Teachers' Perceptions of Merit Pay
Author: Vanessa Jackson
Publisher:
Published: 2012
Total Pages: 53
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe purpose of the study is to show the various perceptions teachers have on merit pay. This research was designed to examine the perceptions and attitudes of teachers towards the idea of performance based pay. This topic has been an ongoing battle within school systems since the 1800s. The participants in this study were teachers from the state of Indiana. An internet search was done to find similar public school corporations in Indiana that had already implemented merit pay systems or were planning on establishing a pay scale system based on performance. Approximately 250 teachers from four school corporations were invited to complete the survey. Out of those invited, 42 teachers completed the survey, producing a response rate of 16.8%. Of the 42 teachers who participated in the survey, 25 teachers (59.5%) were not in schools with merit pay, while 17 teachers (40.5%) were in a system that used merit pay. Results indicated that there are significant differences to the questions regarding higher pay for better performance. To all other questions there are no significant differences noted. An overwhelming number of participants strongly disagreed with the concept of merit pay, arguing that teachers work to the best of their ability while seeking to sharpen the craft of teaching and additional pay will do little to enhance student achievement. Appended to this document are: (1) Study Information Sheet; (2) Teacher Survey Form; (3) Principal E-mail; (4) Secretary E-mail (with Study Information Sheet); (5) Follow-Up E-mail; and (6) IRB Approval. (Contains 19 tables.).