Opinion & Commentary
Will bonus payments for teachers improve children’s education?
In just about every private-sector industry, there is a direct link between salary and performance. During the past decade or so, there has been increasing interest in finding ways to establish “pay for performance” or “merit pay” in the teaching profession.
In non-government schools there is an award salary structure, but also room for negotiation. Highly accomplished, effective teachers are often lured to private schools with offers of attractive salaries and the prospect of advancement with strong performance. In NSW, the government school system rewards good, long-serving teachers by making them “assistant principals” and reducing the time they spend in the classroom. Go figure.
Despite its noble intentions, the Gillard government’s proposed teacher bonus scheme is highly bureaucratic and an administrative nightmare. Spend any time in a school and you’ll see how hard it is to isolate the effects of one teacher on a class’s academic attainment using a tick-the-box approach. In literacy, for example, whole-class teaching is supplemented by small-group work with support teachers and individual tuition.
There is also validity in the argument that bonus schemes erode collegiality in a school. And the system can so easily be compromised. Take a chemistry class whose high HSC marks are largely attributable to many students seeking private tutoring because of poor teaching in class. On paper, that chemistry teacher looks great. In reality, he should find a new job.
Yes, good teachers should be paid more but forget about convoluted, top-down, bureaucratic, one-size-fits-all bonus schemes. Decentralise salaries and let the market decide what teachers are worth based on their qualifications, professional standing and record. Devolve teacher employment to schools that opt to self-manage and let them work out how much they’ll pay for a great teacher. Create conditions of flexibility in teacher employment.
The education sector now is an employees’ market. Good teachers will always be sought after. Well- qualified teachers in most disciplines are in high demand. Highly competent physics teachers could be shared by several schools, and could even provide online support for remote schools.
To build accountability and incentives into the system, give principals bonuses for the overall performance of the school. This might help attract talented people to this difficult and undervalued role, working for the good of all students.
Jennifer Buckingham is a Research Fellow at The Centre for Independent Studies.
