Teacher Evaluation Policy and Conflicting Theories of Motivation
Source: Educational Researcher, 43(2), March 2014, p. 100-107.
In this article, the author contrasts two motivation theories often used to guide thinking about teacher evaluation, in order to develop an overarching theory of how evaluation works.
The external motivation theory relies on economics and extrinsic incentives, and the internal motivation uses psychology and intrinsic incentives.
These theories and available evidence raise doubts about performance-based pay, but not the use of other extrinsic incentives. They also suggest that to maintain effective intrinsic incentives, policies to remove ineffective teachers should not reduce autonomy or trust among effective teachers and that evaluations should provide teachers with useful feedback and policy makers with information on the conditions that facilitate good teaching.