Motivating Teachers: Performance Pay Misses the Mark

Motivating Teachers: Performance Pay Misses the Mark - introduction from the website: "According to the Australian Leadership Development Centre, recent calls by past and present Education Ministers[i] for the introduction of performance-based pay for teachers are seriously misplaced. We all know, and research[ii] confirms that high quality teachers and teaching can make a significant difference to student results. Unfortunately there is little financial incentives for great teachers to stay within the classroom, with the main paths to higher salaries all involving less or no teaching, and more administration[iii]. Research[iv] also indicates that the inadequacy of teacher salaries is the key reason for a decline in the standard of entrants to the teaching profession. In this context, any efforts to attract high quality teachers and keep them in the classroom are commendable, yet performance-based pay is not the answer. Rather the answer lies in an overall increase in teacher salaries and school leadership that nurtures teachers’ intrinsic motivation to help their students excel."