Incentives, Teachers, and Gender at Work

Authors

  • Sarah A. Robert University at Buffalo (SUNY)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v21n31.2013

Keywords:

incentives, gendered organizations, teachers’ work, policy, Argentina, teachers, teacher distribution, masculinity, femininity

Abstract

Incentive pay programs have become panacea for a multitude of educational challenges. When aimed at teachers the assumption is that rewards entice them to work in particular ways or particular schools. However, the assumption is based on an economic formula that does not take into consideration the gendered nature of policy processes. This study examined ethnographically 10 teachers’ decision-making processes regarding whether to take up The Rural Program [La Ruralidad] in the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, which rewarded qualified educators with bonus pay to work in hard-to-staff schools, to address the question: How does gender mediate teachers’ decision-making process to take up an incentive reward? I isolate three conditions: safety, transportation, and community, to show how gendered relations, identities, and roles incentivize teachers. I argue that masculinities and femininities mediated teachers’ approach to taking up incentives. Rather than a simplistic, one-time-only decision, the study shows an on-going policy process that involves women and men in “rational economic decision making” mired by gender.

 

 

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Author Biography

Sarah A. Robert, University at Buffalo (SUNY)

Dr. Sarah A. Robert is an assistant professor in the University at Buffalo’s Graduate School of Education.  Her current research explores the relationship of gender, policy, and politics.  Specifically, this relationship is examined with a focus on the changing nature of teachers’ work and of curricular knowledge.  She is the Social Studies Education Program Coordinator and teaches masters and doctoral level courses about social education and gender, curriculum, and instruction.

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Published

2013-04-01

How to Cite

Robert, S. A. (2013). Incentives, Teachers, and Gender at Work. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 21, 31. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v21n31.2013

Issue

Section

Articles