Improved Performance Possible Even Under Constrained Circumstances

Floating the idea of implementing performance contracting agitates teachers beyond reproach.  It is not clear why teachers and especially their union are so uncomfortable with measurement of their performance.  But, some experience gained a while ago could shed some light on this occasionally explosive matter, especially if treated as a case study.

Close to 5 years ago, a friend had invited me to fire up the leadership and teaching staff of a rural based government aided day secondary school. They were meant to hold a strategy meeting in a posh hotel, surrounded by thickets, somewhere in the mountainous areas of Central Kenya. The whole team of 30 or so stakeholders of this school, assembled early for the day’s activities.

After usual introductions, the teachers were ready to present their reports on challenges and any milestones achieved thus far. Mine was seemingly the highlight of the daylong session. Nonetheless, there were some lessons to be learnt. Key of them all is that the output in any school is nothing else, but grades.

The same need to be achieved by hardworking and disciplined students.  They must obviously be guided by focused and motivated teachers. Likewise, parents and non-teaching staff need to be supportive and committed to the success of the whole process. The facilities too such as laboratories can’t be ignored. Further, the management of the whole process right from admissions must be impeccable. Thus, it is the entrenched teamwork and management excellence that brings out the desired grades.

Armed with a performance checklist, I listened attentively to the presentations of the various departmental heads. At the same time, I kept jotting notes on the diverse issues raised. Some of them were obviously contributing to less than desired performance in various subjects. Others were contributing to improvements in other subjects. Indeed, there were mixed fortunes in performances, some of which needed immediate attention. One attribute seemed to have been inadvertently affecting performance, though not easily discernible. So, my job was already cut.

Upon taking over the session, I started off with a question directed at the slightly more than 20 teachers.  On a small piece of paper, they each needed to answer a simple question that most people take for granted. I needed to know one very good reason that made each one of them to join the teaching career?

Incidentally, most of our training sessions by then had largely involved corporate delegates. A large majority emanate from different departments, therefore varying professions. In the scenario at hand, the key delegates were teachers. All of them were therefore in the same career, only differentiated by the subjects of specialization.  So, the expected answer could have been very exciting, whichever direction it took.

But alas, the teachers volunteered very surprising and mostly related answers. In a nutshell, almost all the 20 or so of them were in the teaching career by default. In other words, none of them, irrespective of the gender, had aspired to join teaching. They had different career ambitions, yet this was the only job that they could secure.

Alternatively, others had against their own wishes, been admitted to university to train as teachers even though that was not their personal choice. Most English teachers dreamed of becoming lawyers. The mathematics and physics teachers aimed to become engineers. The biology and chemistry teachers yearned to become doctors.

All these were admirable wishes that were never to be. Nevertheless, all of them had accepted their fate and moved on. Whether they were moving on grudgingly or otherwise was another matter. In any case, that was the reason behind the firing up session.

Under such circumstances, one would hope that the default scenario evidenced during the session is not widely replicated in the national school system.  But, if it is, what could be the implications? Perusal of the list of the last university admissions, paints a not so pleasant picture of the teaching profession. In fact it confirms the seemingly skewed sense of achievement.

More than 80% of the 100 top performing students in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education are admitted to pursue Medicine, Engineering, Architecture and Law. Only a very small minority joins the classes of Economics, statistics and commerce.  The top performers admitted to pursue education are almost insignificant. Can we then conclude that our teachers mostly join the vocation after being unable to venture into the perceived top level careers?

Apparently, most people who pursue careers by default rarely find passion in them. They most likely do not have inbuilt drive capable of successfully propelling them in the careers.  Largely, they are driven by extrinsic motivation, which is dependent on rewards for performance. In other words, it would be hard for them to be settled in such careers. So, justifying continued employment through performance contracts for such people complicates their lives even more.

Meanwhile, performance contracting is just a tool of determining whether people are productive or not. Daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, half yearly or annual goals are agreed on between the performer and the manager of performance.  Most often, the remuneration is based on output. People who are passionate in what they do, are never apprehensive when standards of performance are set for them. Most are even happier because they are able to achieve their targets thus proving their worth.  Undoubtedly, there are many talented teachers, who have no qualms with meeting high standards of performance. Some may not even know this.

Long after the session with the teachers, I have followed the schools performance, which has consistently been improving.  Immediately after the meeting, the teaching fraternity started aligning their performance. Even if most of them had joined the careers by default, they saw opportunities even in challenges. They each started aligning themselves to the subjects they found easy and enjoyable to teach.

They forgot what they were supposed to become and concentrated in making the best out of their prevailing situation.  Over time, the teachers have found previously elusive job satisfaction, even without changing careers. The admission of university students from the school has also continued increasing over the years. More still, stretched performance measures stopped presenting challenges. Seemingly, making the best out of our existing situations creates positive impact.