Organizational Motivation

Write at least a one page narrative describing each of the four articles attached to Organizational Motivation. This will not be like the article assignments, but more of a summary of the articles. This should be one article for the following articles:

Does Public Service Motivation Always Lead to Organizational Commitment? Examining the Moderating Roles of Intrinsic Motivation and Ethical Leadership

The Intrinsic and Extrinsic Factors for Teacher Motivation

A Spiritual Approach to Job Satisfaction and Motivation among Special Education Teachers

Pay-for-Performance: Key Questions and Lessons from Five Current Models.

Each summary should be labeled with each article. More than one page is allowed, but less than one page is not allowed.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0091026017717241

Public Personnel Management
2017, Vol. 46(3) 211 –238

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DOI: 10.1177/0091026017717241

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Article

Does Public Service
Motivation Always Lead to
Organizational Commitment?
Examining the Moderating
Roles of Intrinsic Motivation
and Ethical Leadership

Wisanupong Potipiroon1 and Michael T. Ford2

Abstract
Much of the work in public management indicates that public service motivation
(PSM) generally leads to higher levels of organizational commitment. We argue that
this relationship is more complex than generally assumed. First, drawing from self-
determination theory, we propose that intrinsic motivation is conceptually distinct
from PSM and that the two variables could interact. Second, drawing from the fit
perspective, we further propose that ethical leadership is a contextual variable
that will enhance the effect of PSM. A field study of public employees in Thailand
provides support for this contingency perspective. We found that intrinsic motivation
moderated the effect of PSM, such that the effect was positive only for individuals
with high-intrinsic motivation but negative for those with low-intrinsic motivation.
Furthermore, our analysis revealed a three-way interaction, which indicated that PSM
was most positively related to organizational commitment when accompanied by
high-intrinsic motivation and ethical leadership.

Keywords
public service motivation, prosocial motivation, intrinsic motivation, ethical leadership,
organizational commitment

1Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Thailand
2State University of New York at Albany, USA

Corresponding Author:
Wisanupong Potipiroon, Faculty of Management Sciences, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla
90112, Thailand.
Email: wisanupong.p@psu.ac.th

717241 PPMXXX10.1177/0091026017717241Public Personnel ManagementPotipiroon and Ford
research-article2017

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212 Public Personnel Management 46(3)

Introduction

Over the past three decades, organizational commitment is one of the most studied
phenomena in organizational behavior (Meyer & Allen, 1991). Organizational com-
mitment generally refers to a psychological attachment that an employee has to an
organization (Porter, Steers, Mowday, & Boulian, 1974). Within the field of public
administration, scholars have proposed several motives for why individuals may
develop strong emotional attachment to their public sector organizations (e.g.,
Moynihan & Pandey, 2007). One of these motives is public service motivation (PSM),
a particular form of prosocial motivation that reflects “an individual’s orientation to
delivering services to people with a purpose to do good for others and society” (Perry
& Hondeghem, 2008b, p. vii). The primary reasoning governing this assumption is
that individuals with a strong internalized desire to do good and benefit the welfare of
other people are more likely to join, feel emotionally attached to, and remain in public
service organizations that allow them to do good for others and to be useful to society
(Crewson, 1997).

Although past studies have provided support that PSM plays a critical role in shap-
ing employees’ organizational commitment (e.g., Castaing, 2006; Crewson, 1997;
Kim, 2011; Moynihan & Pandey, 2007; Vandenabeele & Ban, 2009) and reducing
their turnover intentions (e.g., Bright, 2008; Naff & Crum, 1999; Steijn, 2008),
researchers have argued that individuals with high PSM may develop a less favorable
view of the organization if the work environments do not satisfy other underlying
needs (e.g., Wright & Christensen, 2010). For example, it has been reported that the
effect of PSM on intention to stay was stronger when employees felt that their job was
useful to society—the so-called PSM fit (Steijn, 2008). In the same vein, Taylor (2008)
indicated that PSM failed to predict organizational commitment when employees felt
that their job did not provide opportunities that satisfy their prosocial needs. Consistent
with this view, Perry, Hondeghem, and Wise (2010) suggested that to advance PSM
research, it is necessary for researchers to take an interactionist perspective to investi-
gate potential variables that may enhance or suppress the virtuous effects of PSM.

We adopt this perspective to examine when individuals with high PSM are most
likely to feel committed to their organization. First, we draw attention to the role of
intrinsic motivation, which captures the extent to which people find interest and enjoy-
ment in the work that they do such that they would be motivated to exert more efforts
without rewards (Amabile, 1993). Although PSM has been conceptualized as a spe-
cific form of intrinsic motivation (e.g., Crewson, 1997; Houston, 2000; Kim, 2006;
Rainey, 1982; Wittmer, 1991), several researchers have recently questioned whether
the two constructs are in fact conceptually distinct (e.g., Bozeman & Su, 2015; Gould-
Williams & Esteve, 2015; Paarlberg & Lavigna, 2009). Whereas PSM is an enduring
“desire” to do good for others, intrinsic motivation captures the extent to which one
derives enjoyment from the “work” itself. From the language of self-determination
theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2000), intrinsically motivated individuals will find “task
enjoyment” to be an end in itself, whereas PSM-oriented individuals view “doing
good for others” as a desirable end. We thus contend that these two constructs are

Potipiroon and Ford 213

conceptually distinct and that lumping them together would make PSM a “double-
barreled” concept. Indeed, it has been indicated that prosocially motivated individuals
do not necessarily derive enjoyment from public service because some public service
jobs could be inherently boring or even unpleasant (e.g., Gould-Williams & Esteve,
2015; Moynihan & Pandey, 2007). To this end, we suggest that these motivation-based
variables could have meaningful interactive effects.

Second, given our interest in the immediate work contexts surrounding high-PSM
individuals, we also propose that the PSM–organizational commitment relationship
would depend on the characteristics of their leaders. In particular, we focus on the role
of ethical leadership, which pertains to the characteristics of leaders who are both
moral persons (e.g., being trustworthy and altruistic) and moral managers (e.g., pro-
moting high-ethical standards [public service ethics]; Brown, Treviño, & Harrison,
2005; Heres & Lasthuizen, 2012). Our view is based on the person–environment (P-E)
fit perspective (Kristof-Brown, Zimmerman, & Johnson, 2005), which indicates that
both personal predispositions and the environment could interact to affect individuals’
attitudes and behaviors. Indeed, PSM scholars have suggested that the P-E fit is the
missing link that could explain the mixed findings about the relationship between
PSM and outcomes (e.g., Bright, 2007; Ryu, 2014; Wright & Pandey, 2008). In par-
ticular, we focus on the person–supervisor (P-S) fit (Kristof-Brown, 1996; see also
Kroll & Vogel, 2014) to suggest that PSM effects could be enhanced when leaders
supply what followers need by aligning their public service values with the mission
and ideology of public organizations. Arguably, ethical leaders in the public sector
place great emphasis on making an outward, societal impact, showing concern for the
common good, and being responsive and accountable to society at large (Heres &
Lasthuizen, 2012). Whereas past research has shown that perceptions of value-based
leadership such as transformational leadership could interact with PSM to predict job
performance (e.g., Bottomley, Mostafa, Gould-Williams, & León-Cázares, 2015;
Caillier, 2014; Kroll & Vogel, 2014; Park & Rainey, 2008), we are not aware of any
study that sheds light on the moderating role of ethical leadership, which we believe
pertains directly to the maintenance of PSM values (Heres & Lasthuizen, 2012;
Wright, Hassan, & Park, 2016).

Taken together, our current study contributes to the PSM literature in several
respects. First, we revisit the conventional wisdom regarding the PSM–organizational
commitment relationship by suggesting that the impact of individuals’ desire to make
a difference in society would depend on the level of perceived task enjoyment and the
extent to which their leaders embrace and promote public service ethics. In so doing,
we provide theoretical and empirical justification for the distinctiveness of the PSM
and intrinsic motivation constructs and shed light on their potential interactive effect.
No such empirical evidence currently exists. Furthermore, we illustrate the virtuous
role of ethical leadership, which is an underexplored area of research in the public
management literature (e.g., Fernandez, Cho, & Perry, 2010; Wright et al., 2016). The
following section paves way for the development of our hypotheses regarding the
effects of PSM, intrinsic motivation, and ethical leadership and their possible syner-
gistic interactions.

214 Public Personnel Management 46(3)

Theory and Hypotheses

Organizational Commitment

Organizational commitment is defined as “the strength of an individual’s identifica-
tion with and involvement in a particular organization” (Porter et al., 1974, p. 604) or
“psychological attachment to an organization” (O’Reilly & Chatman, 1986, p. 492).
This psychological attachment has been shown to be related to goal and value congru-
ence, behavioral investments in the organization, and the likelihood to remain in the
organization (Meyer & Allen, 1991). For public organizations, higher levels of organi-
zational commitment could mean that employees will be more willing to work on the
behalf of the organization even when the resources necessary to perform public ser-
vice are limited (Crewson, 1997).

Meyer and Allen (1991) proposed a three-component model (TCM) to describe
multiple motivational bases of organizational commitment, which includes affective,
normative, and continuance commitment. Affective commitment refers to the individ-
ual’s identification with, involvement in, and emotional attachment to the organiza-
tion, which indicates that employees with strong affective commitment will continue
employment with the organization because they want to do so. On the contrary, nor-
mative commitment captures the individual’s felt obligation to remain in the organiza-
tion, whereas continuance commitment reflects one’s perceived costs of leaving the
organization and perceptions about other available employment alternatives.

This present study focuses on affective commitment, which is most theoretically
relevant to the underlying role of PSM identity. In particular, affective commitment
captures one’s internalized desire to follow a course of actions such as putting efforts
into one’s work (Meyer & Herscovitch, 2001) and so does the desire of high-PSM
individuals to go above and beyond the call of duties to benefit the welfare of other
people (Perry & Wise, 1990). Several meta-analyses indicate that, among the three
components, affective commitment is a strongest predictor of task performance, citi-
zenship behavior, and attendance (e.g., Cooper-Hakim & Viswesvaran, 2005; Meyer,
Stanley, Herscovitch, & Topolnytsky, 2002). Furthermore, Solinger, Van Olffen, and
Roe (2008) suggested that affective commitment is the only component in the TCM
that pertains to the general conceptualization of organizational commitment, whereas
normative and continuance commitment refer more to the perceived social and mate-
rial costs of leaving.

PSM and Organizational Commitment

Perry et al. (2010) defined PSM as “a particular form of altruism and prosocial motiva-
tion that is animated by specific dispositions and values arising from public institu-
tions and missions” (p. 682). The original theoretical basis of PSM was based on the
notion that individuals are motivated toward public service for specific reasons includ-
ing (a) attraction to public policy making, (b) commitment to the public interest, (c)
compassion toward others, and (d) self-sacrifice (Perry, 1996). Our present study

Potipiroon and Ford 215

focuses on the last three dimensions, which correspond with the recent conceptual
definitions of PSM (Wright, Christensen, & Pandey, 2013). These conceptualizations
have moved away from “multiple motives grounded primarily or uniquely in public
institutions and organizations” (Perry & Wise, 1990, p. 368) toward a broader empha-
sis on “a general altruistic motivation to serve the interests of a community of people”
(Rainey & Steinbauer, 1999, p. 23).

In their seminal article, Perry and Wise (1990) proposed that individuals with high
PSM are more likely to work in the government because of the opportunities to engage
in meaningful public service and because they find this type of work to be rewarding.
This assumption is grounded in the P-E fit perspective, which refers to “the compati-
bility between an individual and a work environment that occurs when their character-
istics are well matched” (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005, p. 281). Congruence between
individuals and organizations can be achieved in two important ways: (a) supplemen-
tary fit or (b) complementary fit (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005). Supplementary fit is
achieved when individuals and organizations possess similar values or goals, whereas
complementary fit is achieved when individuals’ unmet needs are satisfied by the
organization (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005). Thus, PSM effects on attraction and reten-
tion could be a function of both the degree to which individuals and organizations
share public service values (i.e., person–organization [P-O] fit; Wright & Christensen,
2010) and the extent to which the organizations satisfy their salient needs, desires, or
preferences—a needs–supplies fit (N-S fit; Cable & DeRue, 2002; Edwards, 2008;
Kristof-Brown, 1996). This view has been echoed and supported by a plethora of PSM
studies (Castaing, 2006; Kim, 2011; Moynihan & Pandey, 2007; Vandenabeele & Ban,
2009). Thus, we would expect that individuals with high PSM will be more likely than
individuals low in PSM to have their needs met by public service organizations. This
leads to the first hypothesis:

Hypothesis 1: PSM is positively related to organizational commitment.

Boundary Conditions of PSM Effects

Although there is a tendency to view PSM as automatically increasing public employ-
ees’ commitment to public organizations, scholars have argued that employees in the
public sector will not necessarily find their work intrinsically gratifying, even if they
are high in PSM (e.g., Bright, 2008; Gould-Williams & Esteve, 2015; Pandey, Wright,
& Moynihan, 2008; Steijn, 2008; Wright & Christensen, 2010). Notably, Wright and
Christensen (2010) reported that lawyers who joined public organizations because of
their interest in social services and helping others were not necessarily more likely to
remain in the organization. These authors suggested that the failure to find a direct
relationship between PSM and retention may be the result of characteristics of the
specific job or the organization. For this reason, Wright and Christensen argued that it
is more appropriate to ask when and under what conditions PSM will affect employee
intentions to remain in the organization.

216 Public Personnel Management 46(3)

To date, few studies have investigated possible boundary conditions of the PSM–
organizational commitment relationship (see Steijn, 2008; Taylor, 2008, for excep-
tions). Christensen and Wright (2011) suggested that

in order to understand the potential effects of PSM, we must consider (rather than take for
granted) the degree to which the organization actually shares the individual’s public
service values and offers jobs that are likely to provide opportunities for the employee to
act on or to satisfy these values. (p. 739)

In addition, it should be noted that the strength of association between PSM and orga-
nizational commitment tends to vary somewhat across studies. For example, Taylor
(2008) indicated that PSM correlated .10 with organizational commitment, whereas
Park and Rainey (2007) and Castaing (2006) reported correlations of .24 and .36,
respectively. From a statistical standpoint, this suggests that moderators of the PSM–
organizational commitment relationship may exist. We discuss below the moderating
roles of intrinsic motivation and ethical leadership.

The Role of Intrinsic Motivation

Whereas intrinsic motivation has been conceptualized in several ways, our study
adopts a task-based definition, which emphasizes the importance of job characteristics
(Deci & Ryan, 2000; Oldham & Hackman, 1981). In particular, Amabile (1993) pro-
posed that individuals are intrinsically motivated when they find enjoyment, interest,
or personal challenge in their work. Based on the job characteristic model (JCM;
Hackman & Oldham, 1976), jobs can be made more intrinsically motivating by
increasing levels of skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feed-
back. This perspective suggests that a variation in a person’s intrinsic motivation is
partly contingent upon the nature of the job.

Although it is generally assumed that PSM is a form of intrinsic motivation (e.g.,
Crewson, 1997; Houston, 2000; Rainey, 1982; Wittmer, 1991) and that government
jobs can offer interesting opportunities for individuals to engage in meaningful public
service (Frank & Lewis, 2004), several scholars have questioned whether the two
constructs are conceptually and empirically distinct (e.g., Bozeman & Su, 2015;
Gould-Williams & Esteve, 2015; Paarlberg & Lavigna, 2009). That is, these authors
ask if it is possible for people to be high in PSM but low in intrinsic motivation, or low
in PSM but high in intrinsic motivation.

To make a case that intrinsic motivation could interact with PSM, we draw from the
existing literature to theorize that intrinsic motivation differs conceptually from PSM.
According to Grant (2008), intrinsic motivation refers to “the desire to expend efforts
based on interest in and enjoyment of the work itself” (p. 49), whereas prosocial moti-
vation, of which PSM is generally considered to be a form (Perry & Hondeghem,
2008a; Perry et al., 2010), refers to “the desire to expend effort to benefit other peo-
ple.” In particular, intrinsic motivation is hedonic in nature (i.e., people expend efforts
for pleasure and enjoyment), whereas prosocial motivation is eudaimonic (i.e., people
expend efforts for meaning and purpose).

Potipiroon and Ford 217

Citing a number of studies on motivation, Grant (2008a) offered theoretical ratio-
nale for why intrinsic motivation is distinct from prosocial motivation. First, from the
perspective of SDT (Ryan & Deci, 2000), individuals’ motivation can be distinguished
in terms of a continuum ranging from controlled (i.e., extrinsic) motivation to purely
autonomous (i.e., self-determined) motivation. Controlled motivation originates from
factors external to the self such as rewards and punishments (external regulation),
internal pressures such as to maintain or enhance one’s self worth, or to avoid guilt or
shame (introjected regulation), and values that are regarded as personally important
(identified regulation), or fully endorsed and assimilated into the self (integrated regu-
lation). In contrast, intrinsic motivation is the most autonomous form of motivation,
which occurs when a person experiences a task or an activity as truly enjoyable and
satisfying such that external rewards are not needed. Intrinsically motivated behaviors
are thus fully volitional and genuinely endorsed by the self. This fine-grained approach
to understanding human motivation suggests that PSM could be regarded as an identi-
fied or integrated motivation, which exemplifies a situation in which institutionalized
or organizational values (e.g., making a difference in society) are perceived as person-
ally significant or have been internalized into one’s public service identity.

Second, in terms of goal-directedness, intrinsic motivation is process-focused—
engaging in an interesting task is like an end in itself. In contrast, prosocial motivation
is outcome-focused whereby work serves as a means toward achieving other outcomes
such as helping others. Third, intrinsic motivation is present-focused, concerning the
experience of performing a particular task, whereas prosocial motivation is future-
focused, concerned with the achievement of meaningful outcomes. Indeed, Bozeman
and Su (2015) indicated that the concept of PSM could be linked with at least three
desirable outcomes associated with the organization: the chances to advance the goals
of public organizations, the chances to make a difference in society via public organi-
zations, and identification with the mission of public organization. To the extent that
PSM is viewed as a form of prosocial motivation (Perry & Hondeghem, 2008a; Perry
et al., 2010), we thus contend that PSM could be differentiated from intrinsic motiva-
tion, which is a purer form of autonomous motivation pertaining to the inherent psy-
chological satisfaction of working.

We argue further that to the extent that PSM is measured cross-sectionally, it could
be regarded as an individual difference variable that is relatively stable over time
(Stazyk & Davis, 2015). Notably, Vogel and Kroll (2016) confirmed that PSM among
public employees in Germany is stable over a period of 16 years, emphasizing that
PSM can be regarded as an enduring trait. From the language of set-point theory, this
suggests that although a person’s motivation can fluctuate on a day-to-day basis, peo-
ple may actually be predisposed to certain levels of PSM. On the contrary, intrinsic
motivation is generally viewed as a form of motivation that is driven by situational
factors related to job characteristics (Amabile, 1993; Grant, 2008). Thus, PSM and
intrinsic motivation do not necessarily covary as generally assumed. To illustrate this
point, a person may have an enduring desire to make a positive impact on the lives of
others, yet he or she may find little intrinsic reward in the work because he or she lacks
the opportunities to make a positive impact on the lives of others (Steijn, 2008; Taylor,
2008; van Loon, Kjeldsen, Andersen, Vandenabeele, & Leisink, 2016; Wright &

218 Public Personnel Management 46(3)

Christensen, 2010) or because some of the work in the public sector is inherently bor-
ing or unpleasant (Gould-Williams & Esteve, 2015; Moynihan & Pandey, 2007). For
example, a social worker might find public service to be a personally rewarding and
important goal but may find the tasks of case work to be unpleasant. In fact, it has also
been shown that job tenure can amplify the negative effects of certain aspects of the
work environment (e.g., job boredom) in the public sector, such that it impedes one’s
commitment to the job from generalizing to the organizational level (Moynihan &
Pandey, 2007). This suggests that employees may lower commitment to their public
organizations when their jobs fail to satisfy their individual motivations as expected
(Buchanan, 1974, 1975).

Based on these arguments, we anticipate that when intrinsic motivation is high,
those with high PSM will likely feel more autonomous in their work roles, become
more emotionally attached to the organization, and enjoy serving on its behalf rather
than feeling obligated to remain. Thus, we hypothesize the following:

Hypothesis 2: Intrinsic motivation is positively related to organizational
commitment.
Hypothesis 3: Intrinsic motivation moderates the relationship between PSM and
organizational commitment such that when intrinsic motivation is high, the rela-
tionship will be positive, but when intrinsic motivation is low, the relationship will
be weak or nonsignificant.

The Role of Ethical Leadership

Leaders are a crucial source of social influence and organizational attitudes in the
workplace. According to Shamir (1991), the primary function of leaders is “the cre-
ation of shared meanings through their own actions as role models and their use of
language, symbols and rituals” (p. 420). In this present study, we focus on the role of
ethical leadership, which has been defined as “the demonstration of normatively
appropriate conduct through personal actions and interpersonal relationships, and the
promotion of such conduct to followers through two-way communication, reinforce-
ment, and decision-making” (Brown et al., 2005, p. 120). By definition, ethical leaders
are both moral persons and moral managers: A moral person is characterized by a
strong character of honesty, trustworthiness, and integrity, whereas a moral manager
serves as a role model and promotes ethical conduct at work (Treviño, Hartman, &
Brown, 2000). Thus, ethical leaders are not only honest and trustworthy decision mak-
ers who uphold moral principles and integrity even in the face of significant external
pressure, but they also promote ethical behavior among their followers by communi-
cating ethical standards and expectations, providing ethical guidance, and holding fol-
lowers accountable for ethical and unethical conduct (Treviño et al., 2000).

Over the past decade, accumulating research has indicated that ethical leadership is
related to various important outcomes, such as job satisfaction, organizational com-
mitment, willingness to put in extra effort on the job, task performance, and citizen-
ship behavior (see Brown & Mitchell, 2010). Hassan, Mahsud, Yukl, and Prussia

Potipiroon and Ford 219

(2013) indicated that because ethical leaders are altruistic, honest, and trustworthy and
care for the well-being of others (i.e., moral persons), they can influence followers’
attitudes by way of fostering a positive and high-quality interpersonal relationship.
Alternatively, Neubert, Carlson, Kacmar, Roberts, and Chonko (2009) indicated that
ethical leaders serve as role models who exemplify ethical behavior and promote
shared work norms and perceptions among followers (i.e., a moral manager), which in
turn leads to positive work attitudes.

Although the concept of ethical leadership can be applied to any type of organiza-
tions, it could be argued that public organizations would require a different style of ethi-
cal leadership than private organizations. Stazyk and Davis (2015) in particular
indicated that public managers embrace public service ideals that are governed by three
sets of institutional values, including equal treatment and equity, responsiveness and
representation, and the protection of individual rights. This outward-oriented and soci-
etal focus of ethical leaders in the public sector could be attributed to the high PSM
level inherent among public sector employees, the nature of tasks and missions of pub-
lic organizations, as well as the influence of external stakeholders on the organization
(Heres & Lasthuizen, 2012). Notably, Wright et al. (2016) reported that public manag-
ers whose desire is to serve the public and strive for social equity are more likely to be
perceived by their subordinates as exhibiting qualities of ethical leadership.

Based on the P-E fit perspective (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005), we suggest that the
characteristics of ethical leaders who embody the purpose and values of public organiza-
tion and of their constituents will match the underlying needs of individuals with high
PSM. Whereas past research in the P-E fit literature has focused on the perceived match
of personality traits (Schaubroeck & Lam, 2002) and goal congruence (Witt, 1998)
between supervisors and subordinates, Kroll and Vogel (2014) aptly pointed out that it is
not sufficient if leaders and followers are to share altruistic motives. In particular, ethical
leaders can also “supply” what followers “need” by providing them with the opportuni-
ties to act on their PSM values (e.g., public interest, compassion, self-sacrifice). Because
employees may view their supervisor as a salient representative of the values that consti-
tute the institutional environment of their organizations, actions of ethical leaders could
serve to remind high-PSM employees that public service is meaningful and useful to
society, that their personal interests are less important than promoting social equity, and
that standing up for the rights of others is important even if it requires personal sacrifice.
In other words, we believe that ethical leaders could complement the needs of high-PSM
individuals by aligning their values and goals with those of the organization. As has been
noted by several researchers, ethical leaders stress public service values and purpose in
decision making and clarify to their followers how their tasks and efforts will contribute
to the overall achievement of other socially responsible goals (De Hoogh & Den Hartog,
2008; Piccolo, Greenbaum, Hartog, & Folger, 2010).

To the extent that leaders embody important organizational values, we believe that
the role of ethical leadership in the public sector is highly relevant to enhancing the
positive influence of PSM effects. Taken together, we propose that the characteristics of
ethical leaders and those of individuals with high PSM will produce a positive match
that results in a higher level of organizational commitment. Thus, we hypothesize that

220 Public Personnel Management 46(3)

Hypothesis 4: Ethical leadership is positively related to organizational
commitment.
Hypothesis 5: Ethical leadership moderates the relationship between PSM and
organizational commitment such that the relationship is more positive when ethical
leadership is high.

Possible Synergistic Interaction of PSM, Intrinsic Motivation, and Ethical
Leadership

Thus far, we have proposed that intrinsic motivation and ethical leadership will individu-
ally enhance the effect of PSM. We further explore a possibility that PSM will relate
more strongly to organizational commitment for individuals high in intrinsic motivation
and under conditions of high-ethical leadership. Specifically, it is possible that individu-
als with high PSM and intrinsic motivation thrive primarily when working under imme-
diate leaders who consistently promote ethical ideals that match their prosocial
predispositions (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005) while providing a supportive work contexts
(i.e., providing a sense of autonomy, competence and relatedness) that allow their intrin-
sic motivation to flourish (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Ethical leaders can do this by offering
followers high levels of autonomy and influence over decision making (De Hoogh &
Den Hartog, 2008; Piccolo et al., 2010) and increasing followers’ self-efficacy by serv-
ing as legitimate role models, which allow employees to reach their potential at work
(Walumbwa et al., 2011). In contrast, we expect that low levels of ethical leadership
could present an undesirable effect especially when PSM and intrinsic motivation are
both high. In particular, it has been shown that people with a greater sense of calling (i.e.,
feelings of strong passion for one’s work) tend to have heightened expectations about
management’s moral duty to the work (Bunderson & Thompson, 2009) and thus may
develop stronger negative reactions when working with unethical leadership. For these
reasons, we aim to explore an intriguing possibility that there is a three-way interaction
between PSM, intrinsic motivation, and ethical leadership in predicting organizational
commitment. As no previous study has examined the possible interaction of these vari-
ables, we refrain from drawing a definitive or formal conclusion about their relation-
ships. In the sections below, we discuss the data collection procedures, the research
method, our research findings, and implications for practice and further research.

Method

Sample and Procedures

The data used in the study were collected from public employees in the Ministry of
Interior (MOI), which is one of the largest public agencies in Thailand. With offices
and personnel at every level of administration (i.e., central, provincial, and district)
across the country, this agency is responsible for implementing several national poli-
cies that have a direct impact on the citizens. These policies include internal security

Potipiroon and Ford 221

(i.e., immigrant and border issues), drugs eradication, community development, and
poverty reduction. The agency boasts itself of its ambitious mission: “To alleviate the
suffering and promote the well-being of all Thai people.” Given the potential wide-
ranging impacts of its responsibilities, this agency plays a vital role in developing a
workforce of midlevel (e.g., chief district officers) and high-level leaders (e.g., provin-
cial governors) to oversee provincial and district administration.

The survey participants were chosen from the headquarters office located in
Bangkok. The survey questionnaires were hand-distributed to 250 public employees in
44 work units who were physically present when the researcher arrived at the head-
quarters. Each participant was asked to fill out the survey during his or her work hours,
which was returned to the researcher on the same day. As shown in Table 1, 33% of the
196 respondents who returned the survey were clerical workers, compared with 30%
for the entire agency. Professional workers were 67% of respondents, compared with
63% for the entire agency. The gender distribution of respondents is fairly representa-
tive of the agency population; 40% of respondents were men, compared with 56% of
the entire agency. Respondents have an average organizational tenure of 17 years, and
an average age of 44 years.

Measures

The survey instrument was administered in the Thai language. Because the original
scales were developed in English, back translation (Brislin, 1970) was conducted
where the original English versions were translated into Thai and then translated back
into English (see the appendix). Affective commitment (α = .90) was measured with the
six-item scale developed by Meyer, Allen, and Smith’s (1993) and a 7-point Likert-
type format (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree). PSM (α = .78) was measured
with the five-item global measure adapted from Perry’s (1996) and a 5-point Likert-
type format (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). This measure has been used in
several PSM studies (e.g., Alonso & Lewis, 2001; Bellé, 2013; Brewer & Selden,
2000; Christensen & Wright, 2011; Kim, 2006; Pandey et al., 2008; Stazyk & Davis,
2015; Wright, 2008). Intrinsic motivation (α = .92) was measured with the four-item
scale developed by Grant (2008) using 7-point Likert-type scales with anchors of 1
(disagree strongly) to 7 (agree strongly). Finally, ethical leadership behavior (α = .98)
was measured with the 10-item scale from the Ethical Leadership Questionnaire
(ELQ) developed and validated by Yukl, Mahsud, Hassan, and Prussia (2013) using a
6-point Likert-type scale (1 = strongly disagree, 6 = strongly agree). On the basis of
previous research (see Meyer et al., 2002), we controlled for age, organizational and
dyad tenure, types of jobs (clerical = 0, professional = 1), gender (male = 0, female =
1), and education (0 = below bachelors’ degree, 1 = bachelor’s degree, 2 = master’s
degree, and 3 = PhD). We also controlled for job satisfaction (α = .80) using a five-
item scale developed by Brayfield and Rothe (1951) because job satisfaction is a close
correlate of intrinsic motivation (Grant, 2008) and organizational commitment
(Harrison, Newman, & Roth, 2006).

222 Public Personnel Management 46(3)

Results

Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA)

We conducted a series of CFAs to examine the distinctiveness of the key study vari-
ables; namely, PSM, intrinsic motivation, ethical leadership, organizational commit-
ment, and job satisfaction. As recommended by Hair, Anderson, Tatham, and Black
(1998), the overall model’s chi-square, the comparative fit index (CFI), the Tucker–
Lewis index (TLI), and the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) were
used to assess the model fit. As shown in Table 2, the hypothesized five-factor model
provided an acceptable fit to the data (χ2 = 850.20, df = 395, p < .01; RMSEA = .06; CFI = .92; TLI = .91, Model 1) and significantly better than the alternative models. For example, the alternative model in which indicators of PSM and intrinsic motivation were set to load onto a single factor fit the data significantly worse (χ2 = 1,0

49, df =
399, p < .01; RMSEA = .09; CFI = .89; TLI = .88, Model 2). Although the chi-square test of the hypothesized model was significant, a relative/normed chi-square (χ2/df) has been recommended as an alternative test, with a ratio of less than 3 indicating acceptable fit (Mueller, 1996). Here, the relative χ2/df ratio was 2.15, suggesting that the hypothesized model had an acceptable fit with the data.

Descriptive Statistics and Correlations

The means, standard deviations, and bivariate correlations of the study variables are
presented in Table 3. The results showed that PSM was moderately correlated with

Table 1. Agency and Sample Demographics.

Agency population Survey sample

Frequency % Frequency %

Positions 13,439 100.00 196 100
Executive 4 0.02 — —
Managerial 884 6.51 — —
Professional 8,553 63.64 131 66.83
Clerical 3,998 29.74 65 33.16
Education 13,439 100.00 196 100
PhD 11 0.08 3 1.5
Master’s 3,839 28.56 75 38.26
Bachelor’s 7,681 57.15 96 48.97
Below bachelor’s 1,908 14.19 22 11.22
Gender 13,439 100.00 196 100
Male 7,657 56.97 77 40.20
Female 5,782 43.02 119 59.80
Age 44.65 — 43.90 —

Potipiroon and Ford 223

intrinsic motivation (r = .46, p < .01) while PSM, intrinsic motivation, and ethical leadership were all positively related to organizational commitment (r = .18, p < .05; r = .37, p < .01; r = .17, p < .05, respectively).

Analytic Procedures

Because our data were collected from individual employees nested within work units,
it is possible that the observations were nonindependent, which may violate ordinary
least square (OLS) assumptions. We conducted a one-way ANOVA to determine the
between-groups variance in our dependent variable (organizational commitment). The
results revealed that this variable did not vary significantly across the work units,
F(43, 195) = 0.83, p > .75. We also conducted a null model using hierarchical linear
modeling (HLM 6; Raudenbush & Bryk, 2002) to test the degree of nonindependence
in the dependent variable. This procedure revealed an ICC of .00, which suggests that
OLS is a more appropriate choice for statistical analyses (Byrne, 2011).1

Hypothesis Testing

To probe the proposed interaction effects, we followed the hierarchical moderated
regression procedures recommended by Aiken and West (1991). Each of the predictor

Table 2. Comparison of Measurement Models (N = 196).

Model χ2 df RMSEA CFI TLI Model Δχ2/Δdf

1. Five-factor 850.20 395 .06 .92 .91
2. Four-factor (PSM

and IM merged)
1,011.49 399 .09 .89 .88 2 vs. 1 161.29/4**

3. Four-factor (IM and
JS merged)

1,095.92 399 .10 .87 .86 3 vs. 1 245.72/4**

4. Four-factor (OC and
JS merged)

1,100.33 399 .10 .87 .86 4 vs. 1 250.13/4**

5. Three-factor (PSM,
IM, and JS merged)

1,206.15 402 .10 .84 .83 5 vs. 1 355.95/7**

6. Three-factor (PSM,
IM, and OC merged)

1,698.92 402 .13 .77 .75 6 vs. 1 848.72/7**

7. Two-factor (PSM,
IM, OC, and JS
merged)

1,838.00 404 .13 .52 .74 7 vs. 1 987.80/9**

8. One-factor (all
constructs merged)

3,247.41 406 .19 .50 .46 8 vs. 1 2,397.21/11**

Note. RMSEA = root mean square error of approximation; CFI = comparative fit index; TLI = Tucker–
Lewis index; PSM = public service motivation; IM = intrinsic motivation; JS = job satisfaction; OC =
organizational commitment; EL = ethical leadership.
**p < .01.

224

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Potipiroon and Ford 225

variables was grand mean centered before the analyses. As shown in Table 4, organi-
zational commitment was first regressed onto the control variables, then the three pre-
dictor variables, the two-way interaction terms, and the three-way interaction term.
Because PSM and intrinsic motivation had moderately high correlations (r = .46), we
also calculated the variance inflation factor (VIF) to assess potential multicolinearity.
This procedure revealed that the mean VIFs were below 2.0, which indicates multico-
linearity was not a problem.

We should note that our study did not use a direct measure to demonstrate a fit
between supervisor and subordinates (e.g., “I think I fit well with the supervisor”);
instead, we used an indirect “fit” measure based on a product term between PSM and
ethical leadership. Our rationale is based on past research, which indicates that, when
direct “fit” measures are used in conjunction with attitudinal outcomes, respondent’s
perceptual distortions could bias study results, whereas indirect fit measure could
allow a more accurate assessment of complementarity without asking for implicit
judgment of fit by those involved (Kristof-Brown, 1996). Based on the P-E fit per-
spective, several PSM studies have relied on indirect fit measures using such interac-
tion terms as “PSM × the extent to which job is useful to society” (Steijn, 2008), “PSM

Table 4. Moderated Multiple Regression Results (N = 196).

Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Model 5 Model 6

Intercept 3.31*** 3.46*** 4.03*** 4.01*** 4.24*** 2.68***
Control
Gender .09 (.10) .09 (.09) .08 (.09) .06 (.09) .09 (.09) .02 (.09)
Education .10 (.10) .06 (.08) .07 (.08) .08 (.07) .07 (.08) .07 (.08)
Age .00 (.00) .00 (.00) .00 (.00) .00 (.00) .00 (.00) .00 (.00)
Occupation type −.19 (.13) −.12 (.12) −.08 (.12) −.12 (.11) −.07 (.11) −.07 (.11)
Org tenure −.00 (.00) −.00 (.00) −.00 (.00) −.00 (.00) −.00 (.00) −.00 (.00)
Dyad tenure .00 (.00) .00 (.00) .00 (.00) .00 (.00) .00 (.00) .00 (.00)
Job satisfaction — — — — — .27 (.05)***
Main predictors
PSM .22 (.09)* .02 (.09) .00 (.09) .02 (.09) .00 (.09) .00 (.08)
IM .21 (.04)*** .21 (.05)*** .26 (.04)*** .27 (.04)*** .14 (.04)**
EL .13 (.05)* .13(.02)* .10 (.06) .07 (.05)
Two-way interactions
PSM × IM .18 (.06)** .17 (.06)** .13 (.05)*
PSM × EL .04 (.06) .08 (.08) .11 (.07)
IM × EL .04 (.03) .03(.03)
Three-way interaction
PSM × IM × EL .15 (.04)*** .14 (.04)***
F test 1.64*** 3.91*** 4.14*** 4.51*** 4.97*** 7.49***
R2 .07 .16 .18 .23 .28 .38
Change in R2 .09 .03 .05 .05 .10

Note. Coefficients are unstandardized; Values in parentheses are standard errors. All the main effect (continuous)
variables were grand mean centered. PSM = public service motivation; IM = intrinsic motivation; EL = ethical leadership.
*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

226 Public Personnel Management 46(3)

× the extent to which jobs emphasize service to others” (Christensen & Wright, 2011),
and “PSM × transformational leadership” (Kroll & Vogel, 2014).

As shown in Table 4, the results revealed that PSM had a significant positive effect
on commitment (b = .22, p < .05; Model 1), which supports Hypothesis 1. When intrin- sic motivation was included as a predictor, it also had a significant positive effect on commitment (b = .21, p < .001; Model 2), providing support for Hypothesis 2, whereas the effect of PSM became nonsignificant (b = .02, p >.05; Model 2). Next, when ethi-
cal leadership was entered as a predictor, it had a significant positive effect (b = .13, p
< .05; Model 3), supporting Hypothesis 3.

Next, we entered the two-way interaction terms (“PSM × Intrinsic motivation” and
“PSM × Ethical leadership”). The results showed that PSM interacted with intrinsic
motivation in the anticipated direction (b = .18, p < .01; Model 4), thus providing support for Hypothesis 4, whereas the interaction between PSM and ethical leadership was non- significant (b = .04, p > .50; Model 4), failing to support Hypothesis 5. To test a possible
interaction among PSM, intrinsic motivation, and ethical leadership as shown in Model
5, we then entered the three two-way interaction terms and the three-way interaction
term simultaneously as recommended by Aiken and West (1991). The results indicated a
significant three-way interaction (b = .15, p < .001; Model 5). Overall, the R2 increased from .05 in Model 1 to .28 in Model 5, showing a change in variance explained of .23. This incremental variance explained by the model suggests that the model that included the three-way interaction was superior to one without the interaction. In addition, after job satisfaction was entered as a control variable in Model 6, the direct effects of intrinsic motivation and all the interaction terms remained significant.

To graphically understand the nature of the interactions, we followed the proce-
dures recommended by Aiken and West (1991). We plotted the high and low levels of
each variable (one SD above and below the mean). As shown in Figure 1, this

Figure 1. Two-way interaction plot.
Note. PSM = public service motivation.

Potipiroon and Ford 227

procedure revealed that when intrinsic motivation was high, PSM was positively
related to organizational commitment (b = .23, p < .05). However, when intrinsic moti- vation was low, PSM was negatively related to commitment (b = −.21, p < .05).

To probe the significance of the three-way interaction, we followed the proce-
dures developed by Dawson and Richter (2006). This allows us to examine whether
the slope for the relationship between PSM and organizational commitment was
more positive under conditions of high-intrinsic motivation and high-ethical lead-
ership than in the other three conditions. As shown in Table 5, the result revealed
that the slope for high-intrinsic motivation and high-ethical leadership was signifi-
cantly more positive than the other three, whereas the other three conditions did not
differ significantly from one another. We also examined whether the slopes were
significantly different from zero by following Cohen, Cohen, West, and Aiken’s
(2003) procedures. As shown in Table 6, the result revealed that the slopes were
significantly different from zero only when intrinsic motivation and ethical leader-
ship were high.

In addition, to demonstrate that our findings were meaningful from a practical
standpoint, we identified the number of respondents in each of the combinations using
median splits. The results indicated that there was a reasonably proportionate distribu-
tion of the respondents in each of the combinations. For example, 23% of the respon-
dents were in the high-PSM, high-intrinsic motivation, and high-ethical leadership
condition, whereas 28% were in the in the low-PSM, low-intrinsic motivation, and
low-ethical leadership condition, and 11% were in the high-PSM, low-intrinsic moti-
vation, and low-ethical leadership combination. This suggests that the observed three-
way interaction did not represent a rare occurrence in our data.

Discussion

In this present study, we challenge the assumption that PSM generally leads to higher
levels of organization commitment. In doing so, we consider the moderating roles of
intrinsic motivation and ethical leadership. To date, scant attention has been paid to
understanding the potential boundary conditions that may explain the variation in the
relationship between PSM and organizational commitment. The significant two-way
and three-way interactions observed in our study offer valuable contributions to the

Table 5. Results of Slope Difference Tests for Three-Way Interaction.

Pair of slopes t value for slope difference p value for slope difference

(1) and (2) 2.930 .004
(1) and (3) 4.216 .000
(1) and (4) 2.973 .003
(2) and (3) −0.195 .846
(2) and (4) −0.753 .453
(3) and (4) −0.467 .641

228 Public Personnel Management 46(3)

PSM literature. We discuss below the theoretical and practical implications, study
limitations, as well as areas of future research.

Theoretical Implications

Over the past two decades, research has shown that individuals with high PSM are
more likely to show commitment to their public sector organizations based on the
perceived fit between the characteristics of the organizations and their own (e.g.,
Castaing, 2006; Moynihan & Pandey, 2007; Park & Rainey, 2007; Taylor, 2008).
Consistent with these previous studies, our research does indicate that PSM could
provide a long-term benefit to public organizations in terms of helping retain moti-
vated employees. PSM reflects one’s personal desire to engage in meaningful public
service that would benefit citizens, community, or society and such a desire is likely to
be fulfilled through public service jobs (Christensen & Wright, 2011).

However, our findings reveal that the relationship between PSM and organizational
commitment is more complex than assumed. Specifically, we found that the strength
of this relationship depends on the extent to which one finds interest and enjoyment in
the work itself. As hypothesized, when intrinsic motivation was high, the relationship
between PSM and organizational commitment was significantly positive, but to our
surprise, when intrinsic motivation was low, this relationship became significantly
negative. This suggests that work environments can act as a facilitator or constraint to
the fulfillment of individuals’ altruistic needs. Although it is true that public organiza-
tions can provide considerable opportunities for acts of altruism (Frank & Lewis,
2004) and that public employees are more likely to internalize the significance of their
organizational goals and missions (Caillier, 2015; Wright & Pandey, 2011), our find-
ings showed that low levels of intrinsic motivation could potentially undermine the
achievement of these inherent opportunities.

Our work thus builds on the current knowledge in this area, which indicates that
job-related aspects such as perceived societal impact (i.e., the degree to which the job
is perceived to provide opportunities to contribute to society; van Loon et al., 2016), a
job’s perceived usefulness (Steijn, 2008), or a job’s service orientation (Christensen &
Wright, 2011) could enhance or hamper the impact of PSM. In particular, our finding

Table 6. Tests of Simple Slopes.

Slopes b SE t test (p value)

(1) High-intrinsic motivation,
high-ethical leadership

.51 .14 3.52** (.001)

(2) High-intrinsic motivation,
low-ethical leadership

−.22 .19 −1.19 (.235)

(3) Low-intrinsic motivation,
high-ethical leadership

−.17 .15 −1.18 (.240)

(4) Low-intrinsic motivation,
low-ethical leadership

−.08 .13 −0.67 (.502)

Potipiroon and Ford 229

is consistent with emerging research that highlights the dark side of PSM. For exam-
ple, van Loon, Vandenabeele, and Leisink (2015) reported that PSM could lead to
higher levels of burnout and job dissatisfaction among those working in people pro-
cessing organizations (e.g., a police department) when they feel that the societal
impact of their job is lacking.

The observed interaction also provides preliminary evidence about the distinctive-
ness of PSM and intrinsic motivation—a critical issue that has been raised by several
scholars (Bozeman & Su, 2015; Gould-Williams & Esteve, 2015; Paarlberg & Lavigna,
2009). Although PSM relates closely to intrinsic motivation (see also Ryan & Deci,
2000), as can be seen from the moderately high correlation reported in our study, we
found in our factor analysis that the two constructs are empirically distinct. We believe
that our attempt to draw a demarcation between the two constructs provides a more
nuanced understanding of PSM and other measures (Bozeman & Su, 2015; Schott,
Neumann, & Baertschi, 2016). In this spirit, we encourage researchers to further clar-
ify the relationship between PSM and intrinsic motivation, and their common corre-
lates such as task performance and citizenship behavior.

Another contribution from our study is that, although ethical leadership did not
interact individually with PSM as hypothesized, a significant three-way interaction
among PSM, intrinsic motivation, and ethical leadership was observed. In particular,
we found that the effect of PSM on organizational commitment was most positive
when accompanied by high levels of intrinsic motivation and ethical leadership. But
when intrinsic motivation and/or ethical leadership were low, PSM failed to have a
positive impact. In fact, the plots depicted in Figure 2 showed that the PSM–
organizational commitment relationship tended to be negative, albeit nonsignificant,

Figure 2. Three-way interaction plot.
Note. PSM = public service motivation.

230 Public Personnel Management 46(3)

when intrinsic motivation and/or ethical leadership were lacking. Thus, when ethical
leadership is low, PSM or intrinsic motivation does not motivate employees to feel
more committed to their organizations. This emphasizes that ethical leadership may
play an instrumental role in fulfilling employees’ needs to act on their public service
mindedness. We encourage future researchers to examine other types of leadership
attributes or styles that may have similar enhancing effects. In particular, we propose
that a fit between a person’s PSM and the leader’s behavior could be assessed using
a commensurate measurement—describing both PSM and leadership styles with
identical or similar content dimensions (Edwards, 1991; Kristof-Brown, 1996). A
notable example of such an attempt is the work by Vandenabeele (2014), which stud-
ied leadership promotion of public service values, whereby respondents were asked
to what extent their direct supervisors discussed a set of public service values with
them. Although we maintain that ethical leadership is pertinent to understanding PSM
effects (Heres & Lasthuizen, 2012), it is possible that the nonsignificant interaction
of PSM and ethical leadership was a result of the noncommensurate measurement.
More research is needed to clarify these issues.

Finally, although our findings provide some support for our moderation hypothe-
ses, one could rightfully argue that ethical leadership should contribute directly to
PSM, which in turn will lead to higher levels of organizational commitment (see also
Paarlberg & Lavigna, 2010; Park & Rainey, 2008). This argument suggests that the
relationship between ethical leadership and organizational commitment should be
mediated by PSM. Our results however showed that ethical leadership did not corre-
late significantly with PSM (r = .12, p > .10), thus failing to meet the basic criteria for
mediation (Baron & Kenny, 1986). Nevertheless, our findings do indicate that ethical
leadership still matters a great deal in terms of enhancing the effects of PSM and
intrinsic motivation on organizational commitment.

Study Limitations

The present study is not without its limitations. First, like most other PSM studies,
the measurements of all the study variables were based on employees’ self-reports,
which could raise concerns about common method variance (CMV). However, we
followed a number of nonstatistical procedures to reduce the problems (Podsakoff,
MacKenzie, Jeong-Yeon, & Podsakoff, 2003). For example, we applied various
response formats in our survey, placed the survey items measuring the dependent
variable at the beginning, and ensured anonymity by providing each respondent
with a sealed envelope that was returned directly to the researcher on the same day.
More importantly, it has been shown that interaction effects tend to be robust
against CMV (Evans, 1985; Siemsen, Roth, & Oliveira, 2010). Second, because the
data were collected in one country, we acknowledge that the ability to generalize
could be limited. It is a known fact that Thailand’s public sector is plagued with
corruption, which could undermine the positive effect of PSM by reducing the
match between organizational missions and characteristics of individuals (Cowley
& Smith, 2014). This may partly account for the nonsignificant effect observed in

Potipiroon and Ford 231

our study. Future research situated in different contexts needs to be conducted to
replicate and extend our findings.

Conclusion

Public management scholars have indicated that PSM plays a critical role in shaping
employee commitment to organizations. We challenge the current wisdom by propos-
ing the moderating roles of intrinsic motivation and ethical leadership. Our findings
highlight a complex interaction of factors that affect organizational commitment. An
important implication that emerged from this study is that, whereas individuals with
high PSM can contribute to organizational success in several ways, it is important to
acknowledge that these very same individuals are likely to develop an unfavorable
view of their organizations if their prosocial needs go unmet.

Appendix

Study Measures

Organizational commitment

1. I would be happy to spend the rest of my career with my organization.
2. I really feel as if my organizations’ problems are my own.
3. I feel like part of the family in my organization.
4. I feel emotionally attached to my organization.
5. My organization has a great deal of personal meaning for me.
6. I feel a strong sense of belonging to my organization.

Public service motivation

1. Meaningful public service is very important to me.
2. I am often reminded by daily events about how dependent we are on one

another.
3. Making a difference in society means more to me than personal achievements.
4. I am prepared to make sacrifices for the good of society.
5. I am not afraid to go to bat for the rights of others even if it means I will be

ridiculed.

Intrinsic motivation. Why are you motivated to do your work?

1. Because I enjoy the work itself.
2. Because it’s fun.
3. Because I find the work engaging.
4. Because I enjoy it.

232 Public Personnel Management 46(3)

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship,
and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of
this article.

Note

1. We also used hierarchical linear modeling (HLM 6; Raudenbush & Bryk, 2002) to conduct
the analyses. The results did not differ in any significant way.

References

Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions.
Newbury Park, CA: SAGE.

Alonso, P., & Lewis, G. B. (2001). Public service motivation and job performance: Evidence
from the federal sector. American Review of Public Administration, 31, 363-380.

Amabile, T. M. (1993). Motivational synergy: Toward new conceptualizations of intrinsic and
extrinsic motivation in the workplace. Human Resource Management Review, 3, 185-201.

Ethical leadership

1. My supervisor shows a strong concern for ethical and moral values.
2. My supervisor communicates clear ethical standards for members.
3. My supervisor sets an example of ethical behavior in his or her decisions/

actions.
4. My supervisor is honest and can be trusted to tell the truth.
5. My supervisor keeps his or her actions consistent with his or her stated values

(walks the talk).
6. My supervisor can be trusted to carry out promises and commitments.
7. My supervisor insists on doing what is ethical even when it is not easy.
8. My supervisor regards honesty and integrity as important personal values.
9. My supervisor opposes the use of unethical practices to increase performance.
10. My supervisor holds members accountable for using ethical practices in their

work.

Job satisfaction

1. I feel fairly satisfied with my present job.
2. Most days I am enthusiastic about my work.
3. Each day seems like it will never end. (R)
4. I feel real enjoyment in my work.
5. I consider my job to be rather unpleasant. (R)

Potipiroon and Ford 233

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Author Biographies

Wisanupong Potipiroon is a lecturer in the Faculty of Management Sciences at Prince of
Songkla University in Thailand. He received his PhD from University at Albany, State
University of New York. His research interests include public service motivation and leader-
ship. He has published in Review of Public Personnel Administration and International Public
Management Journal.

Michael T. Ford is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the University at
Albany, State University of New York. His research falls within the domain of occupational
health psychology. He has published in Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management,
Psychological Bulletin, and Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory (JPART).

Copyright of Public Personnel Management is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its
content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the
copyright holder’s express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email
articles for individual use.

291

The Intrinsic and Extrinsic Factors

for Teacher

Motivation

Harun GULTEKIN1, Erkan ACAR2

Abstract

Education researchers and school administrators have faced the challenge of

motivating teachers to higher levels of performance. In this regard, teacher mo-

tivation increases classroom performance and, accordingly, improves schooling

and the overall quality of the school system. The purpose of this paper is to

investigate the different types of motivational factors, both intrinsic and extrinsic,

that influence teacher performance and contribute to teacher motivation.

Keywords: intrinsic and extrinsic factors, teacher motivation, social cognitive

learning theory, and teacher performance.

Introduction

It is a common belief that a teacher’s motivation – strongly related to the desire

to be involved in the educational process – is an essential component of classroom

effectiveness and improvement (Good & Brophy, 1994). The role of motivation in

classroom learning and performance can affect both new learning and the perfor-

mance of previously learned skills, strategies, and behaviors (Schunk, Pintrich, &
Meece, 2008). The purpose of this paper is to explore the different types of

motivational factors, both intrinsic and extrinsic that influence teacher perfor-

mance. The purpose of this paper is to explore various sources of intrinsic and

extrinsic factors, especially those which contribute to teacher motivation. The

theoretical framework of this paper is based on Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive

Learning Theory and on the educational philosophy of Turkish scholar Fethullah
Gülen. The following section will define and discuss the concept of motivation.

The remainder of the paper will discuss several intrinsic and extrinsic teacher

motivational factors and analyze their contribution to teaching

effectiveness.

1 Alvernia University, PA, USA. E-mail: harungultekin@yahoo.com

2 Suleyman Sah University, Istanbul, TURKEY. E-mail: erkanacr@yahoo.com (corresponding
author)

Working together
www.rcis.ro

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REVISTA DE CERCETARE {I INTERVEN}IE SOCIAL| – VOLUMUL 47/2014

Motivation

The word motivation is a general term that can be related to a complex series

of physical and mental behaviors. According to Green (2002), motivation is an

internal state that activates, guides, and maintains behavior. Gagne (2004) con-

siders it to be a condition that facilitates the development of high achievement.
Wlodkowski and Jaynes (1990) define it as a value and a desire for learning, Kim

(2000) as inner striving conditions, such as wishes, desires, and urges, which

stimulate the interest of a person in an activity. Motivation, therefore, is generally

considered to be an inner state that stimulates and triggers behavior. Kleinginna

and Kleinginna (1981) support this, defining it as an internal condition that serves

to activate or energize behavior and give it direction. Thus, teacher motivation
sets teachers in motion and makes them do things (which may or may not be

worth doing), in order to reach their goals.

The sources of motivation can be either intrinsic or extrinsic. According to

Deci and Ryan (1985), intrinsic motivation refers to the motivation necessary to

engage in an activity because that activity is enjoyable and satisfying. Woolfolk
(2001) explains that intrinsic motivation involves internal, personal factors such

as needs, interests, curiosity, and enjoyment. In Woolfolk’s view, intrinsic moti-

vation is the primary attitude in education. Alexander (2006) argues that intrinsic

motivation emanates from personal interests and inherent feelings of satisfaction.

Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, is derived from the influence of some
kind of external incentive, distinct from the wish to engage in education for its

own sake. It is concerned with factors outside the classroom. In extrinsically

motivated behaviors, actions are performed to achieve some kind of result, such

as earning rewards or avoiding a negative consequence (Covington, 2000). Con-

sequently, an effective understanding of teacher motivation necessitates the analy-

sis of motivational factors based on their extrinsic or intrinsic nature. There are
various theoretical approaches that shed light on the distinct aspects of teacher

motivation. In this paper, Bandura’s and Gülen’s contributions will be examined.

Theoretical framework

Social Learning Theory: Bandura and Motivation

Many educational theories focus on modeling, which is an outcome of moti-

vation. According to Social Learning Theory (SLT), which first emerged in the

late nineteenth century, people learn from one another, through observation,

imitation, and modeling. Albert Bandura, who is one of the leading proponents of

SLT, introduced many SLT concepts into the educational field in the 1960s. He
focused on the centrality of observing and modeling the behaviors, attitudes, and

293

emotional reactions of others. Bandura states: “Learning would be exceedingly
laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of

their own actions to inform them what to do. Fortunately, most human behavior is

learned observationally through modeling: from observing others one forms an

idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later occasions this coded

information serves as a guide for action” (Bandura, 1997: 22). Bandura claims

here that if people had to rely solely on trial and error in order to learn, it would
take them a very long time to learn even simple tasks. In addition, many of us

probably wouldn’t live very long if, say, the only way you could learn not to run

out into the street is by getting hit by a car. The influence that others have on

behavior and the importance of modeling were noted likewise by Eggen and

Kauchak (1997). Bandura’s social cognitive theory also points out individual

capabilities. This approach is reminiscent of Maslow’s (1954) concept of “self
actualization,” which states that human beings search for higher-level qualities

such as creativity, maximum consciousness, and wisdom. This school of thought

maintains that these potentials can and must be developed by proper upbringing,

education and various motivational factors. In the case of education, students’

potential can be developed and utilized by motivating teachers. Thus self-actua-

lization is closely connected to motivation. According to Bandura (1986), people
are capable of symbolizing, learning through modeling, having forethought, self-

regulating, and self-reflecting. They are not only reactive to situations, but also

proactive and anticipative, and they function as regulators and self-evaluators of

motivations and actions (Bandura, 2001). In other words, people are not simple

stimulus-response machines. They will prepare for what they think is going to
happen, and they can initiate their own behaviors. People are organisms with

aspirations and the capacity for anticipatory self-control with regard to behavior

(Bandura, 1991). Consequently, motivation is not only central for self-actua-

lization, but is also highly correlated with self-reflection and modeling.

Another educational approach to modeling and motivation is proposed by a
contemporary thinker, and well-known Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen self-

actualization can be understood as the search for the maximum level people can

achieve. This level concerns not only physical development, but also the spiritual

acquisition of full human potential. The individual actualizes his or her true

potential and enjoys the ensuing delights and pleasures. Maslow (1954) also

points out that self-actualized people, even though they have everything, maxi-
mize their potential and seek even more knowledge, justice, esthetic experiences,

self-fulfillment, etc. A Turkish scholar and educational reformer, Fethullah Gülen,

has extensively contributed to the theoretical debates of self-actualization and

achievement and his contribution well deserves our attention.

THEORIES ABOUT…

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Gülen’s Educational Vision

Gülen is a self-educated Turkish educationist and well-known author, whose

ideas have inspired a social movement since the 1970s. The Fethullah Gülen

Movement is a faith-inspired civil society movement named after Fetullah Gülen,

for ease of reference. By its participants, however, it is often called hizmet or
volunteer services (Movement) .The Gülen Movement, originating in Turkey,

focused on educational and intercultural dialogue activities. Today, the movement

has reached a global scale, involving intercultural and educational institutions at

all levels in more than a hundred countries, as well as media outlets and business

initiatives. The Movement originated in Turkey and has activities in 115 countries,

and has established a particularly strong presence in Central Asia, Europe, Africa,
The United States, and other places around the global scale (Gülerce, 2009). In

the early 1980’s Gülen and his associates’ vision had led the beginnings of a

enthusiastic educational project of building educational institutions all over the

world (Nelson, 2005). However, Gülen’s teachings provide the theoretical frame-

work for the movement’s educational activities. Mainly in Turkey, Turkish bu-

sinessmen fund educational institutions which are staffed with a young generation
of altruistic teachers. The educational and intercultural emphasis of the Gülen

movement has recently come to the attention of Western scholars. According to

Thomas Michel (2001), the Vatican’s secretary for interreligious dialog, Gülen’s

educational vision is one that embraces societies throughout the world. Gülen’s

ideas, especially on education, provide a valuable contrast to Bandura’s social
learning theory. The following discussion will focus on Gülen’s theory of edu-

cation and its contribution to teacher motivation. Additionally, Gülen’s philosophy

has motivated many individuals not only within the profession of teaching but

also the individuals outside the profession. Teachers adopting Gülen’s under-

standing aim to become the builders of the future, founders of a peaceful, harmo-

nious, progressive and prosperous society, and constructors of human personality

Gülen’s educational theory is based upon four dimensions (Aslandogan &

Cetin, 2007). The first involves the concept of a paradigm: teachers are accus-

tomed to thinking systematically and/or working in a comprehensive tradition. In

other words, they should avoid anarchy in thought or action. Also, they should not

allow themselves to be dragged along by anything novel in the name of change
and development. A teacher should not be attached to novelties introduced at

random; instead, he or she should evaluate all material according to established

and universally accepted norms and values. This does not mean that the teacher

should remain indifferent to new developments and methods, but should be able

to adapt new developments to the basic paradigm. Otherwise, what Kuhn (1962)

calls a “paradigm shift” happens. However, Gülen does not categorically reject
the notion of a “paradigm shift” in the field of education: Gülen himself introduces

a “paradigm” that initiates a new understanding and attitude towards the teaching

295

profession. He believes that only education can solve society’s problems. In this
solution, teachers are the primary actors.

Altruism is the second dimension of Gülen’s educational paradigm. In other

words, he calls for elimination of selfishness and the establishment of a spirit of

community service in education. His motivational efforts began with teachers and

potential sponsors. Through his speeches in many different places, he motivated
college students to choose the educational field as their profession. He sees

altruism as the key factor to convincing business owners and entrepreneurs to

sponsor educational projects (Aslandogan & Cetin, 2007).

The third is a social dimension which brings stakeholders or communities

together. Gülen thinks that political elite which is distanced from society cannot
bring about improvements in education. Instead, altruistic teachers who see edu-

cation as a noble profession are deemed essential, as is the formation of an

educator-parent-sponsor triangle. Teachers, administrators, educational policy

makers, parents, entrepreneurial sponsors, and civic leaders – in short, almost

every segment of society – need to play a role in these educational activities (Unal

& Williams, 2000).

The fourth dimension consists of the synthesis of the heart and the mind,

tradition and modernity, and the spiritual and the intellectual. Gülen highlights

the importance of sound reasoning for every individual, while promoting spiritual

values as a guide for the intellect. He holds that the most favorable way should be
the middle way between a self-centered individualism and a collectivism that

encourages a sense of social responsibility but does not deny individual rights

(Gülen, 2005). He promotes the sense that, as humans, people have the respon-

sibility to serve their community. He also frames individual rights as uninfrin-

geable for the greater good without an individual’s consent (Kuru, 2003). Perhaps

Gülen’s most crucial synthesis is that he is able to achieve, in theory and practice,
a harmony of science and religion, reason and faith (Gülen, 2005). Teacher

motivation is deemed to be central in both Bandura’s and Gülen’s theories.

Bandura’s approach points out both extrinsic and intrinsic factors in teacher

motivation. Gülen’s teachings on teacher-parent-sponsor relations and the adap-

tation to external circumstances highlight the extrinsic factors in teacher moti-

vation, while altruism and modeling emphasize the intrinsic. A closer analysis of
intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors will enable us to better identify the

contributions of Bandura and Gülen to the study of teacher motivation.

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Motivational Factors

Common intrinsic motivational factors

1. Desire to participate the teaching-learning process, and management style.

According to Curless (2000), one’s teaching philosophy can and does affect the

teaching-learning process. In order to deal with complex role demands in the

routine of teaching, one has to understand styles of student learning in a new

educational paradigm that has been constructed, refined, adjusted, and repaired.

While finding solutions to these difficulties, teachers should understand their own
needs and the opportunities available in teaching, and should desire to participate

in the pedagogical processes of students’ education within the school environment

(Petress, 2003). A teacher’s pedagogical role needs to be improved and translated

into the effective achievement of educational objectives. Carter (1993) stresses

the importance of “pedagogical content knowledge” in this complex process.

According to her, knowledge of the content or subject matter has to be taught via
curricular activities that are significant in terms of teacher motivational strategies.

Borko and Putnam (1996) note that a teacher’s acquisition of pedagogical content

knowledge is influenced by his or her personal beliefs. As an educator, I believe

that our openness to accept the new is also important! I feel really motivated when

I´m learning new things! But then we need to be given the space to do something.

Some teachers are so loaded that when they come back home they just want to
sleep! Flexibility and openness to the new also keep me motivated. I try to be

open to hear the students and attend to their needs! Games, humor, technolo-

gy give a nice spice to my teaching. When preparing a class I try to picture myself

as a student and ask if I would enjoy it. If not, I throw my plan away and start

from scratch! That is the advantage of once being a foreign English student.

Therefore teachers, in my view, are not the only ones responsible for their lack
of motivation; the whole environment plays its role. According to Bandura (1977)

and Gülen (2000, 2001), most human behavior is learned observationally through

modeling, so teachers are naturally role models, and this role modeling helps

prepare students for the future. Teachers are leaders in the classroom, and their

leadership should contribute positively to students’ performance and to the general

atmosphere at school. As leaders in the classroom, teachers need to be visionary
and exemplary, and to serve as prototypes. Furthermore, Gülen (1996) clarifies

those teachers as leaders should be reasonable and wise in all their acts and

decisions. Their insight should allow them to solve even the most complex

problems, and they should, therefore, implant hope and resolution in the hearts of

even the most hopeless students. They should strictly avoid harming anyone, and

use all their strength, energy and abilities for the good of their students. Stigler,
Lee and Stevenson (1987) observed that student compliance is an indispensable

class management issue and is positively associated with academic performance.

297

In order to achieve this, most teachers wish to have a more controllable student
environment, and for this reason they apply an authoritarian condition to teaching.

By doing this, they think they are satisfying their “safety need” and can take care

of small problems themselves without sending students to the office. They feel

they should address disruptive behavior before it escalates or becomes habitual.

Also, a teacher must take care to not punish a slightly improper behavior with the

same punishment meted out for highly disruptive behavior. According to Baumrid
(1971), there are four types of teacher classroom management styles: the autho-

ritative style, the authoritarian style, the permissive style and the indulgent style.

The authoritative style is characterized by behavioral principles, high expectations

of appropriate behavior, clear statements about why certain behaviors are accep-

table and others unacceptable, and warm student-teacher relationships. The autho-

ritarian style tends to be characterized by numerous behavioral regulations. It is
often seen as punitive and restrictive, and gives students neither a say in their

management nor the courtesy of an explanation when appropriate; the teacher’s

character is sometimes perceived as cold, even punishing. The permissive style is

characterized by a lack of involvement. The environment is non-punitive, there

are few demands on students, and there is a lot of freedom. The indulgent style

presents an environment where there are no demands on the student of any sort,
and the students are actively supported in their efforts to seek their own ends

using any reasonable means (Baumrind, 1971).

2. Personal traits and development. A second class of intrinsic motivational

factor is an inexperienced teacher, be they young in years or merely new to the
profession, need to be encouraged to improve their skills and develop themselves

in their career. If teachers have established the necessary trust and bonds with the

school management and have established proper channels to communicate and

receive proper feedback, this will not only improve their professional skills but

also encourage the healthy development of their personalities (Kegan, 1982).

Teachers need to be encouraged to talk about new ways of looking at their own
development. Throughout their careers, they encounter and respond to changing

demands, circumstances or educational paradigms. In this regard, Kegan’s (1982)

work is illuminating, positing that there are practical models of adult develop-

mental stages that render the development of teachers as educators more com-

prehensible. Individuals, including teachers, may occasionally have difficulty

communicating, establishing liaisons with others, or receiving due recognition
and acceptance. Therefore, they need to be supported in their personal and pro-

fessional career, which, of course, positively affects motivation and classroom

effectiveness.

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Common extrinsic motivational factors

1. School environment. Teachers are part of the school society and bear the

responsibility of encouraging safety in the school environment. It is well known

that positive teacher behaviors, such as good lesson preparation and presentation,

warmth, patience and confidence, generally lead to safe schools (Independent
Project Trust, 1999). Clement et al. (1994) explain that a good classroom at-

mosphere promotes student involvement, enhances learning activities and self-

confidence, and moderates anxiety. As emphasized in Bandura’s social learning

theory (2001), through social interaction and the maintenance of a role-model

status, teachers can enhance the learning environment. Seeing themselves as

change factors in their schools enables teachers to provide safe learning envi-
ronments. Linda Darling Hammond from Stanford University explains that we

need to create classrooms that are more personalized, with teachers working in

teams with students in a supportive nurturing environment (Alliance for Excellent

Education, 2008). According to Tschannen-Moran and Barr (2004), individual

teachers make a difference in student achievement, but the collective efforts of

teachers also have a positive influence on students. Tapola and Niemivirta (2008)
examined 208 sixth graders, looking at student goal profiles, motivation, and

student preferences. They found that student achievement and motivation depend

upon the classroom environment. Gülen (1996) argues that school is about much

more than effectively teaching people during a particular phase of their lives. For

him, the school is like a theater in which we experience different phases of life
together. It provides students many possibilities for interacting with others. Wha-

tever students learn in school affects them for the rest of their lives in positive or

negative ways. School buildings reflect the importance attached to education.

They are part of a community’s permanent infrastructure and also belong to future

generations. Educating children is seen as a primarily public function. It is e-

veryone’s right to be informed by, to participate in and to benefit from the
provision of a satisfying public education. Society is obliged to teach and, ideally,

provide learning facilities and supportive resources when needed. With this in

mind, teachers’ attendance at a workshop or conference that is held at a facility

with superior resources could be an eye-opening experience, and it might inspire

them to have, organize and manage new resources and facilities. According to

Buckley, Schneider and Shang (2004), the quality of school buildings can affect
teachers’ morale and ability to teach, and their very health and safety. According

to Gülen, such properly working, encouraging or inspiring environments both

affect teacher performance and motivation positively, and support students’ le-

arning (Aslandogan & Cetin, 2007). Gülen (2004a) says that teachers are the

front-line educators and need to be asked their perspectives and insights about

their working conditions. The forums and facilities in which they will air their
opinions, share their professional experiences, and explore innovative ideas ought

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to be relaxed and comfortable and not intimidating or threatening. Successful
completion of any project or program can build respect, support and relationships

between a student and teacher in a school environment (Brady, 2005). For exam-

ple, in short-term projects, teachers and students can take extra roles and res-

ponsibility, and community-based facilities and committees can become involved.

This may reduce the cost of the projects and motivate teachers, students and to a

certain extent, the entire school community. The projects also may provide ways
for teachers and students to become more familiar with the organization, design,

condition, and utilization of the building or facilities. Having different programs

and activities might shed light on vital ideas and events and enable teachers and

students to understand their natural and human environments.

2. Stress vs. tolerance at workplace. The more teachers are motivated to teach,
the more students will learn and be successful. According to Brophy and Good

(1986), teachers’ enthusiasm is one of the core qualities in their effective teaching

and instructional behaviors. This positive relationship highlights the importance

of enthusiasm as a characteristic of effective teachers (Watt & Richardson, 2008).

The other factor that lessens the level of stress in education is humor. Without a

rich sense of humor, teaching or learning may not be very enjoyable. It has also
been established that an increased stress level cause a rise in blood pressure,

which in turn reduces success in cognitive tasks, induces feelings of helplessness,

and makes it difficult to concentrate (Simon, 2009). Jepson and Forrest (2006)

add that if teachers have high expectations of themselves, they may experience

heightened stress and disappointment. In return, their teaching effectiveness and
classroom management may be negatively affected (Klusmann, Kunter, Tra-

utwein, & Baumert, 2006). In Germany, in recent years, the situation has become

serious. As a result of stress-related conditions enormous numbers of teachers are

taking disability leave or early retirement (Weber, 2004). According to Larchick

and Chance’s (1998) study of 400 middle school teachers from 102 school dis-

tricts, there are four exceptionally high-stress factors that teachers admit carrying
into their classrooms: money management, health, relationships and care-giving.

As a result of personal problems, teachers often miss deadlines and refer more

students to the principal for disciplinary reasons. In the same study, teachers rated

their principal’s willingness to help them cope with intense personal problems

that interfered with their significantly high work (Larchick & Chance, 1998).

Tolerance opens the doors to dialogue, and dialogue helps people to learn about
each other. Gülen (2004a) defines tolerance as follows: “Tolerance does not mean

being influenced by others and joining them; it means accepting others as they are

and knowing how to get along with them” (p. 37). He sees tolerance as a kind of

empathy and positive thinking and as a method for achieving coexistence with

others. Tolerance is, therefore, being able to live with others while maintaining

one’s identity. In fact, such respectful tolerance, mutual understanding and re-
ciprocal respect positively affect the atmosphere in the classroom and the school.

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When students conduct themselves respectfully and harmoniously, this eases the
teachers’ duty with respect to discipline and control.

3. Financial incentives: good salary, regular pay, allowances/payments. In

2000, Figlio and Kenny surveyed school personnel practices in 502 schools across

the country. They found that teacher salary incentives are associated with higher

levels of student performance (Figlio & Kenny, 2006). According to their findings,
teachers need to be in a position to meet their financial obligations. Inconsistencies

in teachers’ salaries certainly influence their motivation, classroom activities and

effectiveness. Also, teachers with high salaries may feel more respected. Results

of the research carried out by Tutor (1986) with the Tennessee Career Ladder

Program (TCLP) clearly indicate that salary is one of the most influential factors

that motivate teachers. The survey asked classroom teachers, “To what extent did
salary influence your decision to participate in the TCLP program?” Teachers

responded to these questions and they were ranking items by influence, and salary

came in as one of the four highest-ranked items. Eberts, Hollenbeck and Stone’s

(2002) case study of the implementation of a merit-pay system in a specific high

school suggests that incentives do “work.” The merit-pay system is directly

targeted at student retention, as defined by a measure understood and agreed upon
by both teachers and administrators. Therefore, their results suggest that pay for

performance incentives can motivate agents to produce outcomes that are directly

rewarded.

4. The Role of Professional Ethics. The ethics of teaching require teachers to
gain students’ respect and to protect their own and their students’ dignity. Any

positive act by a teacher has the potential to produce a positive outcome or

positive feedback from students (Wong & Waring, 2009). It is useful here to

remember a very simple principle from daily life: treat people as you wish to be

treated, or simply “what goes around comes around” (Weingardt, 2009). Teachers

ought to exert extra care not to place students in a negative light or in an emba-
rrassing situation among others, especially among their peers. Teachers should

never promote wrong acts, attitudes, and responses. It is obvious that an em-

barrassed, intimidated, or inhibited student will not wish to participate in any

activities or interactions. In other words, the consequences of unethical acts can

directly affect motivation. This is not only a personal loss but also a collective

loss in terms of society. Caroll (2007) compared Kant and Gülen’s works and
indicated that both take human value and dignity as the basis for defining le-

gitimate and illegitimate behaviors toward others in society. Within a classroom,

which is a microcosm of larger society, teachers need to act sensitively to all

people, since they are the role model, even if a student gives a wrong response to

a request or question. In any awkward situation, teachers should respond in a way

that does not cause embarrassment. The response to a wrong must be right. When
witnessing a student doing something wrong or exhibiting a bad habit, teachers

should sensitively raise awareness about such wrong or bad habits, and warn all in

301

general, rather than warning that particular individual directly. It is expected and
hoped that the particular student will draw the moral from the general warning

(Gülen, 2001). In short, protecting students’ self-esteem, personal honor and

dignity is part of the responsibility of the teacher and the ethics of teaching. Doing

so establishes a positive relationship between the teacher and the students and

provides a successful teaching experience for the teacher. Also, what make for

excellent and caring teachers is their sensibilities, such as love, engaging with
intellectual work, the hope of changing students’ lives and a belief in equal rights

(Nieto, 2003).

Conclusion

Education is of crucial importance in the construction of human personality, in

the development of potentials, in adaptation to society, in the development of new

skills and especially in dealing with the problems everyone faces while pro-

gressing from childhood to adulthood. This is the period in which students learn

to shoulder responsibility. For this reason, whether formal or informal, one’s

educational years are the most important period of one’s life.

According to the literature, teacher motivation increases classroom perfor-

mance and accordingly improves schooling and the quality of the school system.

The quality of academic learning opportunities can only be enhanced by com-

petent and committed teachers (Prenzel et al., 2005). Khamis, Dukmak, and

Elhoweris (2008) found that teachers have a direct effect on students’ motivation
to learn in every aspect of their classroom experience, and that most students

respond positively to a well organized course taught by an enthusiastic instruc-

tor. A lack of knowledge in students and teachers alike is directly related to a lack

of teacher motivation (Borko & Putnam, 1996; Carter, 1993).

Teachers’ motivation and responsibilities have an impact not only on the days
and years they spend in schools, but on the days and years they will spend in

society at large. Teachers are, therefore, role models, and the memory of their

performance continues to offer progress, exemplary modeling and support to their

students throughout their students’ entire lives, whether this is acknowledged or

not. Gage and Berliner (1998) describe observational learning, modeling, and

mentoring as the essential components of Bandura’s social learning theory, much
of which deals with learning through observing someone’s behavior. It is im-

portant to understand that for learning to take place, effective modeling must

occur (Abbott, 2007). This is an ongoing effect. The motivation of teachers to

teach and their sincere efforts to broaden their students’ perspectives and world-

views, their positive, exemplary interpersonal relationships with students, and

their pedagogical caring all help to produce socially, culturally and mentally
healthy and prosperous individuals and societies. Intrinsic motivation is an

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important part of commitment to the profession. When applicants of educational
degree programs are asked why they chose the profession, their answers are

mostly related to intrinsic sources of motivation, such as liking teaching (Younger

et al., 2004). According to Nieto (2009), teachers’ attitudes, beliefs, values, and

dispositions have a powerful influence on why teachers teach and why they remain

in the profession in spite of difficult conditions.

As Wentzel’s (1997) research reveals, students continue to value the memories

and positive influence of teachers, caring and uncaring alike, long after graduation.

Students’ perceptions of good teachers center on teachers who are fair, democratic,

communicative, disciplined (in the sense that they set rules for the classroom and

activities), and last but not least, motivated. Organizing conferences, supporting

programs, and involving teachers and students in these activities may help develop
individual and societal motivations for both learning and teaching. Such activities

can be related to Bandura’s (1994) self-efficacy, which is defined as “individuals’

confidence in their ability to control their thoughts, feelings, and actions, and

therefore influence an outcome” (p. 71-81).

Gülen (2002) also motivates both students and teachers by saying that edu-
cation is humanity’s greatest service, and that both teachers and students should

be aware that they are doing the most honorable thing for society. Gülen’s (2002)

broader concept of “teacher” includes not only traditional classroom teachers in

public schools but also many other key personalities, from prophets to parents,

from philosophers to spiritual guides, from lovers of wisdom to the honest gover-
nment administrator. His message to all these teachers is simple: serving your

fellow citizens and humanity in general through education is the responsibility of

being a human, and it fulfills the purpose of one’s own creation (Gülen, 2002).

Gülen’s philosophy has motivated many individuals, not only within the pro-

fession of teaching but also outside of it. Teachers adopting Gülen’s understanding

aim to become the builders of the future, founders of a peaceful, harmonious,
progressive and prosperous society; and constructors of human personality. This

compensates for the low-paid, unappreciated, low social status given to teachers

in some societies (Aslandogan & Cetin, 2007).

Gülen (1998) succinctly emphasizes the place and weight of teachers and their

dedication and motivation to build a better future; to actualize true human po-
tential, which lies dormant in many people; and to cultivate and spread humane

values through philosophical, social and spiritual structures. For Gülen (1998),

freedoms of ideas, of thought and of conscience are indispensable and inalienable

rights. According to him, one cannot reach full actualization without the freedom

of thinking, learning, and self-expression. To realize such an actualization, tea-

chers are the most important means, conduits and agents that will engage students
and improve performance at all levels, from elementary through postsecondary

classrooms. Therefore, motivating teachers should be an essential part of any

303

educational system, so that students can perform better and so that we, as the
larger society, may attain a better future.

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29 Health, Spirituality and Medical Ethics – Vol.5, No.3, Sep 201

A Spiritual Approach to Job Satisfaction and Motivation among Special

Education Teachers

Received 13 Feb 2018; Accepted 26 Apr 2018

Abbas Rahmati1*, Masoumeh S. Sajjadi1, Azare Negarestani2
1 Department of Psychology, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran.

2 Department of Psychology, Islamic Azad University of Zarand Branch, Zarand, Iran.

*Correspondence: Should be addressed to Mr. Abbas Rahmati. Email: abrahmati44@yahoo.com

Introduction
pirituality and ethics are the core values

shaping human life from ancient times

(1). The term spirituality has different

meanings and can be usually considered

identical with the word religion. However, it is

important to distinguish between religion and

spirituality since they are not of the same

nature and are two different concepts while

being relevant (2).

Spirituality is defined as a personal quest to

search for the deeper meaning of life in relation

to God and universe. There are common

concepts associated with this structure, such as

communication with the inner self, search for

common values beyond personal effort, a deep

empathy with all aspects of life, and a desire to

be linked with the sources of life (3). Given the

positive effects of spirituality on the

improvement of main psychological structures,

such as life satisfaction (4,5) mental health

(6,7), and happiness (8), as well as the negative

effects of perceived everyday stress (9), this

concept has been taken into consideration in

the workplace and developed greatly. A

growing number of employees are seeking

meaning in work as they are looking for

meaning in their personal life given the fact

that although life without work is pointless,

soulless work also ruins life (10).

In addition to employees, large organizations

support workplace spirituality due to its higher

impact on their success, compared to other

factors (11). In this regard, the employment of

spirituality facilitates the organizations to

create a human environment based on human

values in which employees can flourish all

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Attention to spirituality has dramatically increased over the past recent years. With regard to the

positive effects of spirituality in the workplace, this study was conducted to predict job satisfaction and motivation in special

education school teachers based on spirituality in the workplace in 2014.

Methods: This descriptive-correlational study was conducted on 80 teachers working at special education schools in Kerman,

Iran. Due to the small population of the study, all teachers were entered into the study through the census method. The data were

collected using the Workplace Spirituality Scale, Dantt’s job satisfaction questionnaire, and Habibi’s job motivation questionnaire.

Data analysis was performed by means of stepwise regression.

Results: According to the results, job motivation showed a significant direct relationship with the sense of community and

spirituality in workplace. Sense of community predicted 0.35% of job motivation variance, while the other two components did not

show any significant relationship with this variable. The three components of spirituality in workplace, namely meaningful

working, alignment with organizational values, and sense of community explained 0.35%, 0.15%, and 0.5% of job satisfaction

variance, respectively.

Conclusion: Based on the results of the present study, it seems that the promotion of spirituality in the workplace can lead to the

enhancement of job motivation and satisfaction among the teachers working in special education schools. Consequently, this issue

should be given more attention by education authorities.

Keywords: Spirituality in the Workplace, Job Motivation, Job Satisfaction, Special Education Teachers.

Original Article Health, Spirituality and Medical Ethics. 2018;5(3):29-35

Please Cite This Article As: Rahmati A, Sajjadi MS, Negarestani A. A Spiritual Approach to Job Satisfaction and

Motivation among Special Education Teachers. Health Spiritual Med Ethics. 2018;5(3):29-35.

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Rahmati A, et al

Health, Spirituality and Medical Ethics – Vol.5, No.3, Sep 2018 30

their talents, thereby gaining profits (12). This

steadily-growing paradigm has attracted more

fans (13) and resulted in a dramatic increase in

the number of books and journals in the field.

As reported by Karakas (14), 140 articles have

shown the positive effect of spirituality in the

workplace on organizational performance.

Spirituality in the workplace is reported to

have a positive relationship with organizational

citizenship (15), organizational commitment

(16,17), effectiveness of the organization and

employees (14), and effective leadership (18).

It can also lead to the promotion of health and

happiness in the workplace (19), improvement

of employees’ attitude toward job involvement,

reduction of quitting job intentions (20), and

decrease of moral failures in the workplace (3).

In the 21st century, organizations need a

spiritual basis to survive because this concept

can make employees satisfied with their whole

working experience (21). Fachrunnisa (22)

believes that all organizations need spirituality

in their workplace to create job satisfaction.

Marques (23) stated that the enhancement of

satisfaction or dissatisfaction

in the

workplace

is associated with one’s perception about the

meaningfulness or meaninglessness of the

work. Spirituality in the workplace can lead to

the enhancement of employees’ job satisfaction

through increasing honesty (24). According to

the latest studies, there is a positive

relationship between spirituality in the

workplace and job satisfaction (16).

Job satisfaction is defined as a positive or

negative attitude to work (25), as well as a

positive emotional situation resulting from

one’s evaluation of work or work experiences

(26). If employees are satisfied with what they

are doing, they are less willing to quit their

jobs (20). A job is an important aspect of life,

which has to meet the mental needs of the

individuals, in addition to the provision of their

life expenses.

Job motivation is among the important job-

related mental factors. Motivation is one of the

key concepts in organizational environments

(27) since the lack of job motivation leads to

the non-fulfillment of positive outcomes at

work (28). Job motivation can increase

productivity (29) and encourage the employees

to be more efficient, create a positive working

environment, and fulfill their schedule

successfully (28). Fry (30) introduces

spirituality in workplace as a proximal factor

for employees’ intrinsic motivation. Various

studies have also reported a significant positive

relationship between motivation and

spirituality in the workplace (20,21,31).

Spiritual experience increases job satisfaction (32).

The fulfillment of spiritual needs in the

workplace makes for more professional

individuals in the job (33). On the other hand,

the investigation of spiritual dimension has

been ignored for many years in comparison

with employee’s physical and psychological

dimensions (32). Additionally, despite the

official reports testifying the increased

tendency among American employees for

using spirituality in the workplace (34), little

attention has been given to spirituality in the

eastern societies (35).

However, few studies have been carried out in

Iran examining spirituality in the workplace

and its relationship with job satisfaction and

motivation. In the local studies, the variables

predicting job satisfaction and motivation were

mainly psychological, managerial, or social

(36,37). Moreover, spirituality in the

workplace has been proposed as a way of

coping with stressful situations (38).

The teachers in the schools of mentally

challenged children are subject to stressful

work conditions, which in turn can affect their

job satisfaction and motivation. With this

background in mind, the present study was

conducted to investigate the relationship

between

spirituality in the workplace and job

satisfaction and motivation among the teachers

of mentally challenged schools in order to

determine the role of spirituality elements in

the workplace as predictors of these two

variables.

Methods
This descriptive-correlational study was

conducted on 80 teachers working at special

education schools of Kerman in southern Iran

in 2014. The participants were selected from

17 exceptional schools in districts 1 and 2 of

Kerman. Because of the small population, it

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A Spiritual Approach to Job Satisfaction

31 Health, Spirituality and Medical Ethics – Vol.5, No.3, Sep 2018

was possible to measure the variables of the

study for every individual. Therefore, the census

sampling technique was used in the study.

After obtaining permission from relevant

authorities and going to the schools where

teachers were working, three questionnaires

were distributed among them. To comply with

the rules of ethics, teachers were reassured that

their information was kept confidential and

analyzed by a researcher team. In addition,

they were not obliged to participate in the

study. Out of the 80 subjects, 6 people withdrew,

and 74 people finally took part in the

study.

Workplace Spirituality Scale

In order to measure spirituality in the

workplace, Workplace Spirituality Scale,

developed by Milliman et al. (39) was used in

the study. This scale consists of 21 items

dividing into 3 subscales of meaningful work

(6 items), sense of community (7 items), and

alignment of individual values with

organizational values (8 items). This

questionnaire is rated on a 7-point Likert scale

ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (totally

agree).

The reliability of this instrument was

investigated in different studies, reporting the

Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of 0.79, 0.88,

0.91, and 0.94 for total scale and its three

subscales of meaningful work, sense of

community, and alignment with organizational

values, respectively (39, 40). The validity of

this tool was measured through item-total

correlation rendering correlation coefficients of

0.82-0.94, indicating its proper validity. The

reliability of this questionnaire was also

verified using factor analysis (39).

Dant’s Job Satisfaction Questionnaire

This questionnaire was developed by Dant et

al. in 1966 in form of Herzberg’s two-factor

theory and contains 36 items rated on a 7-point

Likert scale. In this instrument, points 1 and 7

represent the lowest and highest degrees of

agreement, respectively. The questionnaire was

translated to Persian by Mojaradzadeh (1994)

and normalized by Fathabadi (2008) for the

Iranian society (41). The validity of the

questionnaire was confirmed, rendering a

Cronbach’s alpha of 0.94 (42).

Habibi’s Job Motivation Questionnaire

This 30-item questionnaire was designed by

Habibi (1998) in Persian to examine job

motivation. This tool is rated on a 5-point

Likert scale ranging within very little, little,

medium, much, and too much. Items 23 and 27

are scored inversely. The reliability of the

questionnaire was confirmed by Habibi (1998),

reporting a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of

0.93 (43). In another study, the reliability and

validity of this tool were verified as 0.93 and

0.82, respectively (44).

Data analysis was performed in SPSS

(version 20) using Pearson correlation

coefficient and stepwise regression. Before

investigating the hypotheses of the research,

the normality of the data was confirmed using

Smirnov-Kolmogorov and Shapiro-Wilk tests.

The other statistical assumptions of regression

method, including the lack of multicollinearity

(VIF<10; tolorance>0.01) and multiple non-

overlapping (correlation between independent

variables <0.95) were fulfilled.

All procedures performed in the study

involving human participants were in

accordance with the ethical standards of the

Psychology Department at Shahid Bahonar

University of Kerman as well as the 1964

Helsinki declaration and its later amendments

or comparable ethical standards. Informed

consent was obtained from all participants

included in the study

Result
The demographic characteristics of the

participants, including gender, age, work

experience, education level, and marital status

are tabulated in Table 1.

Table 1- Demographic characteristics of the participants

% N Variables

100 74 Female Gender

9.5 7 30 ≥ years
Age

(43±9.33)

60.8 45 31-40 years

25.7 19 41-50 years

4.1 3 50 < years

29.7 22 10 ≥ years
Work experience

(17±3.71)
52.7 39 11-20 years

17.6 13 21-30 years

10.8 8 High school diploma

Education level
17.6 13 Associate degree

54.1 40 Bachelor of arts/science

17.6 13 Master of arts/science

70.3 52 Married
Marital status

29.7 22 Single

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Rahmati A, et al

Health, Spirituality and Medical Ethics – Vol.5, No.3, Sep 2018 32

The correlation between described variables

and spirituality indicators are presented in

Table 2. The results revealed a significant

relationship between the three components of

spirituality in the workplace and motivation

and job satisfaction.

Table 2- Correlation matrix of spirituality in the workplace

components with described variables

Variables (Mean±SD) 1 2 3 4

1 Meaningful work (19.28±7.12) 1

2 Sense of community (14.02±5.81) .73*** 1

3 Alignment with values (13.94±5.12) .66*** .71*** 1

4 Job satisfaction (84.19±17.91) .69*** .35** .57*** 1

5 Job motivation (68.45±14.31) .31** .55*** .20** .54**

* P<0.05; ** P<0.01; *** P<0.001

In the first stepwise regression with regard to

motivation as a dependent variable, a

significant model was observed in one step.

The first step included the sense of community

at work (P<0.001). Based on the statistics,

0.35% of the changes in job motivation could

be explained based on the sense of community

component (P<0.001). The other two

components were excluded because they were

not meaningful (Table 3).

Table 3- Predicting job motivation on the basis of spirituality

in the workplace

Variable B  t Sig

Sense of community 2.10 0.59 8.05 0.000

In the second stepwise regression,

considering job satisfaction as a dependent

variable, there was a significant model in three

steps. The first step included meaningful work,

(P<0.001), second step included alignment

with organizational values (P<0.001), and the

third step entailed a sense of community

(P<0.001). According to the results,

meaningful work (P<0.001) and profound

alignment with organizational values

(P<0.001), and sense of community (P<0.001)

could predict 35%, 0.15%, and 0.5% of the job

satisfaction variance, respectively (Table 4).

Table 4- Predicting job satisfaction based on spirituality in the

workplace

Variable B  t Sig

Step one: Meaningful work 4.25 .45 3.81 .000

Step two: Alignment with

organizational values
1.19 .25 2.66 .000

Step three: Sense of community 2.19 .22 2.40 .000

Discussion
In this study, we investigated the relationship

of spirituality at workplace with motivation

and job satisfaction. The results revealed that

spirituality at workplace was significantly

associated with job motivation. Among the

components of spirituality in the workplace,

the sense of community was the only predictor

of job motivation in the special education

school teachers. This finding is in line with the

results obtained by De-Klerk et al. (21), Afsar

et al. (40), and Chalosfsky and Krishan (29),

reporting a significant relationship between job

motivation and spirituality in the workplace.

The concept of motivation refers to the cause,

intensity, and direction of human’s behavior,

which manifests in the person’s behavior or

attitude toward his/her work (45). Spirituality

at workplace is also associated with

organizational commitment (16). Therefore,

increased commitment and attention to all

work-related responsibilities can be one of the

reasons for the relationship between spirituality

in the workplace and job motivation.

The increased sense of belonging to a group

can be another reason for this finding because

the sense of community in the group includes a

sense of deep connection with others (43). This

concept is based on the belief that individuals

feel a sense of bond with each other, and there

is a relationship between their own inner self

and the inner self of others (39).

The study of the relationship between

spirituality in the workplace and job

satisfaction indicated a significant relationship

between the two variables. Based on the

results, spirituality components in the

workplace, including meaningful work,

alignment with organizational values, and

sense of community, respectively predicted

teachers’ job satisfaction (P<0.001). This

finding is in line with the results of the studies

performed by Vander-Walt et al. (42),

Fachrunnisa (22), Rolland et al. (16), Hassan et

al. (24), Goodarzi and Kaviani (46), Choerudin

and Ahmad (47), Javanmard et al. (48), and

Vander-Walt and de Klerk (32).

In explaining the relationship between

spirituality in the workplace and job

satisfaction, it is worth mentioning the

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A Spiritual Approach to Job Satisfaction

33 Health, Spirituality and Medical Ethics – Vol.5, No.3, Sep 2018

opinions of the experts in the field of job

satisfaction. Being in line or alignment with

organizational values is among the factors,

which can turn the workplace into a

meaningful and attractive atmosphere. Terez

(49) believes that a clear perspective of the

future, which determines the common

orientation of the people in the organization,

and the objectives and topics, which tangibly

complete this perspective on a daily basis,

cause people to trust the future more.

Accordingly, they feel that tactful and clear

solutions are dominating the organization,

which is in line with the results of the present

study.

According to a study conducted by Rollinson

et al. (50), organizations that adopt a monist

view and a broad set of values and beliefs to

clarify and improve the working lives of their

members, provide a more appropriate platform

for performing tasks, reducing pressures, and

finally increasing job satisfaction. In such

organizations, the employees feel that they are

in an integrated set, and organizational duties

are shared among all members in light of

relationship and correlation. Based on Terez

(49), correlation and integration are considered

as the major sources of job satisfaction

confirming the results of the present study.

In general, the results of this study showed

that spirituality in the workplace was positively

correlated with job motivation and satisfaction.

This finding highlights the significance of

attention to spirituality in the workplace, which

is in line with the studies introducing paying

attention to spirituality in the workplace as a

new and necessary paradigm (47) and

considering it essential to have a spiritual basis

for the survival of the organization (51).

Moreover, this positive relationship in special

education school teachers in the present study

can be due to the reduction of perceived stress

(9), quitting job intentions (20), and moral

behavior failure in the workplace (3), as well

as the improvement of organizational

commitment (16,17), health and happiness in

the workplace (19), job-related attitudes of

employees about job involvement (34), and

ability to cope with stressful work conditions

(33), created by spirituality in the workplace.

Given the significant relationship of

spirituality in the workplace with job

satisfaction and motivation, future studies are

recommended to investigate the mediating role

of job motivation in the relationship of

spirituality with job satisfaction and also the

related factors, which are effective in the

enhancement of spirituality using causal

investigations, structural modeling, and path

analysis. One of the limitations of the study

was the small sample size. Therefore, the

generalization of the findings of the study

should be performed with discretion.

Conclusion
Motivation is a dynamic drive forcing the

humans to move towards the goal with specific

acts. Job satisfaction is defined as the

experience of happiness resulting from the

achievement of the objectives. Motivation is a

feeling created before performing an action and

achieving results, whereas satisfaction is a

feeling generated after reaching the objectives.

Therefore, motivation can be defined as a

driving force along this path.

Regarding the role of spirituality in the

workplace in the prediction of these two issues,

the relationship between spirituality and job

satisfaction can be examined in terms of the

mediating role of job motivation. It can be

concluded that job motivation is the factor

directing one toward the achievement of the

goal and job satisfaction.

Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful to all special

education teachers that patiently helped in

completing research questionnaires and also

those researchers that made this research

possible by their scientific documentations.

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Wyman, Wendy; Allen, Michael

_Pay-for-Performance: Key Questions and Lessons from Five
Current Models.

ECS Issue Paper.

Education Commission of the States, Denver, CO.
Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED),
Washington, DC.
200

-06-00

18p.

Education Commission of the States, 700 Broadway, #1200,
Denver, CO 80203-3460. Tel: 303-299-3600; Fax: 303-296-8332;
e-mail: ecs@ecs.org; Web site: http://www.ecs.org. For full
text: http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/28/30/2830 .
Opinion Papers (120) Reports Descriptive (141)
EDRS Price MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.
*Compensation (Remuneration); Contract Salaries; Elementary
Secondary Education; Incentives; Job Performance; *Merit Pay;
Personnel Policy; *Premium Pay; Professional Recognition;
Rewards; *Teacher Employment; *Teacher Salaries
*Performance Based Pay

This brief issue paper offers an overview of the key issues
involved in the pay-for-performance plan, as it applies to compensating
teachers. Paying teachers on the basis of performance, as a way to improve
the quality of teaching, has gained support in recent years. This paper
examines the practice through five leading pay-for-performance models. The
models include site-specific and statewide programs. Specifically, this
paper: (1) presents some of the arguments of proponents and opponents of pay-
for-performance systems; (2) provides a list of crucial questions
policymakers need to ask when thinking about implementing pay-for-performance
systems; (3) discusses lessons learned from the five leading programs; (4)

presents a side-by-side comparison chart of the major features of the five
programs; (5) summarizes the primary components of each of the five programs;
and (6) provides Internet sources for further information on each of the five
programs. (Contains

references.) (WFA)

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Pay-for-Performance: Key Questions
and Lessons from Five Current Models.

ECS Issue Paper.

Wendy Wyman and Michael Allen

June 2001

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ECS Issue Paper
Pay-for-Performance

Education Commission of the States 707

th Street, Suite 2700 Denver, CO 80202-3427 303-299-3600 fax 303-296-8332 www.ecs.org

6-A EA -7-4
/ /

Pay-for-Performance:
Key Questions and Lessons from Five Current Models

June 2001

Paying teachers on the basis of performance is gaining increasing support as a vehicle to improve the quality of
teaching. Schools, districts and states throughout the country are wrestling with the creation and implementation
of pay-for-performance programs. In February 2001, ECS brought together representativesof five leading pay-
for-performance models to discuss their efforts and see what lessons could be gleaned for the benefit of
policymakers in other states and districts interested in implementing a pay-for-performance system. The models
ranged in scope from site-specific to statewide programs in scope; some already had been implemented while
others were yet to be adopted.

This ECS Issue Paper offers an overview of the key issues involved in the pay-for-performance concept; a
summary of key questions policymakers need to ask in thinking about pay-for-performance systems; a
discussion of lessons learned from the five leading programs represented; a comparison chart of the five
programs; and a summary of the individual programs, including sources for further information.

Overview
Pay-for-performance is not a new concept. Attempts at merit pay for teachers appeared throughout the 20th
century. Early merit structures were overly subjective in their assessment of merit, based on narrow
administrator judgment, and involved a competition for very limited rewards that was disruptive to the
collaborative nature of teaching. In the 1980s, the “career ladder” became popularas a way of increasing the
opportunities for teachers to grow in the profession and take on greater responsibility without giving up the
classroom and moving into administration. The career ladder seeks to reward teachers financiallyfor improved
performance and especially for fulfillment of their greater professional responsibilities.

Proponents of pay-for-performance programs believe they will attract and retain better teachers and offer
incentives to motivate and reward improved teaching. They view uniform teacher salary schedules, the
traditional standard in teacher compensation, as ineffective in attracting and retaining sufficientnumbers of
effective teachers and as out of touch with compensation practices in other industries that tie salaryto employee
performance.

Opponents of pay-for-performance, on the other hand, fear that the many difficulties involved in evaluating and
measuring teachers’ performance will result in unfair practices. They also believe that muchof what is important
about teaching is not performance-related and that performance pay will create competition between teachers
and undermine the collaborative nature of the profession.

In the present atmosphere of standards-based education and accountability, teachers are being asked to do
more than ever before. The most promising current pay-for-performance systems reward any and all teachers
for improved performance, and these systems incorporate measurable criteria of assessment, such as gains in
student achievement, increased teacher skills and knowledge, and expanded roles and responsibilities.

Key Questions
Designers of pay-for-performance systems face multiple challenges as they attempt to create equitable, fair
systems that compensate teachers for performance. A number of important questions need to be addressed in
developing any pay-for-performance system:

What kinds of activities or behaviors is the performance-based pay plan intended to promote?

Career ladder systems, for example, that relate teacher compensation to performance are generally
designed to promote such things as permanently expanded teacher roles, demonstrated growth, improved
skills, and significant additional training and education. In contrast, variable bonus pay based on
performance might encourage teachers to do things like take on additional short-term responsibilities and
assignments, focus on improving specific aspects of student achievement, or participate in particular
professional growth classes or skill acquisition blocks.

How significant a percentage of the total teacher’s salary will be comprised by performance-based pay?

The percentage of a teacher’s salary that is based on performance can vary greatly. To incorporate a
performance-based component into a teacher’s base pay, a system may make use of a career ladder
scheme. Such a scheme still allows for the addition of a smaller, variable performance-pay component on
top of that. Systems in which a smaller percentage of a teacher’s salary is based on performance retain a
more traditional, uniform salary schedule and make variable, performance-based pay a supplement. The
greater the ratio of performance-based pay to the total teacher salary, the more impact the performance pay
is likely to have on how teachers prioritize their responsibilities. On the other hand, it may be easier to
implement and gain broad initial support for a system in which performance-based pay plays a smaller role.

Will the evaluation of teachers’ performance be based on student results, demonstration of professional
skills and knowledge, or a combination of the two?

Evaluation is a major concern in the design and implementation of a pay-for-performance program. There
has been a great deal of discussion about whether the success of a teacher’s students or a teacher’s
demonstration of various skills and competencies is the best measure of the teacher’s performance. There
is no inherent contradiction between the two, however, and both kinds of measure are used in several of
the pay-for-performance models discussed in this paper. Nevertheless, many people oppose rewarding
teachers for demonstrated skills because they argue that those skills are difficult to assess and there is an
unclear correlation between those skills and a teacher’s effectiveness in the classroom. On the other hand,
while there is universal interest in raising student achievement, many educators and others are concerned
that making teachers accountable for their students’ performance unfairly implies teachers’ responsibility for
factors that are outside of their control. One suggestion to address this last point has been to hold teachers
accountable not for the absolute achievement of their students but for their achievement gains.

Will performance pay be awarded to individual teachers, groups of teachers or the entire school staff?

This issue is directly related to the issue of the limits of an individual teacher’s responsibility for their
students’ achievement. A number of experts believe it is fairer and more appropriate to reward all teachers
and staff members with current responsibility for a group of students who have demonstrated satisfactory
achievement or even to base merit pay decisions on the performance of the entire school and to reward the
entire staff if a school’s performance is satisfactory. Another frequent justification for group rewards is that it
prevents competition between teachers that can disrupt the desirably cooperative nature of the teaching
profession. On the other hand, value-added studies provide evidence that, regardless of other
circumstances, individual teachers can have varying degrees of impact on their students’ achievement.
Other studies provide clear evidence that an individual teacher (or team of teachers) can be very successful
with a particular group of students, while another teacher with a nearly identical group of students in a nearly
identical school situation is not. Moreover, many teachers resent group or whole school awards because
they believe that not all members of the group contribute equally to the students’ success.

Education Commission of the States 707 17th Street, Suite 2700 Denver, CO 80202-3427 303-299-3600 fax 303-296-8332 www.ecs.org
Page 2

What mechanisms and opportunities for feedback and remediation will be in place?

The goal of a pay-for-performance system is not just to reward teachers appropriately, but to motivate
higher performance. To that end, teachers need to have a clear understanding of their strengths,
weaknesses and opportunities to remedy their shortcomings. The availability of professional development
opportunities aligned with the goals of the pay-for-performance system becomes particularly important in
this regard. In a career-ladder system, it becomes important to determine whether teachers can fall back to
a lower step on the ladder if their performance at the higher step and remedial efforts are unsatisfactory.

What role can state policymakers play in fostering and supporting pay-for-performance systems?

State policymakers have an important role to play in the context of both local and statewide pay-for-
performance systems. State policymakers might be involved in passing enabling legislation; insuring that the
state promulgates good models of and clear standards for teaching and professional development; helping
the state to identify and promulgate fair and effective methods of teacher evaluation and compensation;
providing funding for parts of the programs, including funding for solid evaluation; and helping to create a
statewide commitment to the importance of accountability and of recognizing and rewarding effective
teaching.

Lessons Learned
The cumulative experience of designing and implementing the five pay-for-performance programs discussed
here yields some valuable lessons:

Developing a pay-for-performance system should be a collaborative effort including all stakeholders from
the beginning. Teachers, administrators, parents, policymakers and the public all have an interest in any
pay-for-performance system. Because these stakeholders have varying perspectives and goals, involving
them all in the design and implementation of a plan increases the likelihood that the plan will be successful
and will continue to have support in the face of the inevitable bumps in the road the plan will encounter
during its implementation.

Designing and implementing a pay-for-performance program takes commitment, time and a willingness to
envision a new system. The design of a pay-for-performance program begins with a vision of an
environment that is supportive of the teaching and learning needs of teachers and students. The process of
implementation reveals unexpected challenges that require ongoing, careful attention. It takes time and
measured, deliberate steps to get the program up and running and to get stakeholders on board.

Reflecting upon the experiences of other districts and states that have implemented or wrestled with
alternative teacher pay systems can be invaluable. At the same time, it is important to recognize that the
specific local or state context makes it impossible to replicate exactly a system in place elsewhere.

Constant, consistent communication to all stakeholders, including teachers, administrators, parents,
policymakers, the public, and the media helps promote acceptance and an ongoing understanding of the
program.

Teacher evaluations should offer diagnostic feedback and align with teacher performance standards and
intended outcomes. In addition, teacher evaluations need to be fair and to measure what teachers
legitimately can be held accountable for. The programs described in this issue paper incorporate a variety of
evaluation measures, including teacher portfolios, student performance and demonstrations of teachers’ skill
and knowledge.

Both teachers and principals must be given the training they need to understand, administer and make
effective use of student and teacher assessments.

A pay-for-performance system cannot be implemented successfully without attention to other factors, such
as fiscal policies, data gathering and dissemination capacity, standards for good teaching, solid
assessments of student learning and teacher performance, and the availability of high-quality professional
development.

Education Commission of the States 707 17th Street, Suite 2700 Denver, CO 80202-3427 303-299-3600 fax 303-296-8332 www.ecs.org
Page 3

Pay-for-Performance Program Comparisons

Program
Dimensions Cincinnati

Denver

Douglas
County, CO Iowa

Milken
TAP:

Arizona

Scope

Districtwide District
Pilotvoluntary
school
participation.
12 elementary,
one middle, two
high schools.

Districtwide Statewide Five individual
schools

Status

Evaluation
system being
implemented
2000-02.
Compensation
implementation
vote to follow.

Pilot began in
1999-2000.

Ongoing since
1994.

Legislation
passed in 2001.
Implementation to
be phased in over
several years.

Began in 2000 –
01.

Basis of Salary
Determination

and
Approximate
Salary Impact

(1) Performance-
based teacher
classification
levels-5 steps
(can move up or
down in top 3
levels).
Base $30,000-
$62,500.
(2) Advanced
degrees, dual
certification.
$1,250.
(3) Specialized
skill blocks.
$500-$1,000.
(4) Extra
responsibilities
$3,000-$5,500.

(1) Traditional
steps & ladders
classification (not
perfor-mance
based).
Base $30,000-
$60,300.
(2) Performance
bonus.
$500-$1,500.

(1) Degrees and
prior evaluation
credits. $30,000
base salary for
new teachers.
(2) Annual
evaluation.
$0-$1,800 salary
increase.
Eligibility for
further incen-tives
(all as bonuses)
requires
satisfactory
annual
evaluation.
(3) Advanced
coursework and
degrees.
$1,000.
(4) District priority
skills. $250-$500
per skill.
(5) Master
Teacher.
$2,500 annually
for five years.
(6) Extra
responsibilities.
Up to $750.
(7) Student
growth (whole
school reward).
Additional $500
(approximate).

(1) Career-path
based teacher
classification
levels four
steps up through
Advanced. Base
$28,000-$48,500.
(2) Advanced-
level teachers
with National
Board certification
receive a $2,500
yearly bonus.
(3) Variable pay
based on student
performance
(whole school
incentive). Up to
$

0 state
allocation per
student per
school.

Milken Ideal
Model:
(1) Base salary is
performance-
based (can move
up or down).
(2) Other factors:
market demand
(e.g., high need)
and annual
evaluation.
$6,000-$30,000.

Arizona Example:
(1) Three steps:
career, mentor
and master
Bottom level:
$30,000 or prior
salary.
Higher levels:
Additional
$5,000-$10,000
plus perfor-
mance awards.

Measures of
Performance

(1)Demonstrated
teacher skill at all
five levels.
(2) Advanced
degrees, extra
certification
(including
National Board
certification).

(1) Either student
performance or
demonstrated
teacher
knowledge and
skill as it impacts
student
achievement.

(1) Fulfillment of
job description.
(2) Assessment
of classroom
proficiency.
(3) New
knowledge.
(4) Added
responsibilities.

(1)Demonstrated
teacher skill at all
levels.
(2) Portfolio
review at
Advanced Level.
(3) Student
performance.

(1)Demonstrated
teacher skill
through
observation.
(2) Portfolio.
(3) Student
achievement.

Education Commission of the States 707 17m Street, Suite 2700 Denver, CO 80202-3427 303-299-3600 fax 303-296-8332. www.ecs.org
Page 4

EST COPY AVAILABLE.
0

Program
Dimensions Cincinnati Denver Douglas

County, CO Iowa
Milken
TAP:

Arizona

(5) Student
growth.

Basis of
Performance
Assessment

Demonstration of
teacher skill
based on 16
district skill
standards
through
submission of
portfolio,
including peer
assessment.

(1) Student
performance:
Iowa Test or
teacher-devised
measures.
(2) Teacher
knowledge and
skill: principal
evaluation.

Note: Pay-for-
performance
evaluation has no
impact on
teachers’
standard three-
year review.

Varies from
program to
program, may
include some or
all of the
following:
(1) Fulfillment of
job description:
principal
assessment.
(2) Classroom
proficiency:
principal and peer
evaluation,
portfolio
assessment (e.g.,
National Board
certification).
(3) Student
growth as per
district objec-
tives, standards
assessment and
building- defined
criteria/
measures.

(1) Student
performance:
multiple academic
measures;
although all
districts use the
Iowa Tests, it is
not a state
mandate that they
do so.
There is no
stipulation in the
legislation
requiring the use
of a norm-based
measure.
(2) Teacher skill:
demonstration
based on state
standards for
effective
teaching.

(1) Teacher skills,
knowledge and
responsibilities.
(2) Classroom-
level student
achievement
gains.
(3) Schoolwide
achievement
gains.

Connection to
State Licensure

District-required
individual
professional
development plan
fulfills state
requirement for
continuing
licensure.

None. Master Teacher
designation
parallels state
certification
category.

Effective 2003,
teacher licensure
beyond
provisional shall
include
completion of
mentoring and
induction.

None.

BEST COPY AVAO.ABLE

Education Commission of the States 707 17’h Street, Suite 2700 Denver, CO 80202-3427 303-299-3600 fax 303-296-8332 www.ecs.org
Page 5

Summaries of the Five Programs
Cincinnati
Cincinnati’s pay-for-performance plan is being implemented in two phases. The first phase is an advanced
evaluation system that measures teachers’ performance against a set of 16 standards (a 17th standard is
currently being proposed). The second phase tying compensation to the evaluation is scheduled to be
implemented for the 2002-03 school year, subject to a May 2002 vote of the union membership. Serious
concerns with the implementation of the evaluation system cast some doubt on whether the compensation
system will be accepted.

Teacher Evaluation

The evaluation system is to be in place for two years before the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers votes on the
compensation package. Teacher evaluation is based on 16 standards divided into four domains. The standards
were derived from standards identified by nationally recognized sources like the National Board for Professional
Teaching Standards, the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC), Praxis and
especially Charlotte Danielson’s Framework for Teaching. A teacher’s performance is measured, using rubrics,
against each of these standards. The standards are aggregated into four scores, one for each of the domains.
Teachers can earn from one to four points in each of the following domains:

Planning and preparing for student learning

Creating an environment for learning

Teaching for learning

Professionalism.

Base Pay

Under the compensation plan, teachers’ base pay is determined by their placement in one of five teaching
categories. Teachers can increase their compensation by improving their base pay or by earning incentive pay
increases. Base pay under the plan is to range from $30,000-$62,500, depending upon the teacher category.

The domain scores in the Teaching Standards determine movement through the categories below. One
receives increases in base pay by moving up through five categories, Apprentice to Novice to Career to
Advanced to Accomplished.

Apprentice teachers are teachers in their first year of teaching or teachers in their second year who fail to
score at least 2’s in all four evaluation domains. A teacher must move to Novice within two years or have
their contract with the district terminated. If a teacher has a rubric score of 1 in any domain, she or he will
remain in the Apprentice category. Apprentice teachers are required to have a temporary teaching license;
to move to the Novice category, they must have an initial license.

Each of the first two years as a Novice requires teachers to successfully complete Novice courses in order
to receive a pay increment. Novice courses cover topics such as classroom management, standards-based
classrooms, cooperative learning, standards in practice, developmentally appropriate practices, Cincinnati
school communities and teaming. Successful demonstration of skills must occur before credit is granted. A
Novice’s contract with the district is terminated if he or she does not reach Career status within five years. A
teacher may not be evaluated for promotion out of the Novice category until the third year as a novice.
Teachers remain as Novices until they receive rubric scores of 3’s in all four domains.

In the Career category, teachers receive automatic salary increments for experience at the end of years
one, two and three. A teacher must earn, at minimum, rubric scores of 3’s in each of the four domains to
remain in this category. Teachers may remain in this category for the rest of their career as long as they
continue to perform successfully at the career level. In order to earn more than the across-the-board salary
increases, a teacher must move to a higher category.

To be in the Advanced category, teachers must earn at least two 4’s in the domains, and one of these 4’s
must be in domain 3. A teacher advances on the salary schedule for three years in the Advanced category.
Certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards also qualifies a teacher for
Advanced status.

Education Commission of the States 707 17th Street, Suite 2700. Denver, CO 80202-3427 303-299-3600 fax 303-296-8332 www.ecs.org
Page 6

Accomplished teachers must score 4’s in each domain and may continue to receive increasing salary
increments in the first three years in this category.

Teachers can move down the salary schedule as well as up. If a teacher receives an evaluation that would
place him/her in a lower category, the teacher must undergo a second comprehensive evaluation the
following year. During that year, the teacher remains in their current category and step on the salary
schedule. Depending upon the results of the second comprehensive evaluation, there are several different
outcomes:

If the second comprehensive evaluation affirms the lower category, the teacher will be placed on the
salary schedule at the highest step of the lower category.

If the second comprehensive evaluation places the teacher in the current category, the teacher will
remain in that category and advanced one step if the teacher is not already at the highest step.

If the second comprehensive evaluation places the teacher in a higher category, the teacher will be
placed at the first step in that category.

If the second comprehensive evaluation places the teacher in an even lower category, the teacher will
be placed at the highest step in that category. If the teacher falls into the Novice category, he or she is
automatically placed on Intervention.

Incentive Pay

Three kinds of incentive pay would be available under the Cincinnati plan. The first type is a permanent salary
increase teachers can earn for obtaining a Master’s degree in a content area or elementary education, a
Doctorate, National Board Certification or dual certification in two or more of the following fields: English,
mathematics, social studies, foreign language, physical science, biological science, special education or
elementary education

The second type of incentive pay involves payments for participating in skill blocks, where teachers receive
focused training on subjects like technology, comprehensive school reform models, team skills, leadership skills
and specific curricula. This pay can last up to three years and ranges from $500-$1,000 per year. It helps the
district create flexibility in meeting specific training needs.

Advanced and Accomplished teachers also can earn pay bonuses, ranging from $3,000-$5,500, by taking on
extra responsibilities as a lead teacher or consulting teacher, which can include chairing a curriculum council,
serving as a team leader, or coaching, mentoring and evaluating other teachers.

Denver

Fifteen schools are currently participating in the Denver pay-for-performance pilot that began in 1999-2000 and
will continue until the 2002-03 school year. Participating schools include 12 elementary schools, one middle
school and two high schools. In December of 2003 the board and teachers will decide whether or not they will
have systemwide pay-for-performance based on student achievement. To conduct the pilot, Denver Public
Schools (DPS) and the Denver Classroom Teachers’ Association (DCTA) commissioned a Design Team
composed of two teachers and two administrators. The Design Team is charged with planning, piloting, revising,
implementing and evaluating a performance-pay plan for all 4500 DPS classroom teachers, school nurses,
school social workers and other education specialists. The pilot is investigating three interrelated issues, student
achievement, teaching skill and teacher compensation. The charge of the Design Team is to develop a pilot to
study the feasibility of linking student achievement to teacher compensation. The Team is following a Project
Plan that was developed with technical assistance from the Community Training and Assistance Center (CTAC)
of Boston and with the financial support of Denver’s Rose Community Foundation. It calls for the transformation
of the Denver Public Schools in several crucial areas:

A radical change to the teacher salary structure. It will provide teachers with additional pay increments only
upon demonstration of achievement among the students those teachers teach.

A rigorous, fair and measurable objective-setting process for teachers based on student achievement ready
to be implemented at every school.

Greater alignment between standards, teaching and assessment.

Education Commission of the States 707 17th Street, Suite 2700 Denver, CO 80202-3427 303-299-3600 fax 303-296-8332 www.ecs.org
Page 7

A staff development program to support the pay-for-performance program.

A database that sorts accurate and meaningful student-achievement data by teachers and schools. The
data will be used to drive decisions from the classroom to the boardroom.

Schools participate in the pilot on a voluntary basis; a minimum of 85% of the staff must vote to become part of
the program for a school to join. During the four pilot years of the program, additional money will be budgeted to
pay bonuses to teachers who meet their goals. If the plan becomes fully implemented for all teachers in the
district, the goal is to shift to a new salary schedule with raises based on the achievement of established
objectives rather than on years of experience and cost of living.

Teacher Evaluation
The pilot focuses on teachers’ evaluation in terms of their students’ achievement. Teachers in the participating
schools are collaborating with their principals to write two objectives based on the academic achievement of
their students. If the teachers meet these objectives, they will be awarded a bonus. When teachers write their
objectives, they include information about assessment, the student population, baseline student information, the
expected gain, evidence that will demonstrate achievement of the objective and a brief rationale for choosing
the objective. A teacher’s first objective must be met by an entire class or equivalent group. A teacher’s second
objective may focus on a group smaller that the entire class, thus allowing the teacher to address students
achieving below grade level, students with particular needs or achievement gaps between students.

For example, the first objective might require that 75% of the students in the teacher’s class will gain one level
or more on the “Grade Level Math Test.” The second objective might require that 75% of the students identified
in the bottom two quartiles of the ITBS will gain 1.4 grade levels.

If the objective system in the pilot is proven to work, DPS and DCTA will expand it for use in granting annual pay
increases for teachers.

The pilot is experimenting with three different approaches to objective setting. In one third of the schools, norm-
referenced tests are being used to ascertain if teachers met their objectives. In a second third of the schools,
teacher-developed criterion-referenced tests and teacher-developed measures of academic achievement are
being used. The final third of the schools are demonstrating the impact of teachers’ knowledge and skills on
student achievement through the use of a teacher portfolio that includes student achievement scores. The
portfolio approach promotes teacher professional development along with improved student achievement.

Incentive Pay

All teachers who participate receive a one-time $500 participation bonus. Teachers write two objectives for their
students’ academic achievement. If teachers meet one objective, they receive a bonus of $500. If they meet
both objectives, they receive two bonuses of $500 each. In the second year of participation teachers can receive
$750 for each of the two objectives they achieve. All bonuses in the program are on top of teachers’ regular
base salary that is still based on a traditional salary schedule. Base salaries in Denver range from $30,000-
$60,300.

Douglas County, Colorado

Douglas County, Colorado adopted a pay-for-performance plan to improve the overall quality of teaching in the
district by rewarding the performance of outstanding individuals and groups. The Douglas County Federation of
Teachers (DCFT) and members of the Douglas County Board of Education cooperatively committed to teacher
performance pay in their contract settlement for the 1993-94 school year. This settlement was ratified by more
than 90% of the teachers, and teachers vote to continue its implementation each year. In 1999, the performance
pay program was modified to align teacher compensation and evaluation with the District’s new strategic
directions. The model has worked over time to create a balance of group and individual incentives for
performance.

The sum of this multiyear process is a performance-pay system with two major parts. The first part is a base
salary structure for all teachers in the district. The second is a series of bonus incentives components that
teachers may participate in voluntarily. Teachers choose to participate in one or all of the incentive components
without the risk of losing any of their base salary.

Education Commission of the States 707 17m Street, Suite 2700 Denver, CO 80202-3427 303-299-3600 fax 303-296-8332 www.ecs.org
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Base Pay

The first part of the Douglas County performance-pay plan provides a teacher’s base salary usinga formula that
factors in a teacher’s number of successful evaluation credits and the level of educationa teacher has attained
in addition to their professional base pay. Unlike a traditional salary schedule, under the performance pay plan,
a teacher does not automatically receive an increase based on length of service. Building administrators use
formative and summative assessments to determine if teachers’ performance is satisfactory. Teachers must
receive a satisfactory evaluation of their performance to be eligible for a base salary increase. Teacherswho
receive an unsatisfactory rating are not eligible to receive an evaluation credit (a negotiated cost-of-living
adjustment) for the coming year. In essence, their salary is frozen for one year. Moreover, unsatisfactory
performance ratings also preclude teacher participation in any of the bonus incentive components of the plan.
The base salary in Douglas County is $30,000 for a beginning teacher with a bachelor’s degree.

Incentive Pay

The second part of the plan is a series of bonus incentive awards that are completely separate from a teacher’s
base salary.

Outstanding Teacher

Perhaps the most controversial bonus incentive, the Outstanding Teacher Program, rewards a bonus of $1,250
to teachers who demonstrate individual outstanding performance. There are four Outstanding Teacher
designations A, B, C, and D.

Type A uses criteria established by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) and
modified by an Outstanding Teacher Committee in Douglas County. Teachers collect six artifacts
demonstrating outstanding performance in a portfolio that includes relevant career and teaching information.
They also include their educational philosophy and information generated by peer and client
(parents/student) surveys. The portfolio is submitted to the building administrator, who reviews the
documentation and makes the decision whether or not to award the teacher the Outstanding Teacher
incentive.

Type B involves a portfolio focused on standards-based education. Teachers compilea body of evidence
showing their efforts to develop a standards-based classroom. Teachers then “measure” themselves
against a rubric that defines standards-based education practices and submit their portfolios to their building
administrator for review.

Type C is for teachers pursuing certification from the NBPTS. To limit the amount of paperwork, teachers
can submit a copy of their National Board portfolio, with some minor modification, to their building
administrator to earn this incentive.

Type D is based purely on outstanding student growth. Teachers submit portfolios to demonstrate their role
in promoting outstanding student growth. Teachers’ portfolios identify a goal for outstanding student growth,
demonstrate rigorous measurement of the goal, include their students’ results and describe how their
teaching made a difference in student growth. This portfolio is submitted to a standing district committee of
teachers for review.

National Board Certification

Teachers who have current NBPTS certification earn a yearly incentive bonus of $2,000.

Group Incentive Program

This component encourages cooperative efforts within schools, or among groups of teachers, to work on
common goals that directly impact student performance. Teachers on a planning committee, within an individual
school, draft a plan and collect signatures of support from other faculty members, the building administrator and
the building Accountability Committee. The plan is then submitted to the Group Incentive Board (GIB), a district
governing body for the Group Incentive Plan component. The GIB reviews the proposed plan and grants
approval for the school to go ahead. At the end of the school year, a final report describing evidence of the
impact on students is submitted to the GIB, which then determines if the goals were attained and a bonus
should be awarded. Group incentive bonuses are approximately $400-$500 per group member and are funded
from a district pool.

Education Commission of the States 707 17th Street, Suite 2700 Denver, CO 80202-3427 303-299-3600 fax 303-296-8332. www.ecs.org
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Skill Blocks
A Skill Block is intended to provide incentives for teachers to obtain skills identified by the district as central to
fulfillment of its mission. Skill blocks are offered at after-school sessions and carry graduated values ranging
from $250-$500. This incentive requires that teachers not only learn new skills, but that skills be applied and
demonstrated in the classroom with students. To receive the skill block bonus, teachers must attend training
sessions and also must demonstrate mastery of the skill through an authentic assessment administered at the
conclusion of the training program. The skill block instructors determine if a teacher has demonstrated
applications of the skills successfully in his or her teaching.

Master Teacher
A Master Teacher must show outstanding student growth, similar to the requirement for a Type D Outstanding
Teacher, and possess either National Board certification or be recognized for two years as an Outstanding
Teacher. Additionally, an applicant must show leadership in their teaching field. Once a teacher receives the
Master Teacher designation, he or she will be eligible to assume a variety of mentoring roles within the district.
The Master Teacher award is for five years and currently worth $2,500 each year. To date, the district’s
Performance Pay Improvement Committee has evaluated teachers who choose to participate in this component;
beginning in 2001-01, participating teachers will be evaluated by other Master Teachers.

Responsibility Pay
The final bonus incentive component addresses the issue of additional responsibilities undertaken by teachers
for which they historically have received no additional compensation. District responsibility pay is awarded to
teachers who take on responsibilities at the district level. This includes such things as membership on the
district committees. Site-based responsibility pay is distributed at the individual school level to teachers based
on criteria and in award amounts determined by the school staff. Funding is made available from the district on a
per-student basis. The site-based component involves very little guidance from the Central Office or the DCFT.
Schools make their decisions and submit pay vouchers to the district payroll department.

Iowa
Iowa passed two pieces of legislation in 2001, HF 413 and SF 476, establishing a comprehensive plan to
improve teacher quality and student learning. The legislation addresses the critical issues of rural and urban
teacher shortages looming in Iowa and the declining comparability of Iowa teachers’ salaries with those in other
states. Districts within the state have the option to participate in one or more of the following programs:
mentoring and induction, career paths or a variable pay pilot.

Career Paths
The legislation appropriates $31.2 million for the 2001-02 school year to create career paths and improve
teacher salaries. Districts that choose to adopt the career path system must participate in the mentoring and
induction program. The career path involves salary improvements. Teachers will be promoted one level at a
time and must remain on a given level for at least one year before requesting promotion to the next career level.
The different career levels and the salary implications are as follows:

Beginning This is for the first two years of teaching. Participating school districts will be required to raise
their beginning teacher salary by $1,500 per year until the district minimum teacher salary hits $28,000.
Beginning teachers must hold a provisional license, have completed a preparation program and participate
in a beginning teacher mentoring and induction program which participating districts are required to offer.
Teachers must complete successfully the mentoring program and a comprehensive evaluation in order to
move to the next step.

Career Teachers begin work on individual professional development plans. The individual professional
development plans will not become operational until evaluation processes are in place and statewide
networks of professional development opportunities are available. It is expected that this will occur by 2003-
04. The district must create a $2,000 differential between the average Beginning teacher salary and
minimum Career teacher salary. A Career teacher has completed successfully mentoring and induction and
a comprehensive evaluation, holds a license and demonstrates the competencies of a Career teacher noted
below in the list of Iowa Teaching Standards. The comprehensive evaluation, which is generally given at the
end of five years, includes classroom observation, demonstration of progress in teaching skill, successful
completion of the teacher’s career development plan and supporting documentation.

Education Commission of the States 707 17th Street, Suite 2700 Denver, CO 80202-3427 303-299-3600 fax 303-296-8332 www.ecs.org
Page 10

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A teacher may be given a comprehensive evaluation, not only for advancement on the career path, but also for
purposes of performance review and recommendation for licensure. If a comprehensive evaluation for a teacher
is conducted in the fifth year of the teacher’s status at the Career level and indicates that the teacher’s practice
no longer meets the standards for that level, another comprehensive evaluation shall be conducted in the next
following school year. If the comprehensive evaluation establishes that the teacher’s practice fails to meet the
standards for that level, the teacher shall be ineligible for any additional pay increase other than a cost-of-living
increase.

In addition to the comprehensive, five-year evaluation, Career, Career II and Advanced teachers will be
reviewed annually to facilitate continuous improvement. School districts are encouraged to utilize peer review
and coaching in the annual review process. This review will include classroom observation and supporting
documentation from supervisors, parents and students.

It is the intent of the Iowa General Assembly to pass legislation to activate the two following career levels by July
1, 2003.

Career II The expectation is that teachers will move from Career to Career II within five years. A Career II
teacher may become a mentor or a supervisor of student teachers. The district shall establish a minimum
salary for a Career II teacher that is at least $5,000 greater than the minimum Career teacher salary.
Career II teachers will complete an individual development plan and will be evaluated comprehensively
every five years. A district will establish the criteria for evaluation based on model criteria, which have not
been developed yet. It is expected that the competencies will look different based on the experience level of
the teacher. Teachers may choose to stay at the Career II level for the remainder of their career. The
legislation does not address “fall-back,” and no rules have been promulgated yet to determine if this is to be
addressed at the state or local level.

Advanced A Career II teacher seeking to move to Advanced teacher status will submit a portfolio of work
aligned with the Iowa teaching standards to a review panel. A majority of evidence in the portfolio must be
classroom based. If the teacher demonstrates superior teaching skill, she or he will attain Advanced
designation. Each review panel shall contain at least one National Board certified teacher and a school
district administrator. An Advanced teacher serves as both a classroom teacher and a teacher leader. The
teacher may become a trainer of other teachers, have responsibility for leading various projects, or assume
other leadership position in the building or district. At this time National Board certified teachers do not
qualify automatically for Advanced status, but the state is conducting an evaluation of Iowa’s National Board
certified teachers with a report due to the legislature this December. The district will establish a minimum
salary for an Advanced teacher that is at least $13,500 greater than the minimum Career teacher salary.

Incentive Pay

The variable pay pilot project is a two-year, voluntary trial opportunity for a limited number of Iowa school
districts or buildings. Building-level cash awards outside of other salary will be given to all licensed practitioners
within a building that meets its student achievement goals; awards to noncertified building personnel also are
strongly encouraged. Each participating district shall create its own design for a team-based pay plan linked to
the district’s comprehensive school improvement plan. The plan must include student-performance goals,
multiple indicators to determine progress toward those goals and a system for providing financial rewards. The
local board shall approve the team-based pay plan. The bill requires that pilot districts administer valid and
reliable standardized assessments at the beginning and the end of the school year. One million dollars will be
available statewide for variable pay pilots in the 2001-02 school year. The actual award for each educator will
vary according to the number of schools in the pilot, but the amount each school will be given will not exceed
$100 per student. A legislative committee will observe the pilot program over the next two years as a basis for
recommendations for a statewide variable pay plan.

Other key aspects of the legislation
Professional Development is a number one priority. In order to meet future education demands, Iowa will
support both compensation and professional development. The legislation invests $1.5 million during the
next school year to begin the shift to research-based professional development.

Statewide availability of mentoring and induction. The legislation provides $2.4 million in the next school
year and $4.8 million in the following school year to support districts participating in a formal mentoring
program that meets quality standards.

Education Commission of the States 707 17th Street, Suite 2700 Denver, CO 80202-3427 303-299-3600 fax 303-296-8332 www.ecs.org
Page 11

Newly trained administrators will evaluate veteran teachers every five years and beginning teachers to
determine movement to Career status. The legislation provides $1.5 million for the next school year to begin
research, development and initiation of evaluator training.

The legislation defines good teaching in terms of the following eight Iowa Teaching Standards:

The school district’s student achievement goals

Demonstrates competence in content knowledge appropriate to the teaching position

Demonstrates competence in planning and preparing for instruction

Uses strategies to deliver instruction that meets the multiple learning needs of students

Uses a variety of methods to monitor Demonstrates the ability to enhance academic performance and
support for and implementation of student learning

Demonstrates competence in classroom management

Engages in professional growth

Fulfills professional responsibilities established by the school district.

Milken Teacher Advancement Program
The Teacher Advancement Program (TAP), an initiative of the Milken Family Foundation, is a reform effort to
attract, retain and motivate high-quality educators. TAP is based on five key principles to accomplish this goal:
(1) Multiple Career Paths, (2) Market-Driven Compensation, (3) Performance-Based Accountability, (4)
Ongoing, Applied Professional Development and (5) Expanding the Supply of High Quality Educators. For the
2000-01 school year, the Milken Family Foundation gave $100,000 to each of five Arizona public schools to
participate in the Teacher Advancement Program. Florida, Arkansas, Massachusetts, South Carolina and
Indiana will all bring up Teacher Advancement demonstration schools over the next two years.

Performance-based accountability enjoys a receptive policy environment in Arizona. Proposition 301, passed by
Arizona voters in November 2000, authorized a sales-tax increase that requires part of the new monies to be put
into performance-based pay increases for teachers. Development of the pay-for-performance programs and
decisions about the basis of assessing teachers for performance-pay purposes are made at the local district
level.

The five schools participating in TAP in Arizona will implement Teacher Performance-Based Accountability
(TPBA) during the 2001-02 school year. Each school utilizes support from the program to develop and
implement a differentiated career path, a teacher evaluation system, and a school compensation model with
enhanced base salaries and incentive pay. For the 2001-02 and 2002-03 school years, the average Milken
Family Foundation grant will rise to about $

0,000 per school to help fund the costs of the performance award
system. The TAP program in the five Arizona schools is a hybrid of the ideal Milken model adjusted to local
realities.

Career Paths
A key element of TAP is providing teachers with the opportunity to advance without having to leave the
classroom. In the ideal Milken model, there are three levels of teachers: Career/Specialist, Mentor and Master.
The performance requirements and school responsibilities vary for teachers based on their career level. The
rationale is that as teachers advance, they should increase their skills, knowledge and responsibilities. As
teachers’ responsibilities, qualifications and professional development experiences increase, their compensation
advances, too. Multiple career paths are intended to expand the roles of qualified teachers and increase the
rewards for becoming leaders, decision-makers and mentors.

Education Commission of the States 707 17m Street, Suite 2700 Denver, CO 80202-3427 303-299-3600 fax 303-296-8332 www.ecs.org
Page 12.

Teacher Evaluation

Under TAP, teacher performance is measured against teaching performance standards based on the following
criteria, which involve both teaching processes and teaching products or outcomes:

1. The skills, knowledge, and responsibilities a teacher exhibits through his or her daily practice

2. The classroom gains the teacher produces in student achievement on standardized tests, criterion
referenced standards-based tests and/or performance assessments

3. The school gains on standardized tests and criterion-referenced standards based assessments.

The assessed skills, knowledge and responsibilities comprise 50% of the teacher’s total evaluation. Classroom
and school-wide student test score gains (value-added measures) comprise the other 50%.

A committee made up of the school’s staff develops the teaching performance standards based on the Milken
Family Foundation’s Teacher Performance-Based Accountability Guidebook. The individual school staff then
approves the teaching performance standards. These standards guide the evaluation of teachers using data
from classroom observations and teacher portfolios. Evaluation teams made up of the principal, master teachers
and mentor teachers evaluate individual teachers at least 10 times over the course of a year.

Teachers evaluated on their skills, knowledge and responsibilities are given ratings from one to five across four
teaching domains: (1) designing and planning instruction, (2) implementing instruction, (3) learning environment
and (4) responsibilities.

Base Pay

Ideally, a TAP school uses their current teacher personnel budget to produce a TAP Salary Model that includes
augmented salaries for mentor and master teachers and performance awards for all teachers. Four of the
schools in Arizona use a district salary schedule with funds for augmented salaries and Proposition 301 monies
for the performance awards. Teachers in these four schools either can accept their current salary on the district
schedule or accept the Milken salary schedule that begins at $30,000. The fifth Arizona school is a charter
school that has been able to revamp its teacher salary schedule entirely.

Teachers in the Arizona TAP program have an opportunity to increase their base salary by becoming a mentor
or master teacher. Mentor teachers earn an additional $5,000 on average while master teachers average an
additional $10,000 in salary earnings. Teachers must continue to perform successfully in these roles or they will
lose their status and their additional pay.

Incentive Pay

Performance awards earned yearly provide a second opportunity for teachers to improve their compensation. A
minimum of 5% of a TAP school’s personnel budget is allocated for a performance award fund. This fund is
made up of three pools: a career teacher pool, a mentor teacher pool and a master teacher pool. Schools
decide how to divide the awards based on one of two mathematical methods offered by TAP. Performance
awards are then distributed based on both individual and school performance.

Acknowledgrnents
ECS would like to thank the following individuals who shared their experiences, provided information and made
suggestion for this Issue Paper:

Rick Beck, former president, Cincinnati Federation of Teachers

Micheline Bendotti, executive director, Arizona Teacher Advancement Program

Denise Hewitt, professional issues representative, Cincinnati Federation of Teachers

Judy Jeffrey, division administrator, Iowa Department of Education

Brad Jupp, team leader, Denver Public Schools/DCTA Pay-for-Performance Project

John Schacter, senior research associate, Milken Family Foundation

Education Commission of the States 707 17m Street, Suite 2700 Denver, CO 80202-3427 303-299-3600 fax 303-296-8332 www.ecs.org
Page 13

Joanne Slanovich, vice-president, Douglas County Federation of Teachers

Ted Stilwill, director, Iowa Department of Education

Susan Taylor, president, Cincinnati Federation of Teachers

Rob Weil, president, Douglas County Federation of Teachers

For further information on the programs discussed in this Issue Paper contact the following Web sites:

Denver Pay-for-Performance Design Team
http://denverpfp.dpsk12.org/

Cincinnati Federation of Teachers
www.cft-aft.orq

Douglas County Federation of Teachers
http://www.dcft.net/performance/index.htm

Iowa Department of Education, Teacher Compensation
www.state.ia.us/educate/index.html

The Teacher Advancement Program at the Milken Family Foundation
http://www.mff.org/tap/

References
Cincinnati Federation of Teachers (CFT) (2000). Professionalization of Teaching. Cincinnati, OH: CFT.

Cincinnati Public Schools (2000). Skills and Knowledge Compensation Framework, Appendix C. Cincinnati, OH:
Cincinnati Public Schools.

Denver Public SchoolsDenver Classroom Teachers Association Pay-for-Performance Pilot (DPS/DCTA)
(2001, February). Focus on Results. Denver, CO: DPS/DCTA Pay-for-Performance Pilot.

Denver PFP Design Team. Overview of the Pay-for-Performance Pilot. Retrieved June 21, 2001, from the World
Wide Web: http://denverpfp.dpsk12.orq/overview.htm.

Denver PFP Design Team. Parts of An Objective. Retrieved June 21, 2001, from the World Wide Web:
http://denverpfp.dpsk12.org/dpfppdf/PartsofanObiective .

Douglas County Federation of Teachers. Performance Pay. Retrieved June 12, 2001, from the World Wide
Web: http://www.dcft.net/performance/index.htm.

Douglas County Federation of Teachers. Executive Summary of Performance-Pay Plan for Teachers. Retrieved
June 12, 2001, from the World Wide Web: http://www.dcftnet/performance/index.htm.

Iowa Department of Education (IDE) (2001). Final Summary of 2001 Legislation. Des Moines, IA: IDE.

Iowa Department of Education. Teacher Compensation. Retrieved June 14, 2001, from the World Wide Web:
http://www.state.ia.us/educate/index.html.

Milken Family Foundation (2000). Teacher Advancement Program. Santa Monica, CA: Milken Family
Foundation.

Odden, Allan and Kelley, Carolyn (1997). Paying Teachers for What They Know and Do, New and Smarter
Compensation Strategies to Improve Schools. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Education Commission of the States 707 17th Street, Suite 2700 Denver, CO 80202-3427 303-299-3600 fax 303-296-8332 www.ecs.org
Page 14 ti

Schacter, John (2001). Teacher Advancement Program: Performance-Based Accountability Toolkit. Santa
Monica, CA: The Milken Family Foundation.

Solomon, Lewis, C. and Podgursky, Michael (2000). The Pros and Cons of Performance-Based Compensation.
Santa Monica, CA: The Milken Family Foundation.

This ECS Issue Paper was made possible through a grant from the Office of Educational Research and
Improvement, U.S. Department of Education.

This Issue Paper was prepared by Wendy Wyman, ECS policy analyst, and Michael Allen, project manager for
the ECS Program on Teaching Quality.

The Education Commission of the States is a nonprofit, nationwide organization that helps state leaders shape education policy. It is
ECS policy to take affirmative action to prevent discrimination in its policies, programs and employment practices.

To request permission to excerpt part of this publication, either in print or electronically, please fax a request to the attention of the
ECS Communications Department, 303-296-8332 or e-mail ecs@ecs.org.

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