheirbestandqualityeducationwillbethemainaim.
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AsSantibaez(2010)explainsincentivesprogramsnotonlyhelpschoolstosolve
aligningtheaimsoftheadministrationwiththeaimsoftheteacher.Theyalsoencourage
teacherstoworkbeyondandimprovetheircompetenciesonestepforwardofwhatthey
arebeingaskedtodo.ThereisastudymadebyTheNationalBoardofCertificationPilot
ProjectinIowa(Dethlefsetal.,2001)whereteacherswhohaveanincentiveschemeare
moreengaged toget aprofessional development than teacherswho lackan incentive
scheme. The same happened in Mexico with the incentive program called Carrera
Magistral: the biggest achievement of the monetary incentives was teachers have
improved their professional development (Ornelas, 2002). Now, it is time to see how
incentivesandcompetenciesdialogueintheChileanenvironment.
B.EducationalChileanbackground
1.Theimportanceofthestudy
TheChileangovernmenthasmadegreateffortsinmakingeducationaccessibleto
every child; but there is a lot to be done yet in thequalityof education that is being
taught.Thereisanurgentneedtoimprovehowteachersdeliverthecurricularcontent.
There is a lack of competencies among Chilean teachers (Waissbluth, 2011). As an
example,curriculumsmust be soonadapted to the information technologies,however
teachersdonot have the enough skills touse technologyduring their lessons.Chile is
nowadaysacountryworkingitswaytobecomeadevelopedcountry.JustlastyearChile
enteredtheOCDE,andinordertoturnintoadevelopedcountry,themostimportantand
urgentissuetoimproveiseducation.AsMizalaandRomaguera(2004)explain,inmostof
developingcountries,suchasChile,theissueregardingtoaccesstoeducationhasbeen
solved,however,problemsremainintermsofeducationalqualityandthedistributionof
qualityeducationamongthedifferentpopulationsegments(p.739).
Thatiswhy;oneofthetacticalaimsassociatedwiththedevelopmentofChileis
improving the competencies level of teachers. There is a need of establishing high
standards, providing innovationto thedeliveryof content.As Jovanova-Mitkovskaand
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HristovskaaddressintheirpaperregardingtoMacedoniareality,aneducationalsystem
shouldprovide:quality;efficiency,mobility,recognition,competence(2011,p.574).One
ofthemethodstoimprovethecompetencieslevelofteachersisthroughincentives.The
aimoftheresearchistofigureoutiftheChileanenvironmentisreadytoalignthosetwo
topicsandboosttheeducationalprogress.
2.TheChileansystemofeducation
As Contreras and Rau (2009) explain, the school system in Chile is organized
depending on their source of funding and administration. The schemes under which
schoolsareclassifiedinChilearethree:(1)Publicschools:whicharemanagedandfunded
by the Ministry of Education. (2) Private state-subsidized or schools: the government
funds these types of schools, also called Municipal Schools, and the council of the
Boroughassumestheadministrationwheretheschoolsarelocated.(3)Privatefee-paying
schools:whereaprivateschooloperatorprovidesbothfundingandmanagement.
The Chilean system also incorporates a voucher system, which gives families
absolute freedom to choose the school they deem more suitable for their children
educational needs. Chilean families can choose from one of the three above options.
Either a private state-subsidized or public school; additionally they can opt for a fee-
payingprivateschoolpayingthedifferencebetweenthetuitionfeeandthevoucher.
3.TheChileansystemofincentives
InChileexistssince1990TheNationalSubsidizedSchoolPerformanceEvaluation
System(SNED),inwordsofContrerasandRautheprogramseekstoimproveteacher
performance(productivity)viaamonetaryincentive(bonus)(2009,p.2).Thatisthegoal
theMinistryofEducationwaslookingfor[SNEDs]principalobjectiveistosupportthe
improvementofthequalityofeducationdeliveredbythepubliclyfundedpartof[Chiles]
educationalsystem,providingincentivesandrecognitiontoteachersinhigher-achieving
schools (MINEDUC, 2004, p.6). However, as Contreras and Rau (2009) address, this
tournamentcover90%oftheschoolsinChile,leavingoutsideprivateschoolsthatarenot
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ruledby thegovernment,hence,theyarenot forced totake theevaluation.This issue
was gravitating when choosing a private school for the research, because no data is
availableandthestudywouldhelpincreatingthatdata.
Theincentiveisgiventoeachschool,andteacherswithintheschool,takinginto
account the last students results on the national standardized test called SIMCE. The
mainand only criteria istheacademicresultsof the students(MizalaandRomaguera,
2002).Eachschoolispartofahomogenousgroup(demographics,size,location,etc.)and
they compete with each other to win the incentive every year. Every teacher of the
winningschoolwillgetabonusdespiteofherparticularperformanceandifshehelpedto
get thosestudentsscores.The aim ofthe governmentbehind the incentive scheme is
havingmoremotivatedteachers,improvequalityofeducation,andhenceanincreasein
participantschoolsmeantestscores(ContrerasandRau,2009,p.3).
As it was discussed in the section related to incentives, it is important to
implementtheincentiveinawaywhichisdifficulttoachievebutnotimpossible:Inthe
caseofChile,nearlyhalfofeligibleschoolshaveneverwontheawardafterelevenyears
of implementation (Contreras and Rau, 2009, p.24). Mizala and Romaguera (2003)
considerthisawardhasapositiveeffectforthoseschoolswhohaveacertainprobabilityofwinningthemonetaryincentive.Thoseschoolswill improveandmakeaconsiderable
efforttochangetheirpractices,buthalfoftheschoolswithoutachanceofwinningwill
remainthesameandtheincentiveschemewillnotaffecttheiroutcomes.
Anotherissueregardingtotheimplementationofthesetypesofincentivesisthe
ceilingeffect.AsCarnoyetal.explain,schoolswithhighrelativetestscoresinthefirst
yearandagain,highrelativetestscoresonthenextyear,willnotbebenefitedwiththis
structure: their relative gain score may be low because they are near the highest
possibleabsolutescoreonbothtests(2007,p.201).Ontheotherhand,theschoolthat
gotalowscoreonthefirsttesthasalotmoreroomtoimproveonthenextoneanda
betterchancetogettheincentive
The SNED is themost successful system implemented inChile, mainly because
evaluatestheschoolandteacherswithintheschoolratherthantheteacheritself.There
isanimportantdifferencebetweenthesubjectsofevaluation,whichhelpsthecultureof
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Chileregardingtoevaluation.InChileitisimperativetocreateanevaluationculture
and a culture of professional responsibility (Colegio de Profesores and MINEDUC.,
1999). Chileanteachersarenotusedtobeingevaluatedandmostof the time feelthe
evaluation isunfairorstressful.Thisisnotanissue regardingonly toChile. Ingeneral,
Latin-American teachers are not used to being evaluated and avoid any type of
measurement. That trend is starting to change: although teachers initially rejected
evaluations and incentives payments, more recent experiences have successfully put
theseissuesonteachersagendaandledtogrowingacceptance(MizalaandRomaguera,
2004, p.750). Because of this Latin-American trend, the Ministry of Education (2003)
decidedtochangethisrealityandcreatedasetofstandardsforcompetentteaching.A
systemthat isnotpartoftheSNEDstructurebutitprovidesa frameworkofwhatit is
expected.
This system of competent teaching has the aim of improving the quality of
teaching, and by doing that, improving education results. It is designed to stimulate
teacherstofurthertheirownimprovementthroughlearningabouttheirstrengthsand
weakness(AvalosandAssael,2006,p.262).Thegoodthingaboutthisevaluationsystem,
allocated in the Centre for In-Service trainingof theMinistryof Education (Centro deperfeccionamiento, experimentacin e investigacin pedaggica), it has a formative
approachrests on teachers disposition to review and improve theirpractice, and so
studentresultsarenotusedasratingcriteria(AvalosandAssael,2006,p.264).Theonly
matteristhesystemhasnotbeenabletosolvewhatshouldbedonewiththoseteachers
whogetunsatisfactoryresultsonthetestscores.Itiseasieranditismorewidespreadto
usetheSNEDscores,thatiswhythisformativeassessmentdoesnothavethetribunethe
SNEDhas(MizalaandRomaguera,2002).
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CHAPTER3:METHODOLOGY
A.Introduction
Goldrick(2002)establishesteacherevaluationisnotonlyatooltomeasurejob
performance but also to give positive feedback to teachers and improve their
performanceduringtheyears,alsoaligningthatperformancewiththeaimsoftheschool.
However, a viable evaluation system must first gain the acceptance of classroom
teachers (p.7).And togainthatacceptance itis important tohaveclarity inboth: the
contentandformofwhatisbeingevaluated.In thisresearch,contentwasaddressedin
theliteraturereview:havinganunderstandingofthemaintopics,definitions,etc.Formwillbeaddressedinthischapter:whatisgoingtobemeasured,whyaqualitativemethod
was chosen, how is going to be measured the information and opinions (creation of
certaintemplates),whenisgoingtotakeplacethemeasurementandwhere.
With that idea behind, this chapter begins with a succinct overview of the
characteristics and advantages of using a qualitative method to answer the research
question. Then, itmoves to the type of qualitativemethod selected for the research:
focusgroup. Lateronit discusses the validityof the studyand its implications.Also, it
coversethicsprocedures.Afterthat,thereisanimportantsectionwhereobjectivetwoof
thedissertation isanswered: thecreationof the templatethatwillhelpto absorb and
digesttheopinionsanddiscussionsofeachfocusgroup.Next,samplingandtheamount
ofparticipantsinvolvedinthestudywillbetackled.Andfinally,itwillbeaddressedhow
thedatawascollectedandhowitwasmanaged.
B.QualitativeResearchTheschoolchosentoperformthestudydoesnothaveanincentiveschemebased
on competencies. Also, it does not even exist a base or template of expected
competencies for the teachingstaff.Thisstudywas the firstapproachoftheschool to
actually create a proper incentive scheme basedoncompetencies. Strauss and Corbin
(1990)suggestintheirresearch,aninvestigatorshoulduseaqualitativeapproachwhen
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thereislimitedknowledgeofthefieldinvestigatedandanexploratorymethodisthebest
tactictofillthatgap.Thatwasthemainreasonaqualitativemethodwaschosentofulfill
thepurposesofthisinvestigation.Therewasaneedofhavinganexploratoryperspective
ofthesubject.
Inaddition,the sameauthorsofabove(StraussandCorbin,1990)claimpeople
use this type of research to acquire detailed information on a matter that with a
quantitativeresearchishardandalmostimpossibletoget.Thatwasasecondreasonwhy
therewasaninclinationtoopttoaqualitativemethodoveraquantitativeforthisstudy.
AuthorssuchasTooleyandDarby,emphasizeoneoftheadvantagesofimplementinga
qualitativemethodistheinformationobtainedwillbeintense,rich,andfine-grained
(1998,p.42);oneoftheaimsoftheresearch,istobeabletogetvaluableinsights.Strauss
andCorbin(2007)ina laterpapersuggestqualitativemethodsarethebestapproachto
understandeverythingrelatedtosocialbehaviorandculturalperspectives.Thishappens
because according to Hoepfl (1997) using a qualitative research gives depth to the
investigation.
Furthermore, as Bryman explains, a qualitative research is associated with
participant observation and unstructured, in-depth interviewing (1988, p.1). Besides,collectingtheopinionsoftheteachersandtheadministrationoftheschool,oneofthe
purposeswastoobservehowthey interactedwitheachotherandhow itaffected the
opinionofthecolleagueintheirownopinion.Sometimestheopinionofthecolleagueis
soimportantthatpeoplemaychangetheirview.AccordingtoLeGrand,itwasimportant
totakeintoconsiderationwhenapplyingfocusgroups(thequalitativemethodchosen)
the thehaloeffect: people responding intheway they thinktheyoughtto respond
ratherthanrevealingtheirtruemotivation(2003,p.34).
Attheendaqualitativemethodwaschosen,followingtheadviceofCohenetal.
(2000)arguingtheselectedmethodshouldmatchandfacilitatetheaimsandobjectives
oftheresearch.Inthisscenario,toanswertheresearchquestionofthisdissertationwas
veryrelevanttobeabletodeeplyunderstandtheviewsoftheschoolandtheteachers,
andtohavegreatinsightsoffeelingsandthoughts,becauseitwasasensitiveissuefor
both parties. A focus groupwas the best way to give them space and time to simply
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transmit what they believed and felt, and to collect every single detail of the
conversation.
C.FocusGroupthechosenmethodAssaidbeforeintheliteraturereview,thosecompetenciestheteachersthinkare
valuablearetheonestheywillputintoactionandtransformintobehavior,becauseof
thatreason,fourfocusgroupswereperformedtocheckifthelistofcompetenciesthe
administrationoftheschoolconsideredasthemainsetofknowledge,skillsandattitudes
were the same ones as the teachers, andno gapwould be foundbetweenwhat was
desirableandwhatwasputintopractice.AsClark(1986)andPajares(1992)addressitis
veryrelevantforanorganisationtoknowtheirteachersbeliefsbecauseitwilldetermine
theiractionsinsidetheclassroom.
Asitwas saidbefore, fourfocusgroupswereconducted.The firstone involved
participants from the administration of the school (including the headmaster and
coordinators), the second one was with nursery teachers, the third one with primary
teachersand the lastonewith secondary teachers. The longer onewas the first focus
group because coordinators discussed which competencies should have each type of
teacheroftheschool;itwasdividedintwosessions(twoMondaysafternoonsofJune)
lastingalmostfourhoursintotal.Therestofthefocusgroupswereconductedinatwo-
hourslot,onWednesdaysafternoonsduringthemonthofJuly.
D.Validityoftheresearch
As Pound et al. (1995) stress there is a common conviction that the most
important aimofa researchis togeneralize its conclusionsand findings, and replicate
them in different environments. That is why most investigators opt for quantitative
approaches and bigger samples over qualitative and small samples to conduct their
researches.However, qualitative investigationswill have different typesofbenefitsas
seenabove,replicabilitywillnotbeoneofthem.
It is well known a qualitative research will lack of validity compared to a
quantitative one. Cohen, Manion andMorrison (2000) say that is true, however it is
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possibletoovercomethatproblemifthestudyfocusesonhavingabetterscopeofthe
dataandemphasesonhavingdepthintheresearch.Bothideaswereintroducedinthe
studytogainvalidityandtoincreasetherichnessofthefindings.
Despiteofthe effortsmade togainvalidity, the results fromthis studyarenot
valid or transferable to Chilean schools. This study is confined/bound to a specific
segmentofthepopulationsinceabespokedesignwasmadetotargetspecificresearch
objectivesconcerningthatgroupandnotthewholepopulation.Extendingtheseresults
totherestoftheschoolsinChilewouldbeamethodologicalerror.Thefindingsarefor
theuseofthisparticularschool,theymaybeusefulasa backgroundand literature for
furtherinvestigations,buttheydonotrepresenttheChileanreality.
E.Ethics
At the beginning of the year, the dissertation topic was submitted to Kings
College London ResearchEthics Committee with the aim of getting the permission to
conduct this postgraduate research project in a private school in Santiago, Chile. The
author followed the code of conduct of AARE Code of ethics (Association for active
educationalresearchers).Thenameoftheschoolandofeveryteacherwhoparticipated
inthestudyisprivateinformation;thereforetheydonotappearinanychapterand/or
appendicesofthedissertation.Eachparticipantoftheresearchcompletedtheconsent
formtwoweeksinadvanceofthefocusgroup.Theywereinformedtheyhadtherightto
withdrawfromthestudyuntilthebeginningofthefocusgroup,sincelateritwouldbe
practicallyimpossibletoisolatethedata.
F.Creationofthetemplate
The first thing to do in order to fulfill the research was to create the set of
competencies the administrationof the school was expecting from the teaching staff.
Oneofthechallengesofthedissertationwastocreateapropertemplatetobefilledby
theparticipantsofthefocusgroupsandtobeusedasaframetoinitiatethediscussion
regardingtoteacherscompetencies.Asitwasaddressedintheliteraturereview,there
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are many lists of competencies as authors willing to investigate the matter. As an
example, Cruickshank and Haefele (2001) analyzed plenty of historic tendencies and
endedupcreatingalistofcompetenciesrangingfromcommunicativeskillstomastering
thesubject.
The idea of the template was to replicate the successful study made by
Brockmann,ClarkeandWinch(2010)intheirresearchBricklayingismorethanFlemish
bond.Theycameupwithatemplatethathelpedthemmappingthequalificationsand
skillsneededandexpectedinthebricklayingindustry.Oneoftheaimswasto:Developa
frameworkforthecomparativeassessmentofbricklayingqualifications(p.7). Thefirst
draft of the template for this study was created using the nomenclature and
classificationsoftheTable11(p.21)oftheresearch:
Structureofrequirements
OccupationalCompetence PersonalCompetence
Knowledge KnowHow SocialCompetence Self-Competence
Itwasrelevant,forthepurposesofthefocusgroupandtoguidetheparticipants,
todividethecompetenciesexpectedintheteachingstaffbetweenthosecompetencies
related tothe job descriptionand those inherent inthe humanbeing. The schoolwas
very keenongiving incentives inbothareas, asthey thought theyworked together in
helpingthelearningprocessofthestudents.
Alongwith the Bricklaying Research, inputs were taken from the investigation
made byOddenand Kelley (1997). In theirwork,competencies were divided in three
main categories. The first category was having competencies inside the classroom:
everything related to mastering the classroom, preparing lessons, knowledge of the
subject,etc.Thesecondonewasrelatedtocompetenciesrelatedtoeducationbutnotto
thesubjectitself,likeevaluation,curriculum,innovation,creativity,etc.Thelastonewas
relatedtohavingcompetenciesinleadershipandadministrationskills.
Personal Competence remained the same as the Bricklaying project. However,
Occupational Competence was split in three categories to address the insightsof the
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OddenandKelleyswork.Thefirstcategorywassystematicknowledgethatanswered
specificknowledgeforthatposition.Thesecondonewasproceduralknowledge;itwas
relatedtopractical,know/howknowledgethatitisusefulforacertainposition.Thelast
onewaslocalknowledge,itwasrelatedtomasteringcompetenciesthatwouldhelpthe
workoftheteacherinsidetheclassroomandoutside,buttheywerenottotallyrelatedto
thepositionitself.SocialCompetenceitwasrelatedtocharacteristicsoftheteachers
within her environment and Self-Competence addressed characteristics of the
personalityoftheteacher.
Attheend,bothinvestigationswerecombinedtocreatethetemplatethatwould
befilledbytheparticipantsofthefocusgroup:
Structureofrequirements
OccupationalCompetence PersonalCompetence
Systematic
Knowledge
Procedural
Knowledge
Local
Knowledge
Social
Competencies
Self-Competence
G.Sample
TheschoolhasalmostsevenhundredstudentsfromNurseryschooltoSecondary
school(fromtwoyearstoeighteenyearsold).Thereareonehundredandsixtystudents
inNursery,twohundredandforty-fivestudentsinPrimaryandtwohundredandninety-
three students in Secondary. Each year has two levels, and each classhas in average
twenty-fivestudents.
To fulfill the needs of these students, the school has eighty-two teachers:
seventeen in Nursery, twenty-eight in Primary and thirty-seven in Secondary. It was
practically impossible to interview every single teacher of the school, not because of
willingnessbutbecauseofagendascomplications.Becauseofthat,itwasdecidedtodo
anopensampling,invitingeverysingleteacheroftheschooltoparticipateinthefocus
groupscheduledforeachlevel.EightnurseryteachersshowedupfortheNurseryFocus
Group,twenty-fourteachersforthePrimaryFocusGroupandnineteenfortheSecondary
Group.
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Inthefocusgroupdonetotheadministrationstaff,nosamplingwasdone.The
headmasterwantedtohavefullassistanceanditwasnotdifficulttoachievethatbecause
the focus group was performed during their Monday weekly meetings. Eight people
participated: The headmaster, two psychologists, two inspectors, the nursery
coordinator,theprimarycoordinatorandthesecondarycoordinator.
H.DataCollectionandManagement
Thefocusgroupinterviewshadtosections.Thefirstsectionlastedhalfanhour
and the second part anhourand ahalf.First, the emptytemplatewas projected ina
screen and the author of the studywas in charge of writingdownwhat the teachers
started tosay out lo