The purpose of this study was to investigate the process in which the korean teacher merit pay policy, which was one of the diverse educational policies attempted for changes in the education community, was accepted by the target group of teachers. Fo...
The purpose of this study was to investigate the process in which the korean teacher merit pay policy, which was one of the diverse educational policies attempted for changes in the education community, was accepted by the target group of teachers. For that purpose, the research proceeded in the following procedures:
First, the study examined which strategies were adopted by the concerned policy agency and the target group in order to carry through their opinions in the implementation process of the merit pay policy.
Second, it examined changes to the strategies of both the groups over time and identified their causes.
And finally, it provided implications from the research findings confirmed in the implementation process in order to help to resolve conflicts in the acceptance process of future educational policies.
First, the acceptance patterns of the target group were examined based on the case studies of policies and literature related to the research topic. Then the Game Theory, which is proper for explaining about the strategic interactions and decision-making processes of the groups involved in the merit pay policy, was applied to analysis. In the analysis process, the results each group obtained by using a strategy were presented in rewards. And specific and diverse data were provided for the causes of those rewards in order to increase the reliability of the study.
The major research findings were as follows:
First, the concerned policy agency first adopted a relatively mild strategy to settle down the merit pay policy in the teachers' community and later an active and tough one. The teachers that were the target group, however, insisted upon tough strategies from the beginning and thus had conflicts with the concerned policy agency.
Second, the implementation process of the system was analyzed with the Game Theory. As a result, the teachers moved from "attempts for revision" through "postponement and conversion" toward "formal conformance" over time in using strategies and accepting the system.
And finally, the basic purports of the system, which were developing teachers' abilities and producing high quality teachers, were lost due to the groups' pursuit of individual profits in the strategic interactions. Thus the concerned policy agency and the target group should form a collaboration system to discard competitions and apply educational policies to school the right way.
Based on the research findings, the following conclusions were drawn:
First, the concerned policy agency should offer its cooperation to supplement policies by growing out of competition with the target group and forming partnership with it instead of forcing a policy and its implementation on the target group.
And secondly, the target group of teachers should work with the concerned policy agency by suggesting constructive alternatives instead of raising objections for objections. When the concerned parties work together, educational policies will be able to be applied to school the right way and contribute to the growth of education instead of becoming a means for each group to gain profits.