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THE USE OF MOTIVATIONAL THEORY IN TEACHER PERFORMANCE
EVALUATIONS: A CONTENT ANALYSIS

by

Marjorie A. Parsons

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Dissertation directed by
John H. Suehr, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Educational Administration

1987

Copyright by
MARJORIE A. PARSONS

1987

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ABSTRACT

THE USE OF MOTIVATIONAL THEORY IN TEACHER PERFORMANCE
EVALUATIONS: A CONTENT ANALYSIS

by

Marjorie A. Parsons

A wide spectrum of theoretical views of
motivation from findings in psychology. communication,
organizational management. and educational administration
are reviewed; eight' elements of Fredrick Herzberg's two

factor theory are specifically considered in relation to

current research on written teacher performance
evaluations : achievement . recognition , responsibility .
growth , the work itself . school policies , supervisory

provisions, and working conditions. The critical question

is asked: what is the strength and type of motivational

message that public school administrators are sending to

teachers in written performance evaluation documents?

Results of a content analysis of 200 written teacher

evaluation documents. prepared by a suburban Detroit K-12

public school administration, are presented and analyzed

with an emphasis on the frequency of use of each

individual Herzberg criterion . and the

pattern of
integrated use of the Herzberg criteria.

In general. written teacher evaluations are found
to be motivationally

significant primarily in

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communicating recognition. and secondarily in attempting
to activate achievement. Male and female administrators
are observed to communicate motivational references at
approximately the same rate of frequency. but evaluated
female teachers are observe to receive motivational
messages at a rate of frequency 76% higher than evaluated
male teachers. High school administrators are observed to
communicate the greatest frequency of motivational

messages. Administrators at all three levels are observed

to communicate recognition at approximately the same high

rate of frequency .

Interpretation of the study's findings involves

answering the question: Motivation for what? Despite the

teacher evaluation system's overt purpose, to stimulate

instructional performance improvement, the cumulative

effect of observed administrative stress on simple

recognition of approved teacher behavior. supports a

conclusion that maintaining a long-established status quo
by simple reinforcement of acceptable teaching behavior is

apparently what drives the public schools! written

evaluat on syst em .
significance of this finding lies

contribution to a

instructional performance The

in its descriptive
profile

of an important school
administration practice,

and also in its indication of a
measurable organizational "temperment" toward change.

DEDICATION

This study is dedicated to Patrick Francis Parsons and
Laura Elvere Parsons whose enthusiasm, caring. and love
continuously energized their mom. Despite the enormous
burden this project imposed on our family life, their
staunchness verified Browning, "Greatness is made of
little things.” It is also a gift to my mother, Loretta
V. Smith and my aunts, Margaret M. Carey and Sister M.
Bertille Carey, RSM; their mintelligence, patience, and
perceptiveness should make them, in truth. the recipients

-of the doctoral degree.

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Completion of this dissertation relied heavily on the”

diligent support of good friends:

Dr. George G. Garver, whose genuine excellence as a
person, as an educator, and as a leader have proven

Goethe's words for me: "We learn only from those we love.”

Dr. Roger A. McCaig whose brilliant analytical skills and
generous, warm-hearted encouragement have graced my years

of teaching as well as my preparation of this study.

Dr. John H. Suehr whose intense sensitivity, unfailing
goodness, and unique lack of reliance on pOpular approval
systems have taught me the true meaning of motivation, and

have sustained my years of satisfying work.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES ...................................... vii

Chapter

I.

PROBLEM AND PURPOSE

Introduction ................................. 1
Purpose of the Study ......................... 9
Significance of the Study .................... 13
Definition of the Variables .................. 15
Assumptions of the Study ..................... 29
Limitations of the Study ..................... 31
Overview ..................................... 36

II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

III.

IV.

Introduction ................................. 39
Motivation in Psychology ..................... 42
Motivation in Organizational Management ...... 49
Motivator - Hygiene Theory ................... 62
Motivation in Educational.Administration ..... 67
Written Performance Evaluations .............. 71
Use of Language .............................. 84
Summary ...................................... 103

DESIGN OF THE STUDY

Introduction ................................. 107
Population and Sample ........................ 110
Instrumentation Validity and Reliability ..... 113
Data Analysis ................................ 115
Summary ...................................... 1 20

ANALYSIS OF DATA

Introduction ................................. 125
Achievement Content .......................... 137
Recognition Content .......................... 140
ReSPOHSibility Content ....................... 143
Growth Content ............................... 146
The Work Itself Content ...................... 149
:School Policies Content ...................... 152
Supervisory Provisions Content ............... 155
Work Conditions Content ...................... 158
Evaluation Language Content .................. 160
Summary ...................................... 1 6 6

V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Introduction .................................. 169
Achievement.... ....... . ....................... 173
Recognition... ................................ 181
Responsibility. ............................... 190
Growth. . . . . . . . ......................... 196
The Work Itself ............................... 201
School Policies ...... .... ..................... 205
Supervisory Provisions ........................ 208
Work Conditions ............................... 213
Evaluation Language ........................... 218
Summary ....................................... 231
RECOMMENDATIONS
Overview ...................................... 244
Suggestions for Further Research ............... .
Summary ........... . ........................... 250

FOOTNOTES ............................................ 264
BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................... 271
APPENDICES
Appendix

A. OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS

Information Feedback System ..................... 253

Smoothing of Information ...................... 253
Noise ......................................... 254
Descriptive Knowledge ........................... 254
Perceived vs Actual ............................ 255
Distortion .................................... 255
Performance Objective Model ..................... 256
Management By Objective ........................ 257
Clinical Supervision .......................... 257
Organizational Design ......................... 253
Job Satisfaction .............................. 259
Input / Output Analysis ........................ 259
Power Relationships ........................... 260

B. DOCUMENTS OF THE STUDY

Grosse Pointe Written Teacher Evaluation ....... 261
Code Book ..................................... 262
Coding Form: Component Frequency Counts ........ 263

vi

LIST OF FIGURES

2-1 Relationship of motivation to Expectancy ...... 45
2-2 Characteristics of Managememt ................. 46
2-3 Motivation and Leadership ..................... 50
Z-h Organiational Performance Variables ........... 50
2-5 Likert‘s Mnagement Systems .................... 61
2-6 Comparison of Satisfiers and Dissatisfiers,... 72
2-7 Profile of Ideal Professional Evaluation ,,,,,, 31
2-8 Congruence of Philosophy - Theory ............. 82
2-9 Methods of Organizing Information ............. 33
2-10 Major Differences Between Writings ............ 99
2-11 Formal and Informal Word Choices .............. 100
2-12 Language miscommunicated ...................... 101
2-13 Guidelines for Effective Praise ............... 102
3-1 Smaple Content Analysis, Part A ............... 123
3-1 Sample Content Analysis. Part B ............... 124
h-l Herzberg Component Frequency percentages ....... 131
4-2 Herzberg Component Frequencies ................. 132
h-3 Use of motivational Components by Gender ....... 133
h-h Motivational Message Frequencies ............... 134
h-5 Motivational Messages by Component ............. 135
h-6 Motivational Messages by Gender ................ 135
5-1 Satisfying Individual Human Needs .............. 191

vii

Chapter I

PROBLEM AND PURPOSE

Introduction

At the core of what it means to be a person is
the concept of individual motivation. In a sense, the
study of motivation is the study of control, the essential
question being: whose control? The research begun by
organizational psychologist Fredrick Herzberg in 1959
suggests that man is motivated both by external control
mechanisms and internal control mechanisms either of which
can influence his behavior and stimulate his will to act.
For educational organizations. one of the most significant
inquiries into motivational controls involves the
measurement and evaluation of teacher performance. The
need for a descriptive study of teacher performance
evaluation became increasingly evident in the last few
years when the literature of evaluation strongly suggested
that instructional appraisals aimed at encouraging
performance growth should replace traditional
instructional appraisals which aimed at simply assessing
achievement. As a lever for redefining the administrative

task of communicating teaching evaluations, a theory-based

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study of current written evaluation practices is intended
to describe which motivational perspective is currently
driving administrative written communications of teaching
performance evaluation.

Research on motivational forces suggests that
Optimally effective written teacher evaluations tend to
accomplish more than a careful assessment of achievemment
against goals: evaluation documents which evolve from a
sound theoretical basis also present meaningful stimuli
expressly planned to prompt reinvigorated responses by
teachers to the multiple problems of organized instruction
in schools. The question examined here is whether public
school administrators are using the tenets of motivational
theory, as defined by Fredrick Herzberg, to assist their
teachers’ performance improvement.

Individual differences in performance motivation
inevitably , surface when“ school administrators prepare
teachers' performance feedback. Even though the
profession of education is philosophically driven by the
concept that people are different. practical responses to
individual differences sometimes elude the traditional
administrative practice of preparing written evaluations
of teachers. Recognizing that a fundamental
characteristic of all groups of people is diversity,
current literature on motivation espouses expanding an
organization's variety of differences rather than

restricting them: as positive elements, collective

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individual .needs should serve an organization as a growth
resource, a dynamic supply of diverse talent and energy.

Motivational theory shows that by responding to
the distinct incentive needs of teachers. a school
administrator may find that performance appraisal feedback
transforms divergence into assets. Research on personnel
evaluation has concluded that the regular neglect of
unique motivating differences among teachers is
potentially a result of administrative systems that tend
to emphasize programs_ rather than individual performance
styles. ‘

Evaluation of human performance involves a
decision on what type of behavior is desirable. followed
by a description of what actions actually are occurring,
and finally, a judgment about how closely the observed
reality approximates the desired standard. The complexity
of an appraisal process and the difficulty of translating
it into language which encourages and stimulates improved
teaching performance is the emphasis of this present
research project. Albert Einstein's admonition, however,
that, ”Words are and remain an empty sound, ... the road
to perdition has ever been accompanied by lip service to

an idea...” 1

reminds one that a written evaluation's
words themselves, while documentable, are only part of the
school's motivational process. Administrative evaluations
which frequently and verbally strengthen and nourish an

individual's desire for the Herzberg-identified motivators

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of achievement, recognition, responsibility, and growth,
address a teacher's psychological need for regular.
reliable feedback on his professional performance.

Research on effective models for teacher
evaluation reveal no best format for success in this
essential task. Many definitions of evaluation are
limited to a systematic determination of whether, and to
what degree, identified tasks have been successfully
performed. The problem of confining the formal written
evaluation to achievement of specified goals is that in
such narrowness, the essence of what it means to educate
is easily overlooked. A simple ”achievement against
goals” perspective denies the reality that no strategy
works in isolation: achieving objectives is meaningful
only in the context of its purpose. The primary question
of why a person succeeds in obtaining his goal is why does
he want to obtain it in the first place? What motivates
him to strive, what causes him to fail to achieve more,
and what meaning does he perceive in the enterprise?
Addressing such factors is the real challenge of preparing
the type of teacher performance evaluations that move
peOple to search for their own understanding of what it
means to teach successfully.

One aspect of motivation that studies have made
abundantly clear is that a person cannot be simply
reasoned into a state of willing to succeed in any

enterprise. What a person can be talked into, he can also

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be talked _out of. Instead, personal incentives must
spring from an individual's own unique desire to
accomplish or obtain a certain achievement. The long-term
motivational sources identified by Herzberg as the desire
for achievement, recognition, responsibility, and growth
tend to be internal and less subject to the changing
nature of worldly detail than short-term stimulators, or
such hygiene factors as pay, hours, and job surroundings.
As a result, an external device like a professional
‘evaluation can' vigorously augment or stimulate latent
teacher effectiveness only by personally involving
teachers themselves in the appraisal process, and by
addressing their unique, long term motivation needs.

As the process of inspiring people is essentially
a function of communication, it is the choice of language
as well as the content of thought that an administrator
selects which, determines the efficacy of his motivational
message. By definition, communication encompasses
listening as well as speaking: if a written evaluation is
to serve as an incentive, an administrator first needs to
listen to individual teachers before responding to each
one's personal motivation needs. New evidence on the_
importance of listening has been found in medical research
studies which have shown that physicians sometimes
misdiagnose illnesses because they don‘t listen well when
their patients describe symptoms. Administrators as well

as doctors, "...can get a tremendous amount of information

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if they can just listen quietly a little longer."2
Research on the Boolean Logic of Artificial Intelligence
has underscored the irreplacable importance of listening
as a key factor in human intuitive reasoning. As a form
of communication, listening demands concentrating on both
the explicit words and the implicit undertones of
language, or the capacity as Robert Frost described it, to
”hear a person’s grief as well as his grievance."3
Individualizing a motivational message calls for
understanding some of, the needs of the person receiving
the message which I demands active listening when
administrators serve as evaluators.

Even though the subject of this study is the
effective use of motivational components in teachers1
written evaluations, motivating peOple does not begin or
end with addressing their divergent needs on individual
performance appraisals. Rather, the written evaluation is
documented evidence that a school's administration
recognizes the requirement that people need constant and
stimulating feedback in order to work positively toward
achieving their own as well as the organizationls goals.

PeOple, however, "like buildings and machines,
must first be maintained, before they can be motivated." 4
The research begun by Fredrick Herzberg pr0poses that
factors intrinsic to a job substantially determine the
extent to which people are motivated to work. These

factors, that Herzberg called "motivators," include

7

regular . feedback on achievement, recognition for
achievement, the work itself, responsibility, and
advancement or personal growth in competence.
Dissatisfaction or loss of motivation is usually caused by
factors extrinsic to work, termed ”hygienes.” Examples of
these short term motivators include school policies,
supervisory practices, working conditions, pay, security,
and status.

Herzbergls work has shown that the essential
prerequisite to higher level motivation is personal
satisfaction of an individual’s "lower order" or "hygiene"
needs such ‘as basic economic, security, orientation,
status, social, and physical requirements. Even though
maintenance ineeds tend to be peripheral to a schoolls
purpose, their continuous satisfaction, according to
Herzbergfis two factor theory, serves as a fundamental
condition for motivation. Following the Herzberg theory,
performance ‘feedback will enhance motivation to the extent
that motivators are specifically ’designed into the
feedback mechanism. Appraisals that deal solely with
hygiene, however, will not be likely to generate lasting
performance improvement.

In the study of organizational behavior, it has
frequently been said that all management is ultimately the
management of human effort. That simply means that before
all else, people’s attitudes and perceptions are a primary

cause of an organizationls successes and failures.

8

Ideally, the recognition teachers receive is a
natural expression of feedback from their achievement
itself. In reality, motivational theory has suggested
that consistently reinforced, planned feedback on such
instruments as performance evaluations is as much a
function of the attidudes and knowledge of informed school
administrators as it is of the intrinsic characteristics

of an instructional system itself.

Purpose 2; the Study

The investigation undertaken here has the
descriptive purpose of identifying motivational
characteristics which appear on written performance
evaluations of teachers in The Grosse Pointe Public School
System. In order to fulfill a descriptive purpose, the
study employs the set of five motivator needs defined by
Herzberg: achievement, recognition for achievement, the
work itself, responsibility, and -growth, and the three
applicable Herzberg maintenance needs: school policies,
supervisory practices, and working conditions, as an
analytical matrix to describe the extent of motivational
theory inclusion on documented teacher evaluations.

This study also has a theory-testing purpose:
motivator-hygiene theory postulates that two different
sets of factors affect a worker, each in a different way.
One set, the motivators, tends to produce feelings of
stimulation toward work, while the other set, the hygiene
factors tend to be associated with feelings of job
dissatisfaction. As a theoretical purpose, the study
seeks a clarification of Grosse Pointe school
‘administrators' orientation toward motivatior factors or
hygiene factors as shown in the performance appraisals
they write about Grosse Pointe teachers.

'This study acknowledges the teacher's

psychological dilemma of being in a job in which one can

10

appear to .succeed only if one's students succeed. Few
educators feel the same satisfaction that bakers
experience when a loaf of bread turns out well. When
pupils do not do well, or do not even want to do well, a
teacher has difficulty gaining personal satisfaction or
growth in professional self-respect. While this paper is
concerned with the motivational feedback an administrator
can provide to teachers, it avoids the dubious assumption
» that an organization's administrators are exclusivley
responsible 'for providing teachers' motivational stimulus.
This project's scape is limited to the direct impact of
written evaluations, and accepts the reality that other
motivational resources are also needed by teachers to
offset the somewhat ambiguous product of the educator's
role.

The research problem explored in this project
concerns one of the most important responsibilities of
school administrators: the task of encouraging teachers to
actual performance improvement. The project traces
documented thinking to date which has found that
motivation can be encouraged through a process of written
communication, that motivation, as defined by Herzberg,
may not inexorably lead to higher achievement, but does
make a positive difference in teacher performance, that
the type of motivational message which is primarily
concerned- .with human environmental adjustment cant be

expected to promote a minimal or maintenance level of

11

performance - behavior, while the type of motivational
message which is concerned with psychological growth or
intellectual develOpment can be expected to stimulate a
worker to achieve improved instructional performance, and
asks, as a research problem: What is the type and strength
of the motivational message that Grosse Pointe Public
School administrators are sending to teachers in their
written performance evaluations?

The purpose of counting and coding examples of
motivational characteristics ‘for this study is to
determine the ratio of knowledge to practice, the relation
of motivator-hygiene theory to written teacher evlauation
practices as evidenced by the teaching appraisal documents
in the Grosse Pointe School System. This descriptive
study analyzes documentary materials, namely written
teacher evaluations that already exist, and is concerned
with. what school administrators think and do as revealed
by what they put on paper. The study's ultimate purpose
in illuminating what is, is to direct more thinking toward
what might be.

The key to an organization's success is not,
however, paper: it's pe0ple. As with all other forms of
education, the administrative task of providing
motivational feedback is essentially the process of
reaching out to other people, and trying to help them to
do their jobs better.

The focal point of this analysis is the written

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communication link between an instructional evaluator and
an ,instructional performer: from this focal point, the
analysis is aimed at producing an accurate description of
how reliably this written communication link serves as a
firm synapse between motivational theory and evaluation
practice. In this study, the quantitative evidence
supplied by the collected data should suggest the strength
and quality of the written motivational outreach school
administrators in Grosse Pointe are sending to their

teaching staffs at evaluation time.

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Significance g: the Study

 

Voluminous evidence exists in the literature of
educational psychology to suggest that when teachers are
presented with accurate, behaviorally stated information
on their professional performance, they can use that.
information to improve their teaching behavior. Providing
reliable feedback ito teachers for performance improvement
purposes is recognized as an essential component of a
school administrator's responsibility. The language
administrators choose to verbalize their evaluations of
teachers' performance is ~clearly a determining factor in
the usability of feedback information to teachers. This
project's significance to educational administration
theory and practice is in ascertaining whether a
discrepancy exists between ~the potential utility of the
findings of motivational theory, as defined by Fredrick
Herzberg, and the actual use of the findings of
motivational theory in the administrative practice of
writing performance evaluations of teachers.

While the research is descriptive in nature, it
is expected that the focus on motivation as a factor of
evaluative feedback, will generate significant help to
school administrators in developing motivationaly
profitable . strategies for teacher evaluation. The

significance of this study lies not only in its potential

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for application in practice, but in its clarification of
some of the unique behavioral issues delineating the
performance evaluation process. All teacher behavior
cannot be controlled or directed, because pe0ple differ in
individual talent and capacity to develOp in different
directions. The study, however, begins with the premise
that administrators can modify teacher behavioral
tendencies by using encouraging or discouraging feedback:
written evaluations may not be able to totally change
anyone, but they may be helpful in inspiring a teacher to
become more successful. Indeed, it is the basic premise
of all educational pursuit that what an educator does can
make a predictable difference in how other peeple act.
The fundamental fact of human existence
is man with man. What is peculiarly
characteristic of the human world is above all
that something that takes place between one
being and another the like of which can be found
nowhere in nature.5 »
The significance of this study lies in its
attempt to desecribe something of what happens in one of

man‘s important communication tasks.

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Definition 2: the Variables

A continuing problem in the study of teacher'
motivation has been the lack of standard, precise
definitions of the terms used in numerous investigations.
Different researchers use the language of motivation in
diverse ways. Even worse, they sometimes fail to define
the phraseology they use at all. The semantics of
motivation includes expressions such as goals, purposes,
intentions, desires, beliefs, wants, 'habits, needs,
drives, values, rewards, and compulsions in descriptive,
unqualified, contradictory, and sometimes misleading
fashion. To overcome the obscurity of aleatoric terms,
this study is grounded on the firm, restrictive basis of
motivation-hygiene theory as defined by organizational
psychologist Fredrick Herzberg. '

MOTIVATION is a psychological term for a process
tht deliberately impels an organism toward active,
integrated, directed behavior.

The term is a construct used to account for
incitement either in terms of the energy expended in
specific goal seeking, or in relation to internal and
external factors which help initiate as well as maintain
purposeful human effort. In the context of organizational
behavior,- motivation is concerned with human personality,

especially in a group context, and is directed toward

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describing _and analyzing causes of people's actions in
order to understand and influence them. In searching for
an explanation of human action, organizational theorists
have focused on discrete cagnitive, social, and physicalf
roots of man's behavior mechanisms. The research of
Fredrick Herzberg specifically supports a motivational
schema based on two mutually exclusive factors of human
nature: animal or maintenance characteristics, and human
or motivator characteristics. The goal of Herzberg's and
most other organizational studies of motivation is to
learn how to 'create more effective, satisfying, and
productive work environments. In educational
administration, the specific objective of most studies of
motivation is to understand how to stimulate increased
learning through improved teacher performance.

EVALUATION in education generally consists of two
classifications: summative, a system of perfunctory,
routine monitoring: formative, a system of supportive
assistance for performance growth.

Over the last decade teacher evaluation has
assumed increasing importance even though it is generally
agreed that the more "professional" a person is, the more
difficult it is to validly judge his competence. This
dilemma stems from the need to evaluate effective
performance rather than simply rate work output. Prior to
1960, an' instructor's skill was typically perceived to be

a collection of desirable personal characteristics such as

17

commitment,. creativity, loyalty, and initiative. Primary
in this collection of descriptors was a person's
intelligence as measured by the extent of his subject
matter knowledge. However, research since 1960 has found.
almost no relationship between a teacher’s measurable
knowledge and his ability to produce gains in pupil
learning. Rarely were any of the other typical traits,
formerly deemed apprOpriate for teachers, ever defined
explicity or tested scientifically.

In actual implementation, evaluation of teacher
performance traditionally walked the line between
formative and summative approaches. A formative
orientation focuses on providing supportive assistance to
a teacher for the purpose of improving his instructional
skills, while a summative orientation is designed to
provide an assessment mechanism for obtaining clear and
consistent documentation of accountable teacher behavior.
Formative and summative approaches share a role of
conveying useful information: the extent to which each is
used separately or in combination typically suits the
educational goals, the management style, the conception of
teaching, and the community values of the school district.
Before an evaluation commences, formative and summative
purposes for the evaluation system are normally
ascertained in order to match the process to the purpose.

The positive outreach of formative evaluation

systems is based on the premise that most teachers have

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the capability of further growth and development and that
evaluations which focus on coaching will enable them to
improve their teaching performance. An emphasis on
improvement necessarily demands an emphasis on motivation:'
the single most important distinction between formative
and summative systems comes in the feedback each
evaluation framework provides. While summative
evaluations yield perfunctory, routine monitoring of
minimum performance adequacy, formative evaluations can
produce motivationaly valuable advice on the substance of
instructional work. To be effective, however, formative
systems usuallly depend on a supportive relationship
between a knowledgeable supervisor and a receptive
teacher. The use of formative evaluation systems tends to
reveal an. administrative identity not as much with
authoritarian power as with people themselves and what it
takes them to change.

MOTIVATOR-HYGIENE THEORY holds that man has two
sets of needs which are mutually exclusive: hygiene, or
the need to avoid pain, and motivation, or the need to
grow psychologically.

Avoidance of pain can be accomplished without
necessarily producing any performance satisfaction or any
motivation to achieve more. Fulfillment of hygiene needs,
however, is normally a first prerequisite for growth
toward achievement motivation. In The Motive Tg_flg£k in

1959, Herzberg first described hygiene factors as elements

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related to people's animal or survival nature and
motivators ,as elements which appeal to the uniquely human
characteristic of desiring psychological growth through
achievement.

COMMUNICATION is defined as an operation
involving the transfer of informational messages between
two points.

The sending of messages from one person to
another, in written language, is a complex process of
three essential stages. A message is first formulated by
a sender in coded symbols designed to convey meaning to a
specified receiver who is assumed to be capable of
decoding the written symbols. When the message is
received by the recipient, it is processed, meaning its
written signals are changed by systematically coding and
re-coding so that the recipient comes to understand and
interpret what he believes is the idea of the written
message. Finally, when comprehended, the transformed
signals of the written message elicit a certain response
from the reader-recipient. The three essential stages of
communication analysis consist of dealing with language as
a pattern of frequencies: the component parts of these
frequencies make up the pieces of the message transferred
from person to person. This study consists of an intense
analysis of the written communication link between school
administrators as evaluators and school teachers as

performers on the theory that the predictability of the

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(n

20
content of- evaluation documents can reveal much about the
predictability of motivational practices existent in
present teacher performance evaluation systems.

ACHIEVEMENT means the sense of accomplishment a
worker experiences as a result of his successful
attainment of a goal or goals that he personally values.

A performer who clearly comprehends the standards
of performance which exist for his actions, can be said to
experience achievement when his behavior matches or
surpasses the defined norms. A work world devoid of
Opportunities for achievement, or lacking in
administrative encouragement for performance achievement
becomes, in a motivational sense, a self-fulfilling
prophecy that a worker wonfit achieve. Obtaining the sense
of achievement that stimulates one to achieve even more
is, to a large extent, reliant on an environment rich in
Opportunity for continual. achievement and on supportive
administrators who understand employee motivational needs.

RECOGNITION refers to earned administrative
affirmation rather than uneared approval, because earned
affirmation tends to foster a cOOperative relationship
between teacher and administrator while unmerited approval
encourages a dependency relationship.

Because a considerable part of a teacherls work
day is devoted to the performance of tasks whose outcomes
have important consequences, recognition for successful

outcomes becomes motivationally significant to a teacherfs

..K

a:

21
survival, his well-being, his social rewards, and, his
self-esteem. Aiming at recognition means desiring the
approval of one’s fellow man, a dynamic which has
traditionally been considered an important binding powers
of an organization. Herzbergls work revealed that
motivationally significant recognition feedback must be
clearly deserved and validly related to accepted

organizational goals.

THE WORK ITSELF refers to the incentives and
rewards that are inherently structured into the
performance of a job.

The two issues most central to the motivation of
work itself are the aspirations of individual teachers or
their sense of personal mission, and the sense of
fulfillment individual teachers can derive from their
students! learning responses. Surveys of teacher
motivation over the years have consistently revealed that
the dominant reason teachers have for entering and
remaining in the field of education centers in the
personal rewards they expect to receive from their efforts
in promoting student growth and development. However, the
work of teachers, by itself, cannot always be expected to
provide the psychic rewards that teachers as workers
typically seek and need in order to sustain their efforts
and their personal strong sense of motivation. Effective

administrative feedback enhances and strengthens the sense

22

of accomplishment that a teacher gains from the intrinsic
nature of the work itself.

RESPONSIBILITY refers to a workerls preprietary
feeling toward his work. -

Feeling a sense of responsibility within an
educational organization, means feeling a personal
commitment toward the organizationls primary purposes.
Herzberg1s two factor theory suggests that such a sense of
responsibility stems _ primarily from the teacherSs
condition of feeling in control of his work assignment.
Teachers tend to place importance on the autonomy of their
own classroom, even though control over most other aspects
of their work world often eludes them. Organizational
theories of motivation conclude that administrators
encourage growth in a teacherts sense of responsibility
through a process of participative planning, controlling,
and performing of challenging jobs. "Responsiblity is not
a personality trait which exists in varying degrees in
individuals, but rather, is an attitude which changes from
time 'to time, depending on the extent to which an
individual's role results in his feelings of dignity,
worth, and freedom."6 I

GROWTH refers to various forms of professional
life enrichment.

Educational research has found that the
psychological growth a teacher experiences, both

personally and professionally, is distinctly.tied to his

23

level Of' self-esteem, and that the type Of feedback
message contained in a performance appraisal thus has

significant bearing on a teacherls sense of confidence and

his stimulation to activate expanded growth. Advancement,-
as Thoreau described, ”in the direction Of onels dreams"7
is consequently a function Of one’s attitude as much as

one’s Opportunities. As a factor in growth encouragement,

administrators! written evaluations have the potential to

become 'an important determinant in helping to satisfy a

teacherts professional growth needs. 1

SCHOOL POLICIES refer to the promotion of order
within an organizationts structure through formal and
informal sets of guidelines and regulations.

Ideally, a schoolls policies contribute to a
comfortable climate of reliability and predictability, a
nonthreatening sense of future direction, a perceptible
descriptive character, and a system of strategies it can
use to reach its mission. In practice, however,
organizational policies sometimes tend to limit an
organizationts flexibility in decision making, and to
encourage any administrative weakness toward expediency.
School policies that become dysfunctional are Often those
which are used as ends rather than as means. The manner
in which a SChOOl defines its policies usually determines
the conditions under which important actions such as those
involving' teacher performance feedback are made. To serve

as effective arrestors Of systematic entrOpy, an

2h
organization’s policies must provide informing ideas that
help mesh the economic, technical, human, and moral
parameters Of its mission into a rational framework in
order to promote the primacy and validity Of the systemSS-
and the individual teacherts achievement goals. In terms
Of teacher evaluation, interrelated organizational
policies have the two roles of describing and motivating
improved performance which ultimately means securing the
commitment Of evaluated teachers by planning an orderly,

Optimistic climate which makes achievement possible and

deSirable e

A school systemls policies are a formulated
attempt to stabilize its task processes, but what many
standardized approaches actually produce is not a uniform
result at all because administrators and teachers are not
alike in their attention to and respect for policy.
implementation. Organizations may tend to Operate under
norms of rationality but human beings do not always do so:
the dimension between school policy implementation and
educators! actions is frequently one of intuition. Over
time, administrative decision making tends to form a
consistent pattern which determines whether an
organization’s policies serve a hygiene function or a
motivating function.

SUPERVISORY PROVISIONS refers to an

organizations's authority structure and to its formal and

25
informal control methods.

As organizational managers, school administrators
have the responsibility tO serve both as instructional
leaders, and as Operational directors. Their manner of.
performing these dual tasks and the priorities they set in
overseeing a schoolls many functions communicate definite
messages about the level of trust, confidence, and concern
school administrators have toward a teaching staff, a
student body, and a community. To study supervisory
practices means, fundamentally, to study the value of time
as it is spent in governing a school. Practices by
administrators which emphasize efficiency, for example, at
the expense of less tangible institutional goals can cause
serious dissatisfaction among teachers. However, because
supervisory practice is primarily a hygiene factor rather
than a psychological mover, supervisory provisions, even
when well-planned, can do little do prompt lasting
motivation for performance improvement responses.

WORK CONDITIONS refers to the set Of conditions,
both physical and psychological, that make up the work
environment.

The presence of motivational theory in written
evaluations Of teachers does not, ipso factO, guarantee
intensely motivated instructors. On the contrary, some of
the conditions under which teachers routinely work Often
deny even the most invigorated professionals a sense of

personal self-worth, instructional success, or

26

professional success. Frustrations such as excessively
large classes, insufficient materials, intrusive clerical
duties, uncomfortable surroundings, plus the tendency
toward isolation that accompanies somewhat autonomous
environments, may foster an overriding psychic weariness
rather than the positive rewards teachers usually need in
order to sustain their efforts. Reality seems to dictate
that working conditions for educators frequently serve as
the victims Of budgetary limitations caused by a tax
support system which is voted in or out by publics
frequently misinformed or confused With the apparent
contradictions Of rising costs in the face Of declining
enrollments. When poor teaching conditions test the
durability Of a teacher's emotional stamina, the feedback
instructors receive from their school administrators Often
becomes a crucially significant motivational factor.

THE GROSSE POINTE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM refers to a
suburban Detroit school district composed Of 7,308
students drawn from five separate municipalities in order
of ascending size: Grosse Pointe City, Shores, Farms,
Park, and Woods, and a small portion Of Harper Woods.
Receiving almost no state aid, the Grosse Pointe Public
Schools' Operating expenditure exceeds $5,000 per pupil
paid for by a local millage of 32.5 on a State Equalized
Valuation of approximately $160,000, and a general fund
budget of approximately $h0,000,000. With a pOpulation Of
approximately 60,000 residents, the Grosse

2?

Pointes are a "bedroom" community, with no local industry
and two central retail areas. Two senior high schools
(9-12) Of approximately 1,500 students each, three middle
schools (6-8), nine elementaries, and one continuing
education center make up the districtts instructional
facilities. In addition, the Grosse Pointe Public
Libraries are a division of the Grosse Pointe Public
School System: three library branches house a collection
of over 130,000 volumes. Approximately 500 teachers and
23‘ building administrators staff these schools which have
an average pupilrteacher ratio :Of 22:1. Average ACT
scores are 21.3 compared with a national average of 16.8.

The graduation rate Of Grosse Pointe Public Schools
students is 98% compared with a national rate Of 70% and
Michigan rate of 72%. About 90% of all public high school
graduates in Grosse Pointe go on to higher education.

Teacherst salaries in Grosse Pointe average $38,026.00,
while the national average is $25,313.00, and the Michigan
average is $30,168.00., The district could be described as
an affluent, upwardly mobile, professional or management
oriented social group with a strong work ethic and
consistently high expectations of its public schools. An
independently contracted study Of community attitides in
1985 found that two-thirds Of polled residents rated their
school district as a central factor in their decision to
move to .Grosse Pointe and 95% of the polled claimed that

they would recommend the Grosse Pointe Schools to others.

28

The last millage election in 1985 passed by a 2:1
margin. The district makes an appealing starting point
for a study of instructional performance improvement
motivation through teacher evaluation reports because of
its lengthy history of acclaimed success: both district
high schools have been recognized for excellence in
student achievement by the United States Department Of
Education.

The Grosse Pointe School District subtly displays
la distinctive organizational culture which has gradually
evolved over a ninety year history into a central core Of
unwritten rules that dictate how things get done. The
identity Of the Grosse Pointe Schools reflects the Grosse
Pointe longstanding image of material and social success.
A proclaimed status Of excellence as an institutional
value traditionally sets high expectations for Grosse
Pointe teachers and seems to reliably support substantial
student results on national test scores and college
acceptance rates. The Operative power Of such a
traditionally recognized "successful" culture can be
measured by evaluative language which Grosse Pointe
administrators use to influence teacher performance.

The type and content Of language used in teacher
evaluations in the Grosse Pointe Public School System
could reveal the presence of effective written
communication avenues of motivating teachers to improved

instructional performance.

29

Assumptions 2: the Study

This investigation of the extent of public school-
administrators' use of Herzberg-defined motivational
theory in written performance evaluation Of teachers is
based on the following assumptions:

1. Written evaluations of teaching performance
are assumed to be directed, at least in part, toward
improved teaching performance.

2. An administrator who is intentionally
sensitive to the feelings and self-perceptions of
individual teachers is assumed to recognize how important
these two major psychological forces have been proven to
be in determining the direction of human behavior.

3. Preparing written evaluations that help an
individual teacher achieve his personal performance
potential is assumed to be a functiOn of understanding
motivationally significant attitudes which impact on human
behavior.

A. Administrative attitudes toward individual
teachers' motivational needs are assumed to be similar to
value judgments that are: a) learned, b) based on
administrative experience and training, and c) revealed in
administrative products, such as written evaluation
documents.'

5. Administrative orientation toward either

30
motivational or hygiene factors, as Herzberg described
them, is assumed to reflect an administrator's fundamental
attitude toward: a) his own ability to evoke positive
motivational response in others, and b) his perception Of
the teacher's value in 'the overall scheme Of his
responsibilities.

6. Written performance evaluations of teachers
are assumed to provide a valid, reliable, documented basis
for descriptive research_ Of school administrators'
disposition toward the{ motivational needs Of teachers as
professional workers.

7. Motivationally effective writtten evaluation
feedback is assumed to be important to teachers as
personal knowledge itself as well as for the instructional
benefits it can positively influence.

8. The motivational quality Of written
evaluations is assumed to be a function, at least in part,
Of the quality Of administrative communication,
specifically the choice of words and comments, to teachers
about their professional performance.

9. A linguistic inquiry into theoretical
questions Of what governs an administrator's choice of
language is assumed to be correlated with the question of
what governs an administrator's choice Of motivational
tactics.

10. The Grosse Pointe Public School System which
has long been widely perceived, both popularly and

31

professionally, to have outstanding educational programs
is assumed tO Offer an excellent resource to a study of
public school administrative talent in preparing
motivationally significant teacher evaluations.

11. A contingency relation between the probable
motivational response of teachers and the theory-based
motivational content Of teaching evaluation documents is
assumed tO suggest that the written communication language
chosen by administrative evaluators is a function Of the '
nature of the improvement expected in the evaluated
teaching performance, and .the nature Of the motivational

needs Of the teacher-reader

Limitations 2; the Study

This study is concerned with an analysis Of
school administrators' use of the elements Of motivational
theory on teachers' performance evaluations. While the
presence of such elements tends to indicate the existence
of administrative awareness of teachers' needs for
supportive, reviviscent feedback, meaningful written
messages do not, in themselves denote ideal,
motivationally' strong school management behavior. The
many human variables Of divergent prepotent needs usually

result in the fact that some performers keep improving

32

while others in the same motivational environment regress.

Even though no single formula for encouraging
performance growth in people exists, written evaluations.
which apply the tenets Of motivational theory can be said
to exhibit an administrative commitment to deliberate
attempts at strengthening a teacher's improvement efforts.
This study addresses one phase of performance improvement:
the important reinforcement school administrators may
Offer in the context of documented evaluations.

An important reason for limiting this discussion
to the strength of the presence Of motivational theory on
teacher evaluations is the problematic idea that either
motivation itself can be extracted from the mainstream Of
a teacher's job attitude, or that the specific incentive
effects of using motivational techniques for performance
improvement can be validly measured along a linear scale.
However, the use Of motivational theory in writing is a
quantifiable indicator of an administrator's awareness of
its importance. The specific impact Of encouraging
feedback, its utility to individual teachers, and its long
term effectiveness is so inextricably affiliated with
vother complex variables of the teaching job, the
individual person, and the particular school that a
reliable paradigm Of motivational impetus for the entire
teaching situation is realistically not feasible.

The link between the use of motivational feedback

33

and increased teacher productivity has been only tenuously
established in the literature of organizational behavior
making the relationship between motivational theory and
the behavior it prompts only an estimate at the present.
time. What is particularly valuable in lmiting the scOpe
Of analysis to the presence Of motivational theory in
current performance appraisal documents is the Opportunity
for charting useful implications about administrative
sensitivity to teachers' needs for meaningful feedback
about their achievements as evidenced in their
evaluations.

While this study involves the Herzberg two factor
theory Of motivation, three important Herzberg-defined
elements, economic, security, and status aspects, are not
within the realm Of the study simply because these three
factors are not substantially evidential in the present
world Of public school teacher evaluation for the
following reasons:

ECONOMIC MAINTENANCE refers to wages, salaries,
and supplemental employment benefits received simply by
being hired as a teacher.

Determining satisfactory compensational levels is
Often not only a matter Of figuring dollar amounts, but
also involves a process of assessing teachers' relative
standing with comparable professionals in similar
districts. Since this study is concerned with public

school teachers who are covered by collective contracts

34

which legally "lockstep" salary movement according to
tenure and to educational attainment level, the economic
maintenance factor will not be considered as a variable
here. Blanket economic treatment Of all salaried teachers
in the Grosse Pointe Public School System essentially
neutralizes any motivating factor which could normally be
attributed to financial incentives which renders this
maintenance element ineligible for the present research.

SECURITY MAINTENANCE refers to the survival needs
people feel arising primarily from their perceptions Of a
supervisor as an impartial, consistent, reliable type Of
person.

A supportive administrator suggests _the
reassuring knowledge that an employee is protected by a
just system, one that is not seen to be exploitive or
manipulative. Security, however, is also largely outside
the realm of this study as union-negOtiated master
contracts and state tenure laws effectively protect
teachers from the bulk of problems related to employment
security. However, security for public school teachers
was, apparently, a vastly neglected need in the past as
evidenced by the emergence Of strong, protective teachers'
unions,. and by multi-level state legislation which guards
professional job security.

STATUS MAINTENANCE refers to a worker's identity
eeds that are satisfied in organizations through suitable

job classification titles, image-counscious furnishings,

35
distinctive ‘discretionary privileges, carefully structured
human relationships, and an overall personal organization
of rank order identity.

The status needs listed in Fredrick Herzberg's
theory of motivation are generally satisfied in
organizations through suitable job classification titles,
image-conscious furnishings, distinctive discretionary
privileges, carefully structured human relationships, and
an overall personal organization of rank order identity.
In organizational studies, the process of acquiring
_ desired status is usually considered a motivational issue,
but gaining possession of any desired status is first a
maintenance need.. Because a teachersls status is
effectively prescribed both by tradition and by master
contract, the importance Of filling status needs is
considerably diminished for the education profession.

New studies suggest the utility of distinctive
teaching status tiers such as
instructor/master/professorial status levels, but no such
differentiating design currently exists, to any
significant degree, for public school teaching staffs.
The many barriers to educational change Of any sort plus
the resistance of professional unions to currently defined
merit award plans, makes status arrangements a very
unlikely occurrence in public school organization for the
forseeable- future. For purposes of this research,

therefore, economic needs which are addressed in master

36
contracts, security needs which are addressed in tenure
laws, and status needs which are typically addressed, at
present, only in job seniority considerations, will not be
included in this study.

The heart Of any evaluation system is the day to
day feedback teachers receive in response to their
efforts. Daily forms Of verbal and non-verbal messages
serve as a primary motivational source for increasing
achievement. This study will limit its focus to the
written comments administrators plan and write on teachers
evaluations, because by analyzing the Official documents
which anchor the teacher evaluation system, the flow of
supportive feedback from administrators to teachers can be

measured, analyzed, and discussed.
Overview

The process _of studying evaluation language is,
in essence, the process of studying efforts to reach
answers to the fundamental question of why evaluation is
important at all. Undertaking an inquiry as fundamental
as this requires an astute theoretical base as a framework
to form a perspective for Observation, to measure
Observation, and to formulate further discovery.
Searching for a theoretical purpose in the administrative
use of . evaluation language has both a practical

consequence: the intensification of motivational content

37

in written ,performance appraisals, and a phiIOSOphical
result: the motivational value of evaluations are
significant to the extent that the motivational value of
language is understood.

While Fredrick Herzberg’s work has indisputably
exerted a seminal influence on the field Of motivational
dynamics, this study makes no claims that Herzberg's
theory is the best or the most widely proven theory of
motivation. Herzberg's theory, which has been the basis
for numerous investigations into the type Of
cause-and-effect relationships in human situations that
are amenable to prediction and control, was selected as
the foundation for this study for two reasons: as a
coherent continuum of defined elements, it was found to be
useful in explaining evaluation communication, and as a
set of specific, descriptive terms that identify a data
base for testable conclusiOns, it was found to be more
generalizable in describing administrative behavior than
other '1ess encompassing psychological or organizational
theories of motivation.

The prime function of a theory is to draw
together into a logical whole what has been Observed in
the real world. Fundamental to the decision to use
Herzberg's theory Of human motivation is the assurance
that it meets the practical test of applicability:
Herzbergfs' widely regarded explication of human motivation

was deliberately chosen as the starting point Of this

38
study because of its long established ability to identify,
suggest, stimulate, and generate new understandings about
the function ' of motivational language in teacher

evaluations.

Chapter II
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Introduction

The scholarly and professional literature cited
here derives from a conscientious effort to distill the
voluminous output Of? scholarship and research on
motivation and on evaluation into classifiable nexuses Of
important literature. I Generally speaking, the research
strategy for the study Of motive systems consists of
identifying a reasonably finite set Of behaviors that can
be defined under a single term. Efforts are then made to
provide a measure Of the motive, its sensitivity to
environmental arousal, its role in personality dynamics,
and its effect on other specific behavior systems such as
learning or managing, and finally, to abstract from the
findings some general statements Of .motivational
processes.

From the outset, systematic writing about human
motivation has had to accommodate the fact that people's
subjective sense of intention is an unreliable index Of
peOple's behavior. As a result, no general theory Of
human motivation exists. The early work Of Freud(1915)

with the uncOnscious and Thorndike(1927) with roles used

39

. 40

the observable changes of behavior in human experience to
describe motivation components. In 1950, Eriksen
emphasized maturational ages as motivating factors in the__
develOpment of trust, autonomy, iniative, industry,
identity, and ego integrity. Since Maslow's investigation
Of human behavior in the middle 1950's, the appetite side
of motivation has been emphasized in psychological
theorizing. In this framework, behavior is controlled by
positive seeking-after Of stimulus Objects for various
needs fulfillment.

Of fundamental importance in the process Of
behavior change is the ability tO recognize multitudinous
and diverse patterns. Classifying data into deterministic
or probablistic stimuli 'has been found to be the
foundation for pattern recognition, or "gestalt," an
integrated configuration Of personality components having
a- characteristic of a totality rather than of fragmented
parts. . Pattern, also know as structure, provides
decision-making with a process Of associatingl various
inputs and corresponding responses in models such as the
Markov Process Of systematic decision making which is
largely based on the conditional probabilities of past
events.

The study of cybernetics or information feedback
control systems began with Weiner(1949) who noted that an
electric speed-up in society tends to cause an information

overload that demands effective pattern reOOgnition or

41

structural theory for survival. In cybernetics, the
concept of effective pattern recognition is viewed as a
comparison between the seemingly ”purposeful” behavior Of
organisms and the planned behavior of automata, within the.
mathematical framework Of an algorithm which attempts to
predict behavior models as syntheses Of many different
lines of science, which is particularly meaningful to
human motivation at the neurological level and then at the
behavioral level.

McLuhan(1969) Observed that man has an innate
urge to minimize the uncertainty of his environment.
Patterns as instruments Of decision-making, tend to reduce
man's uncertainity through systematic interactive lOOps Of
information. especially about unexpected or troublesome
events. Motivational 'theory serves as an extension Of
feedback systems by supporting human need to behave in an
informed manner.

Inevitably, some Of the early studies of
motivational behavior produced anamolies, requiring
revision Of the original construct description and of the
sets of behaviors originally said to define them. The
literature on motivation still tends to be extensive and
fragmented: it carries with it a tremendous burden Of
explanation. Nevertheless, it continues to illuminate the
nature Of human experience in organizational settings, and

as such, will be eminently useful in the present study.

#2
Motivation in Psychology

The central issue of the study of motivation as a
psychological construct is its utility in describing the
observable and controllable aspects Of stimulation and
response. Psychological studies have revealed that there
are many sources for the energizing Of human behavior
arising from both regulatory or external processes and
nonregulatory or internal processes. Essentially,
psychologists .such 'as Atkinson(196h), Allport(1965),
Lewin(1970), -and White(1959) Offered various paradigms Of
thought answering the questions: 1) What are the motives
Of man? 2) How do motives affect behavior? and 3) How are
man's motives altered or enhanced by organizational
mechanisms? Almost all Of the studies of motivation in
psychology begin with the premise that man's awareness of
‘himself is essentially an awareness of his functions, and
of the relationships in which he is involved.

As an element of psychology, the study Of
motivation involves the study Of cognition as an
explanation of why peOple perceive and gain knowledge
hdifferently. Perceptual differences affect what is
received and how it is received resulting in diversity of
meaning: one word might not mean the same thing tO two
peOple. 'As a consequence, people's responses to different

stimuli vary according to their perception of it. What

43

serves to -motivate one person fails to move another
because of genuine differences in cOgnition styles.

Allport in 1961 defined cognitive perception styles as,
”...distinctive ways Of living in the world..."8 Rumelhart
and Norman(1987) suggested that cognition involves six
processes: 1)encoding written items, 2)inferring
relationships between the known and the unknown, 3)mapping
a higher order rule about the inference, h)applying the
results of the inferring, 5)justifying answers on the
basis of "ideal" sOlutions, 6)translating the solution
into an active response. In 1965 Tyler concluded that,
”in both education and psychology the possiblity exists
that the world might actually look, sound, and feel so
different to different persons, that the same stimuli

might carry different meanings for them."9

Motivation is also concerned with
conceptualization: peOple form ideas and think
differently. Some peOple process information by

convergence, by tying facts together. They tend to order
information in linear, sequential ways. Other people
think divergently, by using ideas to trigger a multitude
of new directions. They tend to organize thoughts in
clusters and random patterns. These differences form
motivational patterns for each person and affect a
person's response behavior. Keirsey in 1970 discovered
that because peOple exhibit differences in what they do

with the knowledge they gain, their conceptual responses

Ah

to motivational stimuli are manifested in widely divergent
behavior patterns.

Motivation is further concerned with affect or
decision making. Carl Jung(1913) noted that some peOple
are motivated internally while others seek external
rewards. Pleasing others is important to some peOple.
while others are not strongly attuned to outside
expectations, and still others rebel against external
demands. For some thinkers, decisions are to be made
logically, rationally, objectively, and calmly, while for
others, decisions are Often made subjectively,
emotionally, and quickly. Criticism, for example, is
received differently by various peOple. sometimes with
hostility, sometimes with agreement, sometimes with
indifference. Because Of the span Of differnces in
decision-making style, a prOportionately wide span Of
.differences in motivational responses has been Observed in
people who receive the same motivational stimuli.

A discussion of differences in cognition,
conceptualization, and decision-making does not contradict
basic humanistic beliefs in the use of human motivators.
Most people, regardless of their individual cognitive,
conceptual, or affect styles, probably do their best work
in a supportive atmosphere free from excessive negativism.

An awareness of motivational differences can help

45

THE REIATIONS‘EIEP OP ACTIVATION '10 EXPmCY
D.C.MoClellard and J.W.Atkinson

STREI‘B'I'H OF NUI‘IVA’I‘TON

 

7-7

0.0 . .50 1.0
PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS

The degree of mtivation and effort rises until ' '
the expectancy of success reaches 50%, then
begins to fall even though the expectancy of
success continues to increase. No motivation

or response is. aroused'when the goal is perceived
as being virtually certain or virtually impossible
to attain.

Figure 2-1

From Orcanizatioral goavior by R. Hodgetts and
S. Altran. New York: Holt, Rinehart, I: Go. , 1979.

46

CHARACTERISTICS OF.MANAGEMENT:
JARANESEIAND.AMERICAN

JAPANESEW *. more:

Employment camnitnent Lifetime Short Term
Decision making Collective Individual
Pesmnsibility ColleCtive Individual
Evaluation and Promotion Slow ' Fast
Control Implied and Formal Explicit and
Formal
Careers . Nonspecialized Specialized
Concerns Holistic Segmented

FIGURE 2-2

From Ouchi, William G. and Jaeger, Alfred M. "Type Z
Organization: Stability in the Midst of Mobility, "
Academy of Management Review 3 (April 1978): 308.

Also discussed in Hatvany, Nina arri Pucik, Vladimir,
"Japanese Paragenent Practices and Productivity, "
Organizational Dynamics, Spring 1981, pp. 5-21.

117
school administrators to recognize that every teacher does
not seek the same motivational source, and to understand
the individual kinds of support various peOple want.

Lewin(19h0) defined behavior as a function of
both an individual's personality and his environment.
Understanding reasons for behavior, involves understanding
both individual personality characteristics and
situational influences. Lewin's work formed the basis for
attribution theories which are still used by analysts
attempting to explain reasons for individual differences
in behavior and motivation.

Cognitive dissonance theory, first develOped by
Festinger(1972), assesses motivation as a product Of
rationalizing agents. Dissonance is tension that arises
when two psychologically inconsistent cognitions, such as
opinions or beliefs, occur simultaneously. The dissonance
which, by definition, is unpleasant, motivatesa person to
take action tO reduce it, usually by justifying actions or
moving toward self-correction. This process of releasing
psycholgical tensions, called catharsis by Aristotle,
becomes a symbolically controlled mechanism when a person
either expresses his tension in language or mentally
reclassifies his experiences so that they become less
frustrating.

An experimental perspective on motivation came in
Brown's 1961 study of drive theory: it reduced

motivational questions to an analysis of habit systems and

#8

found that learning new thoughts and goals on a programmed
"spaced repetition" schedule helped people remove
self-imposed motivational limitations. Cofer and
Appley(197h) suggested an "equilibrium" model which
focused on the anticipation of invigoration in human
motivational response mechanisms: its practical findings
encouraged other research projects on curiosity,
manipulation, and attention.

The work of B. F. Skinner(1955) added the concept
of reinforcement, also known as operant conditioning or
behavior modification to psychologistsl understanding of
motivation. Based on the use of appropriately scheduled
rewards for positive or desirable actions, reinforcement
is similar in some respects to the associative linkages
described by Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov in the early
190013. Reinforcement (S-R) exists as an extrinsic
explanation of human behavior control and eventually led
to other empirical designs for the use of incentives:
.Adams(1963) and later Porter(1979) advanced Equity Theory
which added a decision-making element to motivation.
Essentially peOple rationally assess and compare the
returns on each set Of behaviors and then consciously
decide what to do. Vroom(196h) formulated an "Expectancy
Theory" which held that people are motivated by their
expectations Of effectiveness, and that rewards as
motivators should be valued by the receiver and

consistently applied by administrators in order tO work as

119
calculated_ probabilities of effective incentives:
Aronson(1972) advocated a "Social Exchange Theory" which
used the principle Of evaluating the ratio between
outcomes and inputs for different individuals. Based on
the psychology Of motivation, these schools of thought
eventually became known as behavioral science, and were
extremely influential in the develOpment of motivational

studies in organizational settings.

Motivation i3 Organizational Management

One of the most widely discussed theories of
motivation was developed by Abraham Maslow whose
Needs-Hierarchy Theogy, first presented in 1955,
visualized manls needs in a hierarchy Of ascending
categories for physiological, safety, love, self-esteem,
and self-actualization needs, with each correspondingly
higher-level need becoming a motivator as the next lower
need is fulfilled.. According to the theory, satisfied
needs do not cause a person to act. Maslowfis original
papers contained almost no empirical evidence to support
his theory, because he himself suggested that it was
primarily useful as a framework for further research. The
Needs Hierarchy is extremely difficult to test because
human needs are elusively difficult to specify and

measure: systematic attempts to assess the validity of

MOTIVATION AND LEADERSHIP‘ - A.CONTINGENCY AUTHORITY MODEL

 

 

Routine
Task
Power Au“ ratio Leadership
Nonroutine
Task
I
Authority Democratic Leadership

 

 

Political Tasks Free-rein Leadership

FIGURE 2-3

From Fielder, Fred B. A Theorv 9_f_ Leadership Effectiveness,
(New York: MC Graw - Hill, I861, p.—3837.

51

Maslow's theory (Alderfer, 1972, Schneider and Alderfer,
1973) have not succeeded in demonstrating whether Maslow
is right or wrong. Nevertheless, his work has been widely
influential, sometimes in more pragmatic models, such as -
that Of Fredrick Herzberg. Research continuing Maslowts
original work sugggested that higher order needs are
usually the least satisfied needs for all groups of
peOple. and that several needs can be prepotent to varying
extents simultaneously. Probably the chief insight from
Maslowts work is the understanding that wants are not
absolute: the more one want is satisfied, the less its
satisfaction matters.

In 1961 David McClelland theorized that each
person has needs for achievement, affiliation, and power.
While only one of these elements tends to motivate at a
given time, achievement needs tend to dominate in
organizational settings. Where Maslowds work concentrated
on satisfying needs, McClelland focused on an individual’s
capacity to develop motives through training and effective
leadership. Building on the work of Henry Murray(1938),
who was one Of the first to define a need as a tension
that leads an organism in the direction of a goal,
McClelland endeavored to use the Thematic Apperception
Test as a measure of a personds need for achievement.
McClelland!s primary contribution may have been his
description of the effects of environment on achievement:

in an environment rich in Opportunity to achieve and

52

surrounded by high achievers, people tend to become high
achievers, but in an environment devoid of opportunity to
achieve and surrounded by low achievers, people tend to
become low achievers. Lowell(1952) confirmed this
observation on the influence of environmental factors on
need achievement fulfillment of workers over time. Figure
2-1 illustrates McClellandfs critical area of motivation.

Atkinson(196h), building on McClellandts theory,
formulated a comprehensive theory Of achievement behavior
composed of three factors: 1)the need for achievement or
motive for success, 2)the probability for success, and
3)the incentive value Of success. According to Atkinsonts
theory, achievement motivation for any person is the
strength of the tendency to approach the task, minus the
strength Of the tendency to avoid the task. Weiner and
Rosenbaum(1965) supported this theory in findings about
low achievement groups: ~peOple who show low achievement
motivation have a greater fear of failure than a hOpe of
success. In 1972, Weiner found that, for peOple of high
achievement motivation, tasks of intermediate difficulty
are the most conducive to maximum motivation.

Along with the many theorists who continued the
study of motivational needs, both Maslow and McClelland
agree on the importance of environmental compatibility
with individual needs as a component to improved
motivation. and, somewhat more tenuously, to improved

performance. All motivational studies tend to be

53

problematic ‘tO the extent that they stereotype individual
peOple within single categories of needs. Recent research
concludes that other variables should also be considered.
Psychologists, for example, have found that specific types
of motivation may actually be reflections of networks of
social relations in a specific culture. Moscovici(1972)
suggested, for example, that, "Achievement motivation is
related to the imperatives of Protestantism and of
economic rationalism, as shown by Max Weber."10 In this
sense achievement motivation is less a variable than a
parameter of a psychosocial system. Achievement as a
practical effect Of work symptomizes the primary
contradiction between the Protestant ethic Of self-control
and the moral dignity, and the Protestant culture of
external control and economic utility. Formal aufhority
probably established the ultimate source of managerial
legitimacy in the American constitutional guarantee Of
private prOperty.

By contrast, the Acceptance Theory of
Barnard(1938) postulated that the source of managerial
authority lies with the worker who must understand,
believe in, and "accept" his task. Achievement in
Barnardfis Theory has more to do with psychic income than
with any inherent moral quality.

Motivation, to classicists such as Taylor(1911)
and Fayol(19h9), emphasized rewards and legal compliance,

because they, apparently, assumed that man was motivated

5h

almost entirely by economic gain. On the other hand, one
of the first to address the importance Of intrinsic
motivation was Herbert Simon(1956) who advocated the
develOpment Of organizational loyalty or identification,
the hiring of workers who appreciated the value of
efficiency, and training for the development of
self-control and independence from constant supervision.
Simonls work was predicated on the 1949 research of Mayo
which specified a cOOperative relationship between workers
and managers. McGregor(1960) distinguished between two
sets of management assumptions: Theory X which is a direct
control or carrot and stick approach, and Theory Y which
concentrates on building self-control through challenging
work and participative management. (An eralier version of
Theory X was expressed by Samuel Johnson in the eighteenth
century, "When a man knows he is to be hanged in a
fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfullly.”ll ) In
1981, Ouchi used the term, Theory Z, which had first been
coined by Maslow, to describe an organizational
philosophy, used widely in post-war Japan, based on
adherence to a mission statement and to a primary
commitment to human relations rather than to advanced
technology as a path to increased productivity.
Characteristic management differences between the Japanese
and Americans are noted in Figure 2-2.

Katz and Kahn(1966) found that legal compliance

was usable as a motivator for routine activities such as

55

attendance, ,but that other motivational patterns were
needed for eliciting contributions that go beyond the
formal quantifiable standards of a person’s performance.
Katz and Kahn and later, Oldham(1978), found that
extrinsic rewards such as money may actually detract from
intrinsic motivation: creative and innovative behavior
seems to require other motivational schemes which rely on
intrinsic motivation and self-control.

In Freedom E29 Control .12 Modern Society,
Bierstedt(195h) claimed authority is a prOperty of social
organization, a dynamic which is illustrated in Figure
2-3. Later, Peabody(197h) identified several poses Of
authority: Traditional External Rules, Positional
Functional Competence, and Personal Charisma. Other
management theorists found that positional strength is
based on organizational structure, organizational demands,
professional competence, and human relations skills.
Drucker(1967) claimed that motivational effectiveness
must be learned by leaders, and that the extent of their
effectiveness was related to the type Of organizational
climate and management system in place: Exploitive,
Benevolent Authoritative, Consultative, or Participative.

I According to Likert(1961) an organization
functions best when its personnel function not as
individuals but as highly effective teams with measurable
performance goals: Likert's findings are illustrated in

Figures 2-4 and 2-5. Likertls work equated climate with

56

six scaled variables: leadership, motivation,
communication, interaction, goal-setting, and control.
His theory of the organization as a structure of groups is
built on the principle of supportive relationships. ”The
most important source Of motivation is the response we get
from the peOple we are close to...the face tO face groups
with whom we spend the bulk Of our time."12 The chief
contribution of Likertls work was the articulation Of
conflict-theoretic research which is a line Of thought
that looks at social and institutional interactions as
strategic rather than as meliorist or as Weberian.
Likertts words echo the propinquity theory of
Festinger(1950) which states that peOple communicate more
frequently with persons who are nearest to them in space.
The group is also the influential factor of motivation in
the studies Of Argyris(1964) who followed Likert: the
extent to which the group has power over a personfls
behavior, particularly perception, and judgment, seems to
rely on the strength Of attraction the group has for that
person.

Bennis found in a 1969 study of organizational
develOpment that the only real way to change an
organization lies in changing the "climate" of the
organization, the ”way Of life" or system of beliefs and
values which an organization accepts and displays.
Organizational develOpment studies have found that job

structure and work climate contribute more to the

57

determination of how people act and what management they
need than Lany extrinsic motivational factors. Bennis and
others have addressed organizational motivation as a
function of systematic infrastructures Of interpersonal
support, trust, and cOOperation. Performance evaluations,
as an organizational develOpment component, is concerned
with the mental environment of a worker as a path toward
his achievement of goals consistent with the
organizationds mission, and as a personal challenge toward
a worker developing himself.

A cardinal tenet of organizational develOpment
noted by Lundberg in 197A is the use of accurate and
timely feedback to employees about their job performance.
This tenet is based on the principle that the quality Of
an individualfis work and his motivation depend, to a great
extent, on the consequences associated with job
performance. A written evaluation serves as one source
Of motivational feedback: some of the other systematic
consequences can be found in performance Of the work
itself, in association with co-workers, and, for teachers,
in direct feedback from students and parents.

Looking at school climate as a source of
performance improvement means clear communication of a
fundamental source Of purpose. Drucker(196h) noted that
organizations work best when their members work together
with a commonality of Operational values. In a study Of

organizational culture at the University of Michigan,

58
Boulding(1953) found that performance outcomes which were
.clearly understood and personally meaningful, generated
worker excitement, while performance outcomes which were
not clear or "too big to affect me" caused a failure
oriented, ”learned" helplessness.

Byronts poetic lines, "I live not in myself, but
I become a portion of that around me,"13 expresses the
concern organizational development has in the creation Of
faith in each worker of his sense of control over his own
destiny through the. achievement of ' high quality
performance inside the system. Most organizational
development studies have concluded that an environment Of
intuitive trust, high expectations, and belief in peOple
compliments, rather than competes. with rational,
quantitative decision support systems.

Theories of organizational change attempt to
describe the significant linkages or contextual variables
underpinning organizational phenomena. The assumption
each makes is that an Objective reality exists for such
constructs as human motivation. Despite the
oversimplification Of earlier perspectives such as those
of Taylor and Mayo, organizational theories can be shown,
over time, to seriously impact the use of various
motivational schema in organizational Operations.
Reinforcement theory, for example, is evident in the work
of 0diorne(1967) whose management by Objectives formulated

a performance equation for success: S = A/E: S (success)

59
equals the amount of A (achievement) over the amount Of E
(expectation): the greater the expressed degree of
managerial or administrative expectation Of performance
success, the greater the liklihood of performance”
achievement.

In spite Of the numerous approaches to the study
of motivation and organizational management, the idea
remains problematic that motivation itself can be measured
and quantified precisely. Myers(178) suggested that the
study Of Offethe-job pursuits constitutes a useful model
of. motivation to satisfy achievment needs. Whatever the
perspective, any description of mands motivation begins
with an understanding that individual behavior is a
function of each personds ability to perform a behavior,
and each personts incentive to do so. To have motivation
is to have control: the central issue of describing this
construct continues to revolve around the question of
imposed vs selfecontrol which is a question that needs
resolution for administrtators if teacher performance

evaluations are to influence improved teaching behavior.

6O

ORGANIZATION PERFORM VARIABIES WHICH CAN BE MEASURED

l.

10.

ll.

12.

Extent of loyalty to and identification with the
institution ard its objectives.

Extent to which members of the organization at all
hierarchical levels feel that the organization' 5
goals are consistent with their own needs and goals,
and the achievement of the organization's goals will
help them achieve personal goals.

Extent to which the goals of the divisions ani the
individuals are of a character to enable the
organimtion to achieve its objectives.

Level of motivation among members of the organization
with regard to such elements as:

a. Performance, including both quality and quantity done:
b. Concern for elimination of wast ani reduction of costs;
c. Concern for improving the results of the work/product:
d. Concern for improving processes;

Degree of confidence and trust among members of the
organization in each other and in the hierarchical levels;

Amount and quality Of teamwork in each division Of the
organization and between divisions of the organization:

Extent to which delegation is being effectively achieved;

EXtent to which members feel tint their ideas, information,
knowledge of processes, and experiences are being used in
the decision-making processes of the organization.

level of carpetence and skill of different groups in the
organization to interact effectively in solving problems:

Efficiency and adequacy of the communication process
Upmard, downward, and sidewise.

Level of the leadership skills and abilities of supervisors
and managers, including their basic philosophy of leadership.

Aptitude scores of members of the organization. (especially if
obtained at time of hiring and tracked over time as to qiality) .

Figure 2.4

SOURCE: Rensis Likert. "Measuring Organizational Performance."
' N_e'__.v F_r_'__________ontiers for Professional Managers. New York: McCraw-Hill
Book—m— Company, 1956. Pages 95- 98. \

61

W's momma SYSTEMS

 

Organizational variable Syn; l Systemfi

Leadership

Managers' trust and confidence in NO confidence or trust. Complete confidence and trust.
subordinates

Subordinates' comfort in Not comfortable at all. Completely comfortable.

discussing important aspects of
their jobs with immediate

superiors
Motivation
Motivational forces Fear, threats. punishments, and Rewards based on a compensation
occasional rewards. system developed through
. ‘ participation. .
Responsibility felt by members for ' Top management feels Personnel at all levels feel real
achieving organizational goals responsibility: lower levels feel responsibility for organizational
- less: rank and file feel little and goals. and behave in ways to
may even behave in ways to . ‘ implement them.
defeat organization’s goals.

Communication

Direction of information flow Downward . Down. up. and with peers.

Extent to which downward ' Viewed with suspicion. Generally accepted. but if not.
communications are accepted by ‘ ' openly and candidly questioned
subordinates

Interaction . .

Amount and character of Little interaction. and always Extensive, friendly interaction
interaction with fear and mistrust. with high degree of confidence

. and trust.

Amount of cooperative teamwork None. Substantial amount throughout

the organizs' don.

Goal setting .

Manner Orders. Except in emergencies. goals

, established through group
participation.

Control

Purpose Used by top management for Used for self-guidance and for

policing; also used punitiveiy. coordinated problem solving and

guidance: not used punitively.

FIGURE 25

From The Human Orzanizaticn by Hans is Likert, (New York: We '-
Hill Book Ccmpany, 1967). p. 414.

 

62

Motivator-Hygiene Theory

The theory of motivation that has probably
stimulated the widest interest in recent years was
developed by Fredrick Herzberg in 1959 in a book entitled
The Motivation 22. £335; co-authored with Bernard Mausner
and Barbara Snyderman. Motivator-Hygiene Theory is
similar in several respects to Maslow's needs hierarchy;
it postulates two classes of factors that closely parallel
the lower and higher level needs categories of the Maslow
proposal and affect both the frequency and duration of
.motivation. Over eighty research studies have examined
and experimented with the theory. and it has been the
inspiration and subject of many doctoral dissertations.
The most widely viewed support of Herzberg's two factor
theory was carried out by M. Scott Myers at the Texas
Instruments Company in 19614.14 Similar support was
reported by Kerr(1973) whose review of the literature
found that only three of the forty studies completed by
1970, which tested Herzberg' findings, failed to support
the Motivator-Hygiene Theory.

Nevertheless, criticism of Herzberg's work
continues.15 In essence, most critics suggest that
Herzberg's‘ methodology introduced a bias in sampling only

two types of workers (engineers and accountants), and a

63

research design error in basing great reliance on each
interviewee's recall of various critical incidents.
Others have questioned whether the Herzberg factors are
mutually exclusive. In response to such criticism, the
theory's defenders charge that critics have misinterpreted
the theory and, therefore, misunderstood the results.
Recent studies suggest that Herzberg's theory is, indeed,
a viable, useful and revealing way of examining
lnotivation. and. as such, it will be used in this study.16

During a series of interviews in 1958, two
hundred engineers -and accountants in nine companies were
asked to describe several previous job experiences in
which they had felt particularly good or particularly bad
about their work. In addition. they were asked to
indicate the degree to which their feelings had been
influenced positively or negatively by each experience
they described. Then a process of content analysis of the
five thousand statements was begun; the interviewees'
remarks were coded on the basis of classifications
emerging from the collected data. As a result of the
analysis of workers' remarks, Herzberg concluded that
certain job events, classified as the motivator factors.
.lead to work satisfaction if they are present, but do not
cause dissatisfaction if they are absent; other job
events, labeled as the hygiene factors, lead to work
dissatisfaction if they are absent, but will not add to

employee satisfaction if they are present.

6h

employee satisfaction if they are present.

Traditional motivational theory views
satisfaction and dissatisfaction as the end points on a
continuum with ' a neutral or zero
satisfaction-dissatisfaction point in the middle.
Herzberg, however. noting the discontinuity between
factors involved in satisfaction and those involved in
dissatisfaction, investigated the phenomena separately and
in depth. He found ,that ‘the factors relating to high
levels of satisfaction .were different from the factors
involved in the‘ dissatisfying sequences. Five factors
which appeared significantly more often in highly
satisfying work situations were: 1)achievement,
accomplishment or success in the job situation; 2)earned
recognition, the act of notice or praise from a superior,
subordinate, or peer: 3)the work itself. the nature of the
actual job being performed; h)responsibility, the personal
"ownership" or an accountability for a specific, definable
area of work: and 5)advancement. conditions concerning the
actual change in status of the employee. An entirely
different set of factors was found to be associated with
‘job experiences involving feelings of unhappiness and job
dissatisfaction. Unlike the motivators. these factors,
called hygiene or maintenance factors, were seldom
involved in producing feelings of job satisfaction. The
hygiene factors were associated with matters peripheral to

the performance of the job. They appeared to be involved with

65
environment_ rather than with the content of the job
itself. Hygiene factors are such contextual items as:
1)organizational policy; 2)administrative supervision;
3)salary. the relative wage received; h)interpersonal
relations with a supervisor; and 5)work conditions. These
factors are illustrated in Figure 2-3.

In describing applications of the two factor
theory. Herzberg argued that the best way to motivate
employees is to give them challenging work for which they
can assume responsibility. His research shows that higher
level needs are the ones usually tapped when self-control
is the goal. and that lower level needs are usually relied
on when aiming for extrinsic, imposed control. For
example. Herzberg claims that only by appealing to higher
level needs for achievement, recognition, responsibility,
growth. and the inherent rewards of the work itself. can
administrators encourage employees to be "self-starters"
and to exhibit their own self-control. Herzberg also
suggested that the presence or absence of hygiene factors
can make a worker relatively happy or unhappy. but that
their presence will not make him want to work harder or
more effectively; only the presence and enhancement of
intrinsic motivators can cause a worker to direct his
efforts toward desirable, productive goals. The opposite
of satisfaction is no satisfaction; the opposite of
dissatisfaction is no dissatisfaction. "...I can charge a

man's battery and recharge it, and recharge it again. But

66
it is only when he has his own generator that we can talk
about motivation."l7

The applicability of Herzberg's Theory is
uniquely apparent in school organizations where teachers
as workers have traditionally been accorded minimal
participation in the decision making process. As a study
in the use of motivational theory, the teacher evaluation
process is both an organizational and a sociological
analysis; a sociological perspective considers Herzberg's
work from the longstanding isolation of ”celluar-designed"
schools whose semi-autonomous teaching stations permit a
school to grow or diminish by this teacher or that without
much consequence; an organizational perspective considers
Herzberg's work from the traditional "powerlessness" of
teachers who, for decades. have had little "voice" in
setting school priorities, curricular framework. or school
policies. Addressing performance improvement through the
individual components of Heriberg's theory is, in essence,
an attempt to convert 'knowledge to power by encouraging
teaching performance improvement efforts.

This present study is concerned with the
motivational content of the written feedback school
administrators provide teachers about their performance.
The focus, like Herzberg, is on the human needs that fuel
motivation. The use of theoretical ,findings, such as
those of Herzberg, suggests that the process of motivating

a worker to develop his full potential is, in part, a

67
function of the administrative understanding of Satisfiers

and dissatisfiers.

Motivation and Educational Administration

Research and theoretical literature have
identified two components of effective school
administration:

1) leadership (communicating. influencing, and
persuasion skills)

2) management (goal setting, organization of
resources. and personnel develOpment)

The use of motivational theory as a function of
leadership involves elevating instructional performance by
communicating confidence, trust, and the capacity to grow
to teachers whose performance is being evaluated. Saphier
and King(1985) pinpointed twelve cultural values as
positively affecting school improvement:

collegiality

high expectations

experimentation

trust and confidence

tangible support

use of knowledge bases
appreciation and recognition
caring, celebrating, and honoring

involvement in decision making

68
protection of what's important
traditions
honest, cpen communication

The vital first step of using motivational theory
in educational administration is the inculcation of
researched thought in policies and Operations. A school
district's instructional values tend to be communicated
through written materials which express predetermined
performance standards. _

Malcolm Forbes, founder and president of Forbes
Magazine, is fond of advising his staff that, ”Necessity
is the mother of motivation."13 His words reflect the
theoretical work of Abraham Maslow who formulated the
concept of a human needs hierarchy in 1955. Carver and
Sergiovanni, in 1980, studied teachers' needs satisfaction
placement on the Maslow hierarchy. They found that,
relatively speaking, teachers appeared generally satisfied
with the fulfillment of the two lower-order needs of
security and affiliation, but that the same group
displayed considerably less satisfaction with the three
high-order needs of esteem, autonomy, and
self-actualization. However, considerable research has
shown that teachers who reach the ”self-actualizing" level
are less susceptible to negative pressures in school
organizations, and consequently, are less likely to suffer
professional "burn out."

The same researchers, Carter and Sergiovanni, in

69

1975, articulated an inequity hypothesis which treats job
satisfaction as a reflection of the divergence between a
worker’s view of ideal work conditions, and his or her
perception of actual conditions. Further findings by
Sergiovanni provided support for the pertinence of the
inequity hypothesis in educational settings. An
elaboration on the original inequity hypothesis came in
the 1979 Miskel, Fevurly, and Stewart investigation which
found that teachers consider schools, and by extension,
school administrators, who provide less 'centralized
decision-making structures and more participative
organizational processes, along with support for higher
order and more complex professional activity, to be more
effective leaders and to encourage greater satisfaction
and motivation than those who do not. Specifically,
authoritarian approaches in educational practices place an
emphasis on the importance of:

memorization

mechanical testing

teacher talks/student listens

abstract subjects

standardized syllabi

whole group instruction

Overall, however, research has yet to establish a

definite relationship between job satisfaction and job
performance.

Sergiovanni employed Herzberg's two factor theory

70

in the late 1960's in a report on factors that affect
teacher satisfaction and dissatisfaction. In 1967, he
reported strong support for Herzberg's contention that
satisfiers, called motivators, and dissatisfiers. called
hygienes, tend to Operate separately; the former
contributed distinctly to satisfaction, the latter
contributed independently to dissatisfaction. The
presence or absence of one factor, hygienes or motivators,
did nothing to affect the strength of the other factor.

In 1972, Miskel also tested the Herzberg two
factor theory in educational settings and found difficulty
in classifying the responses of nearly 500 educators into
a simple two-way break of motivators or hygienes.
However, Miskel did find, that supportive supervisor
relationships count for a great deal with teachers. In a
related study, Miskel incorporated business managers into
a comparative study with school administrators and found
that business managers tend to exhibit risk inclinations
and less concern for hygienes, while educational
administrators often show greater concern for security and
less inclination for risk. In 1982, Schmidt conducted a
straight-out Herzberg type investigation among secondary
school administrators which produced results paralleling
the bipolar findings of Sergiovanni, and provided further
support for the viable application of the two factor
theory in educational organizations.

In a 1985 study at Michigan State University,

71

"...it was _concluded that the more influential sources Of
Job satisfaction for teachers tended to be aspects of the
work itself rather than aspects in the work environment."19
Teacher achievement of growth, teacher-student
interaction, and teacher resources were found to be the
most influential factors in the prediction Of overall job
satisfaction. The study of motivation in educational
administration concludes with the understanding that,
”There is no panacea, no magic wand which will transform
alienated individuals into happy, contented, hardworking,
high-quality, high-quantity producers.”20 Motivational
studies serve to emphasize that tackling the problems of
performance evaluations involves understanding that
expectations and values vary from group to group and
between individuals within a group.

Written Performance Evaluations 33 Teachers

As a writing activity, the production of an
evaluation document is fundamentally different from the
average composing task. Most other writing activities
require careful planning Of content and structure,
generation Of core ideas with related details, and
cOntinuous shifting between these processes. Evaluation
writing, on the other hand, involves Operations based on
actual occurrence and system-generated goals. More
specifically, evaluation writing requires the

comprehension, appraisal, condensation, and transformation

72

COMPARISON OF SAIISFIERS AND DISSATISFIERS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FACTORS .
Percentage Frequency ‘ Percentage Frequency
in an on in r on ' go an an .—
' I l
' °‘ Achievement
’23 ////////////7'///f//Z A
' | Regognituon
U/V/ / / //// // //// f/f/U/ff/j
l “worklltself
F J
- _ (Responsibility
l Advancemenivr
L-l_ ’- . 1
Company Policy and,Administra€ion
E; uJ

 

7'

 

Supegviosri Pracfices

 

 

 

 

 

Salaiy l
E 9 *fi
Interpersonal ‘
+Relational '

 

l

Workirg'COpditiops

 

‘l

v

 

 

 

 

 

17"”Short Duration greater than
[Along duration

1
Long uration greater than
_ short duration I I

FIGURE «2.6
SOURCE: Fredrick Herzberg, Bernard hausner, and Barbara Snyderman,
The Motivation 32 Work (New York: John Wiley 8 Sons. 1959); p. 81-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

73

Of observations Of teaching behavior into a comprehensible
text which judiciously, persuasively, and deliberately
attempts to propel the evaluated teacher toward
performance improvement.

The major concerns of the evaluation writer,
therefore, are not how to plan and generate new content,
but 1)what to include and eliminate from the written
evaluation of teaching performance, 2)what combinations or
transformations Of comments on Observed actions make sense
relative to improvement, and 3)how to infuse the tenets of
motivational theory into improvement suggestions. The
evaluation writer must also monitor the accuracy of his
appraisal in reference to his own judgments and to the
Opinions of other reliable Observers. Brown and Day(1983)
found that inadequate written performance appraisals were
likely to result from writers making inapprOpriate choices
as to what is important‘ in‘ the Observed teacher
performance. Flower(1979) reported that writing
'difficulties Often arose from a writer’s inability to
coordinate and integrate different parts Of a performance
with generated performance Objectives. A profile Of
professional evaluation qualities is illustrated in Figure
2-7.

Understanding the critical function Of teacher
evaluations is not the same as understanding supervision.
While supervision is concerned with specific behavior

indicators, evaluation involves the translation of

7h

supervision findings into effective performance feedback.
Discontent with conventional employee appraisal systems in
the 1970's prompted Levinsonls study which found that an
evaluation needs as much emphasis on the "how" as on the
”what" in teaching performance; helping employees improve
their performance means preparing evaluations that are
behavior-oriented as well as results-oriented. Written
evaluations that support behavior improvements do not
lessen the importance Of quantitative results. For an
organization to reach its goals, information about both
predictable behavior and observable outcomes is required.
However, for individual written evaluations purposes,
behavior and results are qualitatively different and
should not be confused with each other.

Essentially performance appraisal has three basic
functions: 1)tO provide adequate feedback to each person
on his or her performance; 2)to serve as a basis for
modifying or changing behavior toward more effective work
habits, and 3)to provide data for future job assignments
and other employment considerations.

Cameron(1980) found that where no universal model
Of effectiveness was possible because Of widely different
criteria between organizations, six critical assessment
questions were necessary dynamics to any model:

1) What type of activities are focused on:
internal or external?

2) Whose perspective are used: internal or

75
external?

3) What level of performance analysis is used:
individual department or organizational?

h) What time frame is used: short run or long
run?

5) 'What type Of analytical information is used:
perceptual or Objective?

6) What behavioral reference point is used:
comparative, normative, or improvement?

The conception Of supporting a workerés abilities
within an organization rather than simply quantifying his
performance originated with the "modern" or "behavioral"
orientation Of Etzioni(1969) and Perrow(19?2). Observing
studying, describing, and explaining organizational
behavior I departed materially from the classical,
scientific view of Taylor(1911) and Fayol(1949), and
introduced an expanded* view of 1)social system and role,
2)decision making, ’3)leadership, and h)motivation through
human relations(MayO, 1949; Getzels and Cuba, 1952,1957).

Sproull found evidence in 1981 that the structure
and character Of managerial attention in schools
discouraged administrators from serving either as a
technical resource or as a provider of useful performance
feedback on instructional activities. This finding is
diametrically Opposed to the conclusions Of most
theoretical studies which specify the strong influence

knowlegeable administrators can have on a schoolls

76
instructional program.

Sproul concluded in 1977 that school managerial
activities in performance evaluations only marginally
covary with school instructional Objectives, because
effective structures Of evaluation have yet to be
adequately formalized. These conclusions suggest the need
to dig beyond the mechanics Of counting work activities in
order to achieve a clear understanding Of just how and why
instructional activities take the shape and substance that
they do.

Almost all of the literature that has been
directed at describing and explaining school
administrative actions in assessing faculty performance
has identified the principal as a central factor in
reaching overall school effectiveness. Rosenblum(1979)
discovered that the extant literature on the principal as
instructional leader has yet to dispel the darkness still
surrounding the establishment of causal connections
between patterns of administrative behavior and patterns
of school or educational effects.

Studies in organizational dynamics describe the
nature of evaluation as essentially the develOpment of a
process that: 1)judges worth; 2)measures the degree to
which designated tasks are accomplished; and 3)provides
assistance in the developmental process. Anderson(1975)
established ”formative" and "summative" as functions of

evaluation and as categories Of evaluation research.

77

Formative evaluation is concerned with the develOpment
process, specifically diagnostic and therapeutic
recommendations which can enhance a teacherls
self-understanding and improved instructional processes.
Summative evaluation is concerned with documenting
incompetence, rewarding superior performance, validating
hiring practices, and modifying teacher assignments.
Figure 2-8 illustrates essential differences between
formative and summative evaluation systems.

Most research points to the need for more
formative oriented evaluations in education. Abbott(1975)
found that performance evaluations should, ”provide a
basis for teachers’ career planning and professional
development."21 Robinson(1979) studied the effects of
rewards in evaluation systems and found that, "Teacher
evaluation systems -seem to be promoted by educators to
keep the public or the state happy."22 One Of the most
damaging statements has come from Scrivents study Of
personnel evaluation systems in 1981:

Teacher evaluation is a disaster. The
practices are shoddy and the principles are
unclear. Recent work has suggested some ways to
clarify the issues and to make the procedures
more equitable and reasonably valid, but one can
hardly point to a single exemplary system in
which the practices come near to matching our
knowledge...0nce more the pressure to reform is
coming from outside, from the Congress and the
courts, not from the conscience}3

Earlier studies in 1978, (Kowalski), and 1976,
(Rooney).' suggested that practices in schools follow the

lines Of least resistance; rating systems rely heavily on

78
Observation ,Of attributes deemed important to the school

or the school district. Wolf(1973) argued that summative
approaches tend to work against performance changes by
generating insecurity and defensive behavior. Clinical_b
supervision, which is supposed to stress a supportive
relationship between teacher and supervisor, was
criticized by Synder(1981) and Eye(1975) for attempting to
accomplish both formative and summative purposes while
actually acomplishing neither goal to any significant
degree. ‘

Hartmannts 1978 study Of the link between teacher
evaluation and staff develOpment found that the assessment
Of teaching performance can have an important motivating
role. This study revealed that when teachers are
evaluated individually using formative techniques, a clear
picture Of an individual teacherfis professional
development needs can be seen. However, such a clear
picture of professional development needs is generally not
obtainable when summative assessment processes are used.
In a formative capacity, evaluation evolves into
systematic feedback systems rather than simple appraisal
methods. Definitions Of feedback systems and types Of
supervision are contained in Appendix A Of this study.

Effective schools research by Hunter et al.(1980)
advises that, ”The cornerstone priority for the eighties
will be the translation Of research-validated cause-effect

relationships in teaching and learning into classroom

79

performance."24 In the case Of written performance
evaluations, Hunter‘s study found that, "Science will
finally join art when written analyses determine those
teaching behaviors which need labeling and reinforcing,
and those teaching decisions and behaviors which need
changing or elimination."25 Neufeld(1985) cautions
against hasty adoption Of all effective schools findings:
”Effective teaching is defined as the sum of a series of
discrete behaviors that could be put together expertly by
anyone who puts together the prOper ingredients...thereby
conferring tOO much certainity on an uncertain
enterprise.” 25 The. formative nature of effective
schooling research appears to make it an attractive body
Of knowledge as long as its techniques are properly
understood as means rather than as ends, and as long as
administrators do not ignore the importance Of a teacherts
knowledge Of content and his ability to work with
different kinds of peOple.

Since 1957, academicians and consultants such as
Drucker(1985), McGregor(1960), and Herzberg(1959) have
urged organizational administrators to shift their
performance evaluation efforts from an emphasis on
appraisal to one Of analysis which implies a more positive
approach and includes consideration Of individual
strengths, desires, and potentials. Performance is the
focus of, evaluations, they advocate, not the personality

Of the person being evaluated. Planned feedback, which is

80

formative in nature, addresses the evaluation subject as
the principal participant in his own develOpment.

In 1981, Boyan found that, "Few educational
administration texts systematically develop or treat
connections across task areas, administrative processes,
theoretical developments, research findings, and patterns
Of work.”27 In an attempt to integrate administrative
written tasks, Gagne(1977) sugggested five basic
composition structures:

1) facts organized into lists;

2) subjects organized into taxonomies;

3) concepts organized into learning hierarchies;

4) steps organized into procedural hierarchies;

5) principles organized into models.

Methods of organizing information in writing are
illustrated in Figure 2-9.~

What- is Often left out of educational writing,
whether normative or descriptive, is the connection
between what ”is" and what "ought" to be. This
descriptive research attempts to breach that gap by
illuminating what "iS" happening with admistrative use of
motivational theory as an informed perspective on what

”ought" to be.

81

PROFEEOFIDERLPEFESSIONALWNWIES

Itmwledoe

the access to imcwledge base on successful teaching

Widerstands what teachers know arri believe about successful teaching
Understands ways of leaving

Communication Skills Priorities

Facilitates teacher reflection of research finiings

Bases commie-sum on what teachers already know
Demostrates good listening skills

Demonstrates udesire :for teachers to adapt findings to their own purposes
Focuses .On creating low-risk change

Exhibits patience, lcnwing that growth does not necessarily fit political .
schedules . .

Damnstrates confidence in teachers’ lmowledge and ability to learn

Performance Criteria . , _ ;

 

Measures success in terms of gradual increments of teacher, performance,
autonomy, and capacity for further growth

Seen by schml leaders as a teacher advocate who stimilates greater
capacity for staff growth
FIGURE 2-7-

From Terry.M.'Wildman and Jerry.A. Niles, "Essentials
of Professional Growth," Educational Leadership,

February, 1987, 9.6.

.e
u .
'kl ,

9g.

82

V

concausxcs or rsrtosorsr

THEORY AND PRACTICE IN EVALUATION

FORMATIVE EVALUATION

SUMMATIVE EVALUATION

Philosoohy

Each individual
strives for
excellence.

Theory

Evaluations done

to improve the
performance Of
individual; reward
or punishment
decided internally.

Practice

Evaluate process
not person.

FIGURE - 2-8

Ree

Individuals achieve
excellence only if

'supervised or evaluated.

Evaluations done to
improve performance of
social system; reward or '
punishment decided
externally.

Evaluate products and
process and person.

printed from Barber, Larry. ”The Nature of Evaluation."

fi;:;a_;iagigg of Teaching: The Formative Process. Bloomington, IN:

IPhi Belt: Kappa, 1984, page 80a.

. 8 '
masons or ORGMZDIG IEE'ORMATICN IN WRITING

_ Elements of Information

problem statement
purpose statement
explanation of process

explanation of cause/effect
results of study/ analysis

. reccmmended action
background information
supporting data
implementation plans
observation report
philosophy - rationale

{REESCE'DEWEDHEEH

Order of Importance ..

.. least important 'to most impormnt

implications
proposal
description
evaluation
suggestions
request
surrmary
scope
directions
conclusion
considerations

most importantto least important -

used for:

° reports and recamendations

Order of Chronology

history. of situation relative to
time data of events/changes struc-
ture used for: .

. journals, minutes, growth reports

Order of Sequence

material organized spatially/gee
graphically ler‘ .. to rig'it/ top to

. 'abottcm/east to west used for:

Order of Comparison

directions , descriptions, locations

placing unlike things to emphasize

similarities material explained from

.familiartounfamiliarusedforz.
research results, feasibility study

Order of “Specificity

material arranged from general to.
specific specifics usually reasons,

_ generality opinions used for:

Order of Anallsis

FIGURE

proposals, training naterials
logical breakdown of whole into parts

examimtion of individual factors of
entity

2 La

84
Use 22 Language in Writing

Rapaport(1952) noted that two suffixes in the
English language, "-ology" and ”-ics" suggest organized
knowledge. ‘ The venerable ”-ology" suggests academia, and
words using it are explained by translating their first
syllable, usually Greek or Latin, such as ornithology or
biology. The ancient ”-ics" suggests a method of attack
on a problem, such as economics or mathematics, but these
words are not as easily explained by translating their
first syllable. Because the term semantics is derived
from "meaning” tor ”to signify," pOpular thought is that
semantics is a search for meaning, but the area of meaning
is largely the domain of lexicography. Semantics is
devoted to the analysis of how peOple use words and how
words affect those who use them. Essentially, semantics
is concerned with how language works to produce clear,
precise, logical, written expression. A major principle
in the field of semantics holds that the structure of
people's language influences the way they understand
reality, and the way they behave in terms of it.

Among acknowledged leaders in the field of
semantics, a practical distinction is made between spoken
language and written language. Kurt Lewin(1936) called,
"speaking and writing different but interacting
activities; they are not the same, do not follow all of

the same conventions, and are not done for the same list

85

of purposes.”28 Written language, claimed Strunk and
White(1959) is.

More immediately accessible than spoken
language; written language has a permanence in
contrast to the ephemeral character of speech;
written language is more rigidly structured,
more insistent on precision and clarity by
virtue of the fact that it must stand alone.29

Most research on written communication has not
been done by English language specialists, but by
communication psychologists such as Holland, Janis.
Kelley, Johnson, and Klapper who have focused on the
effectiveness of written communication in influencing a
reader's opinions, values, and behavior, Communications
research, which began in the 1950s and is still in its
infancy, has contributed considerable pertinent
information on the psychological overtones and human
relations problems of written messages. Of particular
importance to psychologists has been the issue of form vs
substance in conveying purposeful messages relative to the
demands of particular situations. The important feature
of language is that once it has been learned sufficiently,
concepts and generalizations can be conveyed
linguistically rather than through direct experience.

Theodore Berstein(1972) found that the use and
misuse of language by accident or misunderstanding
frequently occurs when writing attempts to simulate oral

speech. ”Writing requires careful thought and mental

discipline which do not always come spontaneously: to

86
attempt to write as directly as one speaks is to indulge
in a kind of steneography.”3o Bergen Evans(1957), in
studying confusing, ambiguous, and deceptive written
statements, found that, "corruption of language is a
withering away of the ability to use words for coherent

communication, especially in writinga"§¥

Fowler(1937) claimed that, "Standard written
English" helps guarantee accuracy in communication between

writer and reader.

The convention of standard written
English means the kind of English used by
educated people in their serious writing. It
does not mean the kind of writing used by poets
and story tellers to represent speech or create
special artistic effects. Neither does it mean
the kind of English sometimes used by
advertisers to attract attention. It is the
work-a-day English of business, science, the
professions, and most serious magazines.32

Good writing, most communication theorists

conclude, can, as a minimum, simply assure the writer that
he is really in communication with the reader, that he is
delivering his message unmistakably, and perhaps,
excellently.

James Fielden, Associate Editor of The Harvard

 

Business Review (1965), pointed out four major elements of
effectively written professional communication:
correctness, readability, thought, and apprOpriateness.

Understanding that professional communication differs in
specific ways from literary exposition is, in Fielden's
Opinion, 'the starting point for analyzing serious writing

skills. Seven notable differencs between general

87

exposition _ and professional writing are described by
Fielden in Figure 2-10.

Whorf(1956) described the communication process
of serious writing in five steps:

1) clarifying the idea or problem:

2) eliciting participation in solution
developing:

3) transmitting ideas or decisions:

h) motivating others to take action:

5) measuring communication effectiveness of.

Mario Pei(1973) observed that it appeared simpler
for writers to use euphemisms, cliches, and
circumlocutions than to compose clear statements in
expressing judgmental information: ”Mechanical usage of
panaceas or stereotypes often substitutes for reasonable
precision when a writer perceives the possibility of
sending difficult or offensive messages.”33 Human need
for safety, Pei found, is apparently the origin of "buzz"

words such as commitment and involvement which convey a

 

pleasant sound while transmitting little or no meaning.
William Safire(1972) discovered that awkward and
pretentious word usage often comes from writers whose
sense of self-importance asserts itself in messages of
supercilious wording, excessive length, or ”insider

pedantry.” Likewise, the mistaken use of argot which

88

is the distinctive speech of a particular class of
persons, or the overuse of jargon which is the specialized
language of science, a sect, or a trade, or the erroneous
use of slang which is substandard language usage peculiar
to a particular social class is frequently the product of
self-centered writers who have forgotten that the function
of writing is communicating clearly to others.
Rudolph Flesch(19h9) first developed the process
of frequency analysis to quantify the readability of a
piece of work so that it could be evaluated on its overall
difficulty for the reader. As examples, the reading
levels of the following publications were found to be:
New York Times - tenth grade,
Readers! Digest - eighth grade,
Wall Street Journal - thirteenth grade,
People Magazine - eighth grade,
Th3 Gettysburg Address - tenth grade.
Fleschts arithmetic formulas, expressed in words,
provide several maxims about writing for readability:
1) short sentences are easier to read:
2) short words are usually not Latinate and are,
therefore, closer to common parlance:
3) personal names and pronouns are pleasing to a

reader.

However, Flesch and other readability experts
caution that sentence length, word length, and name usage

are not the only items of writing importance. In

89

assessing difficulty of comprehension, Gunning(196h)
called attention to the abstract quality of some words as
compared to their more comprehensible concrete forms, and
the unfamiliarity of some words as compared to the more
comfortable familiarity of othersw Weiss(1952) discovered
that the degree to which a readerfis Opinion tends to
change after reading something depends on the amount of
trust or credibility that the reader places in the writer
himself. Volkartts work(1952) suggested the strong
possibility that a message addressed to a mass audience is
not as effective a method of communication as variably
planned messages addressed to smaller groups identified
separately by group norms, values, and loyalties.

Additional research on written communication has
found that effective messages, those that are vigorous,
authoritative, direct, and lucid, often observe many of
the following linguistic patterns of order and emphasis.

Grammatically,“ a phrase outranks a word: a clause
outranks a phrase: an independent clause outranks a
dependent clause: and a full sentence outranks all of
these: more important ideas should be structured in
higher-ranking grammatical expressions: (Holland).

Usually, important ideas should be expressed in
independent clauses or in complete sentences: subsidiary
ideas usually belong in subsidiary constructions such as
dependent_ clauses, phrases, verbals, or appositives:

(Veblen).

90

In. paragraphs and in sentences, the two most
important, i.e. most emphatic, positions are at the
beginning and at the end. Of these two, the more
important position is the end: (Veblen)w

A topic sentence is the most important sentence
in a paragraph since it often expresses the main idea of a
paragraph, and since every other sentence in the paragraph
either supports or illustrates it: (Sapir).

Breaking up a subject into constituent elements
is useful and often indispensable, but it is usually only
a first step: for readability, meaning and clarity, the
constitutent parts must then be carefully explained and
adequately developed: (Janis).

Sentences beginning with "there is/there are/it
is" tend to be weak: the subject word itself should occupy
the strong opening position: (Sapir).

Deductive movement in writing means making a
general statement, then supporting it with a number of
particulars (effect to cause), and generally has the
advantage of clarity: it is easier to see how elements
support an announced idea than to guess from elements what
an unnamed idea will be: (Bloomfield).

Inductive movement in writing means beginning
with particulars and building up to generalizations (cause
to effect), and has the strategic advantage of moving
quickly and Opening with concrete details rather than with

vague concepts, but often causes reader confusion because

91

of the added difficulty of predicting where the writer is
going: (Bloomfield).

Regardless of which order is used, deductive or
inductive, a written generalization is usually only valid,‘
i.em it says what the writer wants it to say, when it:
1)emphasizes what is important, 2)excludes irrelevant
ideas, 3)generalizes on materials that support it, and
h)avoids confusing matters that should be developed
elsewhere: generalizations tend to become strong
assertions when they. are supported by concise, forceful,
meaningful details: (Bloomfield)m

To express cause-effect relations validly, a
writer must clearly show how one event or condition
produces another event or condition as a form Of
explanation for phenomena or to justify decisions: to
express cause-effect patterns validly requires: 1)not
mistaking apparent causes or effects for real ones, 2)not
mistaking an effect for a cause, 3)not presenting a
circumstance or a coincidence as a cause, and h)not
mistaking an earlier event for a cause of a later event
merely because it came first: (Kelley).

In general, if the purpose of a message is to
emphasize how or why something happened, the effect should
usually be expressed first, and the cause should be given
second: (Morris).

Expressing effects after expressing causes tends

to stress consequences or ends: (Morris).

92

Expressing a chain of causes and effects one step
at a time, backward, (inverse order) tends to stress the
importance of the original cause: (Morris).

Expressing joint effects before single effects
calls attention to a common cause: (Morris).

Nouns which mean cause include synonyms such as
origin, source, element, factor, principle, reason, tie:
(Strunk).

Words that signal, "cause follows" to the reader
include: because, since, as if, unless, for, on account
of, due to, owing to, come from, stem from, follow from,
attribute to, ascribe to, caused by, created by. started
by, thanks to, can be traced to: (Strunk).

Nouns which mean effect include synonyms such as
result, consequence, issue, outcome, conclusion, product,
fruit, aftermath, outgrowth: (Strunk).

Words that signal, "effect follows" to the reader
include so, therefore, hence, as a result, for that
reason, consequently, so that, in order to, cause,
produce, create, invent, discover, originate, institute,
provoke, determine, set in motion, give rise to, result
in, brought about by: (Strunk).

In deciding upon a useful order of information
for problem discussion, the problem-cause-solution pattern
has been found to be clear, interesting, and vigorous:
(Johnson):

If alternate solutions are considered in writing,

93

the writer must reasonably explain why one or more
solutions- will work, and must discredit or dispose of the
others by explanation or comparison: the last feature
developed in writing is usually the one that is emphasized
most strongly: (White).

Active voice verbs tend to be brief and more
vigorous than passibe voice except when the subject of a
sentence is unimportant or when meaning is focused less in
cause than in results: (White).

Sentence length should be a function of the idea
conveyed and the effect desired:‘ long sentences relate
ideas: short sentences impart vigor, and a mixture of long
and short sentences avoids monotony: word count alone does
not determine the length of a sentence: lenght of
individual words, multiplicity of phrases and clauses, and
complexity of structure add the feeling of communication
bulk: judicious use of short sentences in contrast with
longer sentences heightens the emphasis of the short
sentencets point: (Klapper).

Accuracy in word choice relies on a writerts
ability to distinguish formal and informal word choice (as
illustrated in Figure 2e11), and to balance the following
dichotomous language issues and qualities:

concrete 9 specific

vs
abstract - general

9h

denotation — exact meaning
vs
connotation r implication

technical 2 specialized meaning
vs
jargon r esoteric meaning

short — vigorous
vs
long r pretentious

candor r simple, direct
vs .
tact e euphemistic. evasive

reason - rational. factual
vs .
emotion e imaginative, biased

literal r matter-ofxfact, objective
vs
figurative r inductive, poetic

cliche r worn-out, stale, "stock"
vs

original e fresh, graceful, new

important — main issue
vs
trivial : weak, subissue

fact 2 verbal or statistical reality
vs
Opinion a personal valuation
Ending writing with a summary of what has been

said helps to clarify and unify long complex composition:

a lengthy, complex composition may also require partial,

95

summarizing statements at interim points in order to be
emphatic: short, simple compositions usually do not
require not summaries: (Baker).

Ending with a projection into the future is an
effective device when the connection between the main idea
and the suggested future action is clearly related to the
theme of the composition: (Baker).

In essence, vigorous writing is
concise. A sentence should contain no
unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary
sentences, for the same reason that a drawing
should have no unnecessary lines and a machine
no unnecessary parts. This requires not that
the writer make all his sentences short, or that
he avoid ‘all detail, and treat his subject in
outline only, but that every word should tell.36

Administrators who are faced with the task of
writing performance appraisals might argue that since the
evocation of a particular frame of mind, that of increased
motivation, is a prime consideration, the less structured
dictates of literary writing rather than the more
formalized strictures of expository writing should
prevail. However, Bernstein&s research with semantics has
shown that for written documents in which instant clarity
and quick comprehension are more important than literary
value, the one-idea-tO-a-sentence rule of business writing
is desirable. Repeated research in professional
communications has found a definite relationship between

short sentence length and easy comprehension, while the

general semantics research of Fowler discovered that

96

interesting .writing usually springs from variety in both
, sentence . length and sentence structure. A desirable
economy of expression is obtainable, according to
structural linguists, by avoiding unnecessary subordinate -
clauses, irrelevant digressions, meaningless repetitions,
or inept, trite, and clumsy metaphors.

Hayakawa(1964) described "affective" and
"directive” functions of leadership in the use of
language:

The language of science is instrumental
in getting done the work necessary for life, but
it does not tell us anything about what life
feels like in the living. We can communicate
scientific facts to each other without knowing
or caring about each otherts feelings, but
before love, friendship, and communicating can
be established among men so that we want to
cooPerate and become a society, there must be,
as we have seen, a flow of sympathy between one
man and another. - This flow is established, of
course, by means of effective language.35

Baker(1976) found, that the total impression that
a piece of writing makes on a reader comes not only from
the substance of the communication, but also from the
details of phrasing, spelling. grammar, and punctuation.
Attention to these details, as well as to the structure Of
the writing, conveys the message that the communication is
saying. something tht matters. Basic structure in
persuasive writing usually begins with a clear, delineated
statement of purpose, moves to an explication of

appr0priate, cogent evidence, and concludes with a

logical, compelling interpretation of significant

97

consequences. The writerfis style, tone, and attention to
a specific "audience" indicate a deliberate intent to
communicate reasonably and persuasively, to show the
veracity of Aristotlets observation, "Language most shows
a man: speak that I may know thee." 36 The concept of
miscommunication is illustrated in Figure 2:12.

Very little documentation exists in the
literature of evaluatiion or of motivation about the use
of language which is specifically planned to elicit
motivational responses. Moat of the literature on
evaluation communication stresses the finding that a
performance appraisal needs to be viewed not as a
technique, but as a process: the "Achillest heel" of the
process is language that describes the "how," or the means
of effective performance, as well as the "what" in
performance. If effective communication of substance is
the objective of the motivationally significant evaluation
messages, the language content of feedback nessages needs
to show a sensitivity to the formative purposes of
performance documents, but content analysis studies on
this issue do not exist to any significant extent.
Nevertheless, it is possible, using Herzbergts categories,
to classify the language of written performance evaluation
documents as belonging to motivation-oriented
communication. Br0phy(1981) identified guidelines for
effective' praise, illustrated in Figure 2-1h, which aims

analysis in the direction of language choice.

98
Semantics, to Hayakawa, is the "study of human
interaction through communication: and communication leads

to cOOperation."37

A writerts clear understanding of
semantics underscores an essential commitment to:

1)the definition and develOpment of important
ideas:

2)the strategic relating of these ideas to the
readerfis own experiences:

3)finally, the transcendence ' of individual
experiences to a larger motivational meaning.

The careful translation of an idea from an
observable experience into a particular truth gives
serious writing the depth and meaning required for genuine
motivational effectiveness. Purposeful attention to
semantics should ward off an recurrence of the scene with
Platoas Eleatic stranger who considered "complacent
ignorance” the worst deformity of the soul, since it leads
a writer to think he is saying something when, in fact, he
is saying nothing.

99

mmmmmmmn

 

WWVW

mm EQOSI'I'CM VERDE;

 

Audience

mtareaddressedtntxoadgramm
Expose

usually to cater-min: perhaps to
instant °

Stvle

felicibous style usually inportant

tubiouitv

generalizations and random: speculation.
usually waged as creative

‘ m

m lim't: choice depends on content
and writer's shill

'Effectmneader

mlimit: writermayevmstrivebo
insultreader

Effect on Writer

accented or rejected by nablisher
uni/or reader

 

Figure 2—10

Auiience

mmahnedatmdcuhrgrwp
«specificixdivml'

Moose

essatially to inform, to analyze,
1:: persuade

Stvle

flashy style subservient to solid
content and lmid premtation

Ambiauitv

observations and cataclusiom require
Importing hard facts

mne

seriousanrlsimere: sinpledirecums
mtmtsinplisticair

Effectonaeeder

hm relations miduatiom inpse

ffect on Writer

 

retaliation, profession]. status.job
nay rest on effective mastication

100

row AND mom WORD csocrss IN WRITING

 

Fermal "Informal
initiate begin
we would like to ask please
commence _ start
for the reason that because
terminate and .
are of the opinion believe
utilize use
for the purpose of for / to
dean think
prior to before
assistame .help
despite the fact that although / though
converse talk
in view of the fact that because / since
forward send / mail
in order to to
advise tell
in the amount of for
indicate show
subsequent to after
procure ' get
with respect / reference about
reside live
on the occasion of when
.. during the course of during
along the lines of like
succeed in Raking make
make use of use .
'have need for need .
give consideration to consider v 1'" '
Figure 2-11
Fran- Stuart Cbase. Th___e_ 'Iryannv of Words.

New York: Harcourt, Brace, & Co. 1538” p3.

101

LPNGUAGE‘MESCOMMUNICATED

.What .Was Said

 

I'll look into
hiring another
person as soon
as soon as I
can.

Your performance
was below what
I expected from

I'd like that
report as soon
as you can get
to it.

We have a job
opening in los
Angeles which
would be great
for you.

I want you to
look into the
problem your
people seen to
be having getting
their work out.

. .What .Was Meant '

 

We’ll start with
the interviews
in a few weeks.

You're going to
have to try
harder which I
think you'll do.

I need that
report within
about a week.

If you'd like the
job, it's yours.

.If not, you're

still appreciated
here.

‘

Talk to yom: staff

to discover the
problem. Then,
jointly solve it.

Figure 2-12

. .What Was .heard’ '

 

I'm tied up with
more important
concerns right
now.

If ybu mess up
one more time
you're out of
here for good.

DrOp everything
and fill out
that report
right now.

If you don't
accept the Los
Angeles job,
your career

is over.

I don't care how
many heads roll,
find out where
the trouble is
arri get it fixed
right away.

Frcm: "Communications and Decision Making. " ° Administrative
'57—'33”

‘ "Science Quarterlv.

March-April, 1978 .

pages 1 -l .

r.
‘e’l. .

l)

2)
3)

4)

5)

6)

7)

8)

9)

'10)

11):

12)

102‘

GUIDELINES FOR EFFECTIVE PRAISE

Effective Praise

is delivered contingently;

specifies particulars of
the accomplishment:

shows spontaneity,variety
credibility:

rewards attainment of
specified performance

criteria:

provides information on
competency or value of

.accomplishments:

orients toward appreciation
of self;_

uses prior accomplishments
as context for description

of present accomplishment:

is given in recognition of
noteworthy effort at
difficult task;

attributes success to
effort and ability which

.implies expectation of

similar_future success:

fosters endogenous motives
such as satisfaction or
ambition for growth: '

focuses attention on
relevant behavior;

task-

fosters appreciation of
desirable behavior after
process is completed:

Ineffective Praise

1)

2)
3)

4)
S)

6)

7)
a)
9)
10)

ll)

12)

is delivered randomly;

is restricted to glObal
positive reactions;

shows bland uniformity:

rewards mere participation
without consideration of
outcomes:

provides no information on
competency or value of

accomplishments:

orients toward comparisons
with others:

uses peers' accomplishments
as context for description
of present accomplishment;

is given without regard to
effort expended or
difficulty of task:

attributes success to
ability alone or to an
external factor such as
luck or ease of task;

fosters exogenous motives
such as approval, reward,
or winning in competition:

focuses attention on an
authority figure:

intrudes into ongoing
process, distracting
attention from task-
relevant behavior:

 

FIGURE 2-13

Reprinted from Brophy, J. ”Teacher-Praise: A Functional Analysis.".
531133 33 Educational Research, volume 5b,(1981): P3833 5-32.

103

Summary

.Many attempts at reforming American education
have been predicated on the assumption that the chief
problem lies with teachers and their motivation to teach.'
The assumption is that in order to make education more
effective, teachers need to be more effectively
controlled. Such thinking provides impetus for
traditional performance appraisals which are summative in
nature and tend to imitate production- inspection type
processes. Performance evaluations of the summative type,
are inclined to encourage a dependency relationship
between a teacher whose work is being assessed, and an
administrator who dispenses "stock”. impressionistic
ratings. Findings in the literature of motivation and of
formative evaluations urge the Opposite approach.

Current motivation research, notably studies
based on the work of Fredrick Herzberg, have discovered
that teachers, as professional workers, seek and are
stimulated by realistic, growth-oriented feedback. In
summary, this approach to motivationally significant
feedback has five important purposes: 1)to encourage
continuous growth and job satisfaction through
self-renewal: 3)to refine the abilities of each teacher to
be analytical about his performance: h)to refine and
expand the strategies and methods of instruction: and 5)to
provide a context and a set of criteria for determining

good teaching practice. In order to assess the presence

10k

and strength of motivational theory in teacher performance
evaluation documents, Baker(1976) suggests that the
structure of the whose composition first be considered to
determine which of the three elements of form, content,
and process are controlled. Secondly, the structure of
the composition should be assessed to determine whether
it: 1)responds to the task assigned to it with an
appropriate complexity: 2)maintains a consistent point of
view and a consistent, specified audience: 3)demonstrates
a clear rhetorical strategy which includes an introductiOn
and conclusion, several levels of abstraction, general
statements, clarification, and support, and avoids lengthy
repetitions: h)understands the syntax of the English
sentence and the conventions of Standard English: and
5)supports a logical focus with apprOpriate subordination
and coordination including transitions to signal changes
in purpose.

The key to motivationally significant
professional communication centers on the writer's sound
understanding of the nature of evidence: factual evidence
marshaled to support definite points does not need to
resort to distortion, worn-out cliches, pseudo arguments,
sheer opinion, persuasive gimmickery, and fanciful
conundrums. Looking at the written performance evaluation
process is somewhat analogous to looking at the allocation
of values that a school system displays in its documented

actions. Recognizing performance that conforms to its

105

image de-emphasizes growth and sets standards of
ready-made mediocrity which, "the second rate can do well
because of their ability to grasp what is accepted and
conventional."38
Communication psychology suggests that written
messages tht fail to effectively communicate, usually fail
because the writer tends to oversimplify human behavior:
oversimplified communication fails because it points to
ends without indicating how such ends are to be obtained,
or why they shold be. Effective communication depends on
a writer's sensitivity to the complex needs, aspirations,
and personal dignity of his reader.
The prOper force of words lies not in
the words themselves, but in their application.
A word may be a fine-sounding word...and yet in
the connection in which it is introduced may be
quite pointless and irrelevant. It is not pomp
or presentation, but the adaption of the

expression to the idea that clenches a writer's
meaning.3

Fundamental to any profession is the regualr
review of the performance of its members. Even when
evaluation processes are humanistic in spirit and purpose,
administrators would do well to observe the advice of John
‘Gardner that was directed to evaluators who would attempt

to remold others:

A free society will not specify too
closely the kinds of meaning different
individuals will find or the things about which
they should generate conviction. PeOple differ

106

in their goals and convictions, and in the whole
style of their commitment. We must ask that
their goals fall within the moral framework to
which we all pay allegiance, but we cannot
prescribe the things that will unlock their
deepest motivations. Those earnest spirits who
believe that a man cannot be counted worthy
unless he burns with zeal for civic affairs
could not be more misguided. And we are wrong
when we follow the current fashion of
identifying moral strength too exclusively with
fighting for a cause. Nothing could be more
admirable nor more appealing to a
performance-minded peOple such as ourselves.
But, such an emphasis hardly does justice to the
rich variety of moral excellences that man has
sought and occasionally achieved in the course
of history.

A good many of the most valuable peOple
in any society will never burn with zeal for
anything except the integrity and health and
well-being of their own families - and if they
achieve those goals, we need ask little more of
them. There are other valuable members of a
society who will never generate convictions
about anything beyond the productive output of
their hands or minds - and a sensible society
will be grateful for their contributions.40

Chapter III

METHODOLOGY

Introduction

The purpose of this study is to audit written
teacher evaluations in order, to determine whether a
discrepancy exists between the motivational purpose of
performance feedback, as described by Fredrick Herzberg,
and the actual use of motivational components in the
evaluation feedback that administrators write for Grosse
Pointe Public School teachers. The study is descriptive
in nature and focuses on the divergent nature of
motivational needs. , The fact that this studyexamines a
subtle, human life force, namely man's incentive to act,
does not mean that it is concerned with manipulation: it
does not answer the question: How do we make peOple become
better workers? Rather, motivation is understood here to
mean recognition of the fact that improvement can only be
achieved by individual persons mobilizing their own higher
forces and faculties to become better teachers.

."What is not in a man cannot come out of him

surely.”41(Goethe) If motivation comes from the individual

107

108

teacher, not from the administrator, an evaluation of a
teacher .serves, essentially, as a stimulator of what
already exists in an individual teacher as a human being.
The effectiveness of evaluation instruments, consequently,
becomes, to a significant extent, a function of the choice
and content of language administrators use in writing
them. This study examines the language component of
written performance evaluations in order to determine the
strength and type of motivational messages that school
administrators are sending to teachers in performance
evaluation documents. Specifically, the study is
concerned with written references to the
Herzberg-identified motivators of achievement,
recognition, responsibility, growth, and the work itself,
as well as with the hygiene factors of school provisions,
supervisory practices, and work conditions.

Aristotle defined choice as a rational act: the
deliberate reaching out for things within an individual's
power. This inquiry concerns the administrative use of
language to enhance individual teachers' understanding of
the choices available to them. The study is offered as a
description of how things are, which is understood to be
an essential prerequisite to influencing how things ought

to be.

109

'Research Question and Hypothesis

Content analysis attempts to identify the
components of written communication as a vehicle for
identifying the writer's intent. The research questions
asked in this content analysis are:1)What is the type and
strength of motivational theory in the written evaluations
that Grosse Pointe administrators write about Grosse
Pointe teachers! instructional performance? 2)What is the
difference between male and female administrative use of
motivational theory in written teacher performance
evaluations? 3)What is the difference between male and
female teachers in their rate of reception of motivational
messages in written performance evaluations? h)What is the
difference between high school, middle school, and
elementary school administrators in their use of
motivational theory in written teacher performance
evaluations? As the focus of the research of question 1,
the following hypothesis is made:

There is no relationship between the performance
feedback school administrators write on
teachers! evaluations and the
Herzberg-identified motivational purposes of
performance evaluations.

As the focus of the research of questions 2, 3.
and h, descriptives statistics are used to examine the

content analysis data.

110

Population and Sample

Of the approximately 500 male and female teachers_

employed in the Grosse Pointe Public School System, 300
were evaluated in writing during the 1985-86 school year
by 23 building administrators. Sixteen of the
administrators were male, 7 were female. As a preliminary
level of classification, all 300 evaluation documents were
coded into four categories:

A) male administrator / male teacher:

B)female administrator / male teacher:

C)male administrator / female teacher:

D)female administrator / female teacher

In order .to protect the anonymity of both the

evaluators and evaluatees, the preliminary classification
(of documents was made by Dr. Roger A. McCaig, Director of
Research for the' Grosse Pointe Schools. Under his
control, all names and identifying references were removed
from each of the evaluation documents and replaced by
codes (A, B, C, or D): each evaluation was then assigned a
three digit identification number by Dr. McCaig. Using
random numbers supplied by a computerized random number
generator, 50 evaluations were pulled from each of the
preliminary categories, 200 in total, and used as the
sample for this study. None of the administrators in the

study had fewer than five years Of administrative

111

experience: most had over ten years Of administrative
experience. 1 None of the evaluated teachers were new or
non-tenured personnel. First or second year teacher
evaluations might have contained a unique emphasis which
could have confounded the study: the dynamic is
well-established that new employees, those who have not
been formally evaluated at least twice by school
administrators, may have special motivational needs for
encouragement either to remain in or to leave the teaching
profession. Emphatic messages Of this type tend to be
outside the normal flow of evaluation messages prepared by
school administrators.

An analysis of communication content was then
performed to determine the nature and strength of the
written stimuli being sent to the evaluated teachers. The
analysis centered on the semantic character of the
language used in each evaluation and the frequencies of
the various types of Herzberg-identified characteristics
found in each category. The content analysis strategy of
the study was designed to yield data relevant to the null
hypothesis.

The recording unit used to code motivational
references in the analysis is the phrase which is defined
as a single word or cluster of words containing a
motivational message. Each phrase is considered
motivational as it is relevant to the Herzberg two-factor

theory, within the context of the evaluation as a whole.

112

Each occurrence of a relevant phrase is enumerated
separately in one of eight categories:

achievement,

recognition,

responsibility,

growth,

the work itself,

school policies,

supervisory provisions,

work conditions.

The point .Of .coding separate instances of
motivational elements is to determine the orientation of
school administrators toward Herzberg-defined motivators
or hygienes. Analysis of what is said, and how frequently
it is reiterated, reveals the focus, intensity, and
direction of school administrators in relation to the
motivational purpose of teacher evaluation.

Fundamental to the coding system is an
understanding that even though motivational language is
countable by individual references, it is not defined as
mechanical by administrative use. Rather, frequency
counts, which assist the portrayal of observed reality
with theoretical constructions, are aimed at an increased
comprehension of the paths to harmonious human behavior.
In essence, Herzbergts theory emphasizes the synthesis of

eight variable lines of controlled thought.

113
Instrumentation: Validity and Reliability

The nominally scaled data produced by the
frequency counts of this study indicated that the
ChieSquare One Variable Test (X2 ) was the appropriate
test from which to draw inferences about the probable
significant differences between expected motivational
references and observed motivational references. As a
nonparametric test of significance, the Chiquuare
measures discrepancy inferentially and makes no
assumptions concerning the shape of the pOpulation. The
sample size of 200 used in this study was large enough to
remove any doubt concerning the normality of the
underlying pOpulation distribution.

The eight Herzberg-identified motivational
categories of achievement, recognition, responsibility,
growth, the work itself, school policies, supervisory
provisions, and work conditions were then arranged into a
two-by-two matrix of pre-coded, independent frequencies
for computer analysis using the Standard Package of Social
Science (SPSS) program. Data were assigned to cells in a
grid designed to allow crosstabulation by:

A)male administrator - male teacher:

B)female administrator - male teacher:

C)male administrator - female teacher:

D)female administrator - female teacher.

Frequency counts of motivational theory use by

11h
three levels of administration were also kept: senior high
administrators, middle school administrators, and
elementary school administrators. Descriptive statistics
were used to present these counts.

. A pilot study of ten evaluations was performed
and replicated to establish the feasibility, validity, and
reliability of the study. Using one analyst, a
reliability construct over time was established when the
same results were produced by the same coder, twice when
applying the same set of categories, to the same
evaluations, approximately 45 days apart. Berelson(1960)
reports a uniformly high degree Of validity for content
analysis when: 1)the categories are simple: 2)the
categories are fewer than ten, and when the coder: a)is
experienced, and b)understands the standarized coding
rules.

This research employed eight, pre-defined
categories. The analyst has a masters degree in reading
theory and 21 years of content analysis experience in the
teaching of secondary English. Based on the Herzberg
model, each motivational category serves as an informative
source of how different components affect the motivational
character of the Grosse Pointe Public Schoolst teacher
evaluation system. In addition to a satisfactory
confidence level in the skill of the researcher, a valid
interpretation of the results of this study is predicated

on the theoretical formulation that the research design is

- 115
a straightforward depiction of the process by which the
variables under study actually Operate.

‘Barzun(1986) warns content analysts about
misplaced regard for trivial details: "as long as the date
of birth and middle initial are correct, some analysts
feel they can indulge with impunity in the most whopping
errors of sense and judgment." 42 Barzun also noted that
the content analyst, who exists outside the flow of the
communication, must also guard against developing a bias:
a readerts vigilence can breed suspicion in which the
writer is the suspect. Thus, what is written can become,
ipso facto, questionable and incomplete. Realistically,
an analyst must allow that every writer is liable to
lapses, an ambiguity, a false linkage, or a bit of
nonsense.

The pilot study produced empirical indications
about the ratio of use of each one of the eight Herzberg
categories. The pilot observations were later useful in
specifying the expected number of frequencies of the
theoretical chi-square distributions, and, subsequently,
to test the null hypothesis.

Data Analysis and Interpretation

From a behavioristls point of view, control and
communication of information are intricately related at
the focus of all knowledge. Communication theory or

information theory is a very general and rigorously

116

derived branch of probability theory. Communication
theory introduces the idea of an information source and a
message which is transmitted, by any of the possible
means, to ‘a receiver that picks up the message.
Interference or delay of information transmission is
usually called ”noise." When information is sent in
language, coding it requires interpretation with respect
to its meaning. In a sense, language is the code itself
for ideas and concepts. The amount of information that is
transmitted can be measured by frequencies of occurrences
which gives it the prOperties of statistics or probable
character.

This study is based on the premises that by
definition, written teacher performance evaluations
clearly indicate a teacherls level of performance in
language that motivates the teacher to improve that
Iperformance and that by hypothesis, performance
effectiveness is measured by assessing the proximity
between observed instructional performance and the
objective criteria established as the valid goal for the
observed instructional performance. Analysis of data is based
on the finaLideagrthat by conclusion, written teacher
evaluations which are motivationally significant indicate,
by language choice, what is clearly observed to occur in
an instructional performance, and what change is
specifically needed in order to improve instructional

performance, why the designated change could result in

117
performance ,improvement, or how the designated change

could result in performance improvement.

Data analysis of the findings of this study
proceeds on the inductive proposition that since the
assessment and communication aspects of the written
teacher evaluation process are interconnected, acquiring
data about the written language used by an administrator,
validly leads to acquiring knowledge about the probable
value of motivational theory to administrators. Analagous
to investigating a process by studying the concrete
evidence of its prOduct. understanding the form of
communication as indicated by frequency . counts,

inferentially leads to understanding the substance of
motivational theory usage in the administrative
communication of evaluation information to teachers. The
emphasis in this analysis is on breaking down written
communication, on the basis of language content, in order
to identify the type and strength of the motivational
messages that Grosse Pointe'Public School administrators
are sending to teachers in their written performance
evaluations.

The primary step in the analysis of data was an
investigation of frequencies of occurrences, central
tendencies, and dispersions. Frequencies were presented
as both counts and percentages during the course of
analysis.‘ The Pearson Chi-Square CKZ ) corrected for

continuity by the Yates Correction was chosen as the

118

apprOpriate behavioral statistic because of its usefulness
with nominal data. A risk level, Alpha, of .05
probability was selected as the basis for rejecting or not
rejecting the null hypothesis. Degrees of freedom equal
one.

The structural approaches to data analysis
involved: 1) examination of the frequencies of the eight
motivatorehygiene categories in both their simple form and
crosstabulated with each of the four preedetermined
evaluator-evaluatee categories: ’2)determination of A
homogeneity of motivational character for each evaluation
document. For this determination, Formative evaluations
were defined as those in which 50% or more Of identified
motivational phrases serve as Herzbergian motivators
rather than as hygienes: Summative evaluations were
defined as those in which less than 50% of identified
motivational phrases serve as Herzbergian motivators.
Interpretation 'of the quantitative evidence focused on
patterns of emphasis, administrative orientation toward
motivational theory and the practical significance of the
evaluation language used by administrators. A sample of
the content analysis procedure is contained in Figure
3-1-a and 3-1-b: a code book and Fortran coding form
appear in Appendix B.

Science has shown repeatedly that even the best
established theories can be corrected: a theory always

remains a hypothesis, a conjecture. One potential

119
limitation of Herzberg‘s theory of motivation is suggested

by its apparent ’ inability 'to distinguish between
motivationally significant communication messages relative
to purpose. Statistical treatment of data serves usefully
as a. mathematical device to signify the probability of
theoretical phenomena, in this case, the presence and
strength of motivational messages. However, analytical
interpretation of the content of the observed data is also
required in order to determine the probability of
motivational effectiveness. In other words,- a foundation
01' quantifiable ' motivational communication is
insufficient: the question must be answered: motivation
for what purpose?

The qualitative significance of the research
findings indicate what degree of significance motivational
criteria have for public school administrators in Grosse
Pointe when they are preparing written performance
evaluations of Grosse Pointe techers. The illustrative
1‘lature of the study is intended to contribute sound
dooumentation concerning the extent and importance of the
theoretical foundation of written ‘ teacher performance
evaluations. The study's conclusion is intended to
encourage more extensive use of a theory based foundation
for teacher performance evaluation writing by other

POpulations of school administrators.

120

Summary
-The methodology used in this study attempts to

follow clear lines of logical simplicity. Employing
content analysis as the empirical basis to determine the-
observed scOpe of motivational communication, and the chi
square statistic as an inferential test to measure the
significance of the motivational content, this study
essentially relies on theory, specifically, that of
Fredrick Herzberg, for its meaningful interpretation.

Because of the selective nature of content analysis,
knowledge gained- from this .study is aimed at an
understanding of the perceptual and cognitive components
of achievement, recOgnition, responsibility, growth, the
work itself, school policies, supervisory provisions, and
work conditions as they appear in written communication.

In summary, analysis proceeds in four steps:

1) selection of phrases:

2) determination of way phrases are used:

3) classification of phrase usage:

4) interpretation of the phrase meaning:

Since motivational tension is inherent in
motivational language, separate phrases tend to lose
little or nothing when pulled out of context for purposes
of counting and interpreting. By observation, written
teacher evaluations tend to be series of loosely strung
together .comments: motivational elements found in them are

almost always independent of the structure in which they

121

are found. The fact that so little contextual form is
observable in evaluation documents facilitates the
frequency counting process and suggests a diffusion of
purpose in their preparation. Contextual form helps unify
written communication: a lack of form suggests a loss of
unity with a possible concomitant loss of motivational
character. .

Essentially, linguistic analysis begins with
concrete evidence and ends with abstract vision. With
language as the pivotal point Of the research design, this
inquiry searches for a clear formulation of the issues of:
in whose terms are the teacher evaluation documents
written: in whose interests are administrative efforts at
communication pursued? Linguistic analysis offers the
advantage of considering the two issues in relative terms
rather than as two distinct discussions.

7 Pr0perly understood, motivation is not just a
collection of statements, a catalog or unrelated findings.
As a process underpinning all action, it is a generic
component of the human mind which orders the probability
of human behavior. The essential justification for this
study is the belief that a concrete link can be described
between motivational theory of human behavior and observed
communication behavior of educational administrators.

A straightforward synthesis of all frequency
counts of' the study with Herzbergfis theory suggests: 1)

the magnitude of effect of each of the Herzberg

122

components, - and 2) the probability of theory-driven
communication in the evaluation documents prepared by
Grosse Pointe administrators- Conclusions of the study
could also lead to an understanding of the practical
problems associated with using written performance
evaluations as instruments of motivation. The focus of
this study, therefore, centers descriptively on the
recording of relevant observations concerning the Grosse
Pointe administratorst commitment to motivationally
oriented teacher evaluations. In essence, the study is
aimed at documenting the Grosse Pointe administrative
congruence with a finding of communication psychologist
Morrow (1982), "The purpose of all writing is to stimulate

mental activity."43

123

SAMPLE
CONTENT ANALYSIS OF TEACHER PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

Purpose 2; Analysis: The purpose of this analysis is to
audit a teacher performance evaluation in order to
identify the resence and strength of any motivational
elements with the written content.

Definition 2; Variables: Motivation is defined according
to the Nocivatorrdygiene Theory of Fredrick Herzberg.

A. Achievement - refers to the successful attainment
of a goal or goals:

B. Recognition - refers to the approval one earns by
achieveing desirable goals:

c. Responsibility - the sense of commitment a person
displays in the accomplishment of his work:

D. Growth - refers to the various forms of
professional enrichment a person seeks as stimulation to
expanded growth:

E. School Policies - refers to a schoolfis climate of
order. reliability, predictability, and the methods a
school uses to obtain these:

F. Supervisory Practices - refers to e school3s
authority structure and its formal and informal control
methods: .

G. Working Conditions - refers to the presence or
absence'of support in clerical help, class size
_limitations. materials. and physical comfort:

Relevant Literature: The literature of motivation is
extensive ih orgafiIEational studies and in psychological
studies. Essentially, the concept of motivation is a
psychological term for a process that deliberately impels
and organism toward active, integrated, directed behavior.
First expressed in 232 Motive to Work in 1959. Fredrick
Herzbergfis two factor theory hOIds that man has two sets
of needs which are mutually exclusive: the need to avoid
pain (hygiene) and the need to grow psychologically. The
literature of evaluation has moved increasingly away from
a simple assessment of achievement against objectives and
now suggests focusing on understanding the causes of
people's behavior in order to influence (motivate)
performance growth. Analyzing the content of a sample
teacherfis evaluation on the basis of its motivational
categories should yield an indication of whether current
evaluations are indeed motivational in nature.

 

 

Research Question: What is the type and strength of the
motivational message that Grosse Pointe Public School
administrators are communicating in their written
performance evaluations of Grosse Pointe teachers?

Research Design: Recording unit - a phrase which could be
a single word or a group of words which convey an idea:
Context unit - the entire evaluation document: Unit of
classification - the identified elements of
motivator-hygiene theory: Unit of enumeration - the number
of references identified in each of the categories:
Sampling - random selection by numbers drawn from computer
generated random numbers following numbering of
evaluations and coding for male/female evaluator/evaluates
by outside source:

Reliability 3 Validity: Reliability of content analysis
y single analyst determined by repeated analyses of same
evaluation document at different times: validity of
content analysis determined by expertise of analyst in
gaderstanding evaluation purposes and motivator-hygiene
sory.

FIGURE 3-1

Sample content analysis of teacher performance evaluation.
part 1.

121:

SAMPLE
CONTENT ANALYSIS 0? TEACHER PERFORMANCE
. EVALUATION

Sample Teacher Evaluation

Teacher X is an unusually effective English R
teacher who has a q;;3§3ll2_;hcugng_2ug series

of English language objectives (reading.

writing. thinking. speaking) for teaching the

literary works in X&s courses. I does not

more" mu “active: in writing but 7W.
. ' . a hing specific

worxds. Rather than attempting to do all I? 'e-

things in a given work. X very fiiééil. .
We or a small numcer of ,
“ill-9 and tmm. x is quit
We these limited 3.4%,},33
objectives wtih students and in mgxing

etudeW questions such as the We

following: what details are highly important?

What details can we concern ourselves very

little with? What is the author$s tone?

Teacher X is' relaxed as a teacher. Operates inLode
low kev. asks interesting. thought provokingin (4/911.

Qufifiilflflai.and inro£121.313d2532.hsaxi_v O
- clasroom discussions. I stresses n tag-4:31:33 M
- endgggaoxigkills. and since I works with such

fins-y Wicca?“ tori A

dividual works and uestions ec n m cally. fipuxiria128h~
there is usually.time zithin a period to allow a.
students to road ahead. .m

' O

Coding 3; Sample Evaluation

 

   
  
 

Achievement: 5 phrase
Recognition: 6 phrases
Responsibility: 2 phrases
Work Itself: 3 phrases
, Growth: 1 phrase .
School Policies: 0 '
Supervisory Practices: 0
Working Conditions: 0

 

Interpretation 2; sample coding

This°sample teacher evaluation is heavily skewed toward
motivational theory in that it incorporates all of the
Herzberg-identified motivators and none of the
Herzberg-identified hygiene factors. It is noteworthy
that this evaluation in recognizing Teacher Xas strong
teaching performance (Recognition is the most frequently
occurring category.). makes minimal use of the Growth
motivator which might have addressed potential growth
areas. A teacher as skilled and flexible as this teacher
appears to be. might benefit more from professional growth
and advancement rather than simple praise and approval.
For example. the mention of this teacaerhs ability to ask
penetrating questions. might be an opportunity to
encourage the teacher to attempt an inquiry approach in
the future. The frequent repetition of Teacher Its name
is. in itself. a positive recognition factor. No
supervisory practices are mentioned. but an administrative
appreciation of order and time management are apparent.

noun: 3-:

Sample content analysis of teacher performance evaluation.
part 2. '

Chapter IV

RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

Introduction

For purposes of this study. a content analysis of
200 Grosse Pointe written teacher performance evaluations
was conducted: the object of the content analysis was a
determination of the current status and the extent to
which Grosse Pointe administrative motivation of teachers
serves as a function of administrative evaluation of
teachers. Based on the language used in the written
evaluations of the 200 Grosse Pointe teachers. frequency
counts of the eight Herzberg-defined components of
motivation: achievement, recognition. responsibility,
growth. the work itself, school policies. supervisory
provisions, and work conditions. were made which served as
the foundation and the parameters for the content
analysis.

Analyzing content for an intangible condition.
such as motivation. was facilitated by the use of the

categorized frequency counts because. through this method

125

126

of organizing nominal data. highly hetrogenous concepts
were brought together in clear-cut juxtaposition.
Fredrick Herzberg's theory of motivation provided av
systematic format for the content analysis which allowed
the study to reveal more than simple frequency counts: the
theory illuminated the evaluation process by defining
written language as a significant motivational variable of
administrative patterns of response to the performance
feedback needs of teachers.

I Analysis of data was first conducted in a micro
mode by separately studying the results of the frequency
counts from each one of the eight Herzberg components of
achievement. recognition, responsibility, growth, the work
itself. school policies, supervisory provisions, and work
conditions. Processing frequency counts separately
revealed important points of administrative emphasis:
motivation. while certainly not reducible to a numerical
”bottom line." is. nevertheless. definable in terms of
terse mathematical observations about communication
content.

Next. a macro analysis of the data from the
cumulative results across all eight frequency counts was
conducted to ascertain distinct patterns of communication
in the overall written communication of administrators to
teachers in the evaluation process. Processing frequency
counts as integrated patterns revealed important

relationships in administrative emphasis: motivation.

127

while impossible to quantify. is. nevertheless. definable
in terms of relative mathematical statements about
observable evaluation focus.

Finally. an observation of the word choice.
grammar. and diction used in the written evaluations was
made in order to discover any inferential messages
communicated by these factors. The purpose of analyzing
what specific words mean. and how they work together in
written messages is to gain a knowledge of what the
.written language is actually communicating.

By analyzing both the substance and the form of
written evaluation documents. this study attempted to
measure actual administrative behavior against stated
administrative aspirations. The study's purpose is not a
discussion of remedy for deficiency. but a clear
description of what conditions already exist. Ultimately.
teacher performance improvement- is definable as a matter
of attitude: the thesis of this study is that written
teacher evaluations. if prOperly planned. can serve as a
measurable point of leverage in the administrative
encouragement of the develOpment of enduring. productive,
teacher performance improvement attitudes. An overview of
the findings of this study are first presented numericaly
and graphically (Figures h-1.2.3,h.5.6,7). A breakdown of
the study's findings by Herzberg-defined components is
then presented.

The total frequency count of all 8 components

128

observed in the 200 documents of this study was 3.200.

The

individual frequency counts of the 8 components

studied were:

The

Achievement 587 18%
Recognition 1224 38%
Responsibility #20 13%
Growth 143 5%
Work Itself 206 6%
School Policies 232 7%
Supervisory Provisions 2A6 8%
Work Conditions 1&2 5%

mean number of individual Herzberg-identified

component references were found to be:

The

per evaluation 16 references
per component #00 references
per male evaluator 204 references

per female evaluator 196 references

per high school 172 references
per middle school 113 references
per elementary 115 references
per male teacher 178 references
per female teacher 222 references

observed mode of communicated Herzberg-identified

129

motivational elements was found to be:

per component 122k references
per male evaluator 269 references
per female evaluator #29 references
per male teacher . 269 references
per female teacher #29 references

Byr individual component categories the approximate
frequency count ratio of component frequency to mean

frequency was found to be:

Achievement 3:1
Recognition 5:1
Responsibility 2:1
Growth 1:1
Work Itself 1:1
School Policies 2:1

Supervisory Provisions 1:1

Work Conditions 1:1

335' school level of administrative use of motivational

components in writing were found to be:

High School 1375 u3%
Middle School 905 28%

Elementary School 920 29%

By gender of administrator, use of motivational components

in writing were found to be:

130

‘ Male administrator 1632 51%
Female administrator 1568 h9%

By gender of teachers. reception of motivational

components in writing was found to be:

Male teachers 1&21 4h%
Female teachers 1779 56%

By evaluation type, evaluations documents were found to

be:
Formative 3183 99%
Summative 17 1%

131

HERZBERG CQ’EPONENT FRECMEDCY PERCIEN'I'AGES

  

 

 

PEKIOGNITION
13% RESPONSIBILITY
SUPERVISORY
PPOVISIWF .
ACI-L'EEVEMENI‘
V-DRK ITSEII‘ ~

VDRK'L'NG CONDI'I'IPNS 551.001. POLICIES

Achievement . 587 18%
Recognition 1224 38% ‘
Responsibility 420 13%
Growth 143 5%
Work Itself 206 6%
School Policies 232 7%
Supervisory Provisions 246 8%
working Conditions 142 5%

1‘1sz 4-1

132

‘mmnom MESSAGES murmurs BY CQ’IPONENT

1250
1200
1150
1100
1050
1000
950
900
850
800
750
700
650
600
550
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100

 
  
 
 
  
  
 
  

Achievement 587
Recognition 1224
Responsibility 420
Growth 143
The work Itself 206
School Policies 232
Sugervisory Provisions 246
' Work Conditions 14 2

 

 

ELMOUD

Figure 4-2

JNEDNEIASIIIDV
NOIJJNEXIIEIH
XLI'TIGISNOJS’EIH
d'TEISLI )RIQ‘A GIRL
SNOIJJCNOD yum

SNOISIAOHd RIOS INEdnS

‘

700
675
650
625
600

550

 

133

- ‘I - - - — Female Admii'fistzator

 

     
  
 
   

Male Adnfinistator

Cormonent lg
Achiever‘axt 323
Recognition 588

_ Responsibility 194
GIOWth ' 103
Work Itself . 29

School Policies 132
Supervisory Provis. 134
Work Conditions 70

In:

264
686
226

40
177
100
112

72

 

HZMSM<MH310W

ZOHaHzoonmw

int-320700

"it"MUID-JH 7:7102
a
WWW

134'

HERZBERG COMPONENTIFREQUENCIES BY
. WWR / TEACHER CATEGORY
Category A Male Administrator / Male Teacher (50)
Category B Ferale Administrator / Male Teacher (50)
Category C Male Teacher / Female AdministratoflSO)
Category 13 Female Teacher / Female teacher (50)

 

 

 

 

 

CATEGORIES E; E. 9. I2
WM F/M M/P F/F

Achievement _ 138‘ 117 188 ‘ 147
Recognition’ ‘ . 269 257 269 429
Responsibility. . 97' 100 97 126
Growth Y 40. 20 .63 20
The Wbrk Itself o 60 29 117
School Policies . 58 63. 74 37
Supervisory Provisions 67 67 67 45
' working Conditions ._~ 35 36 35 36
TOTALS 701 720 822 957

PERCENTAGES 22% 23% 25% 30%

 

 

 

 

 

 

HIGHLIGHTS: Most frequent component: Recognition, l224,38%
Most frequent administrator use of Recognition: F
Most frequent teacher recipient of Recognition: 1?
Most frequent motivational use category: 0 F/F

FIGURE 4-4

135
USE or HERZBERG MOTIVATIONAL.COMPONENTS

BY ALMINISTRATIVE SCI-K131. LEVEL

1125
1100
1075
1050
1025
1000

 

 

High School 1109 - 35%

Middle School 1011 31%
Elementary School 1080 _34%

TOTALS 3200 100%

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION BY TYPE:
FORMATIVE on suMMATIVE

1%
99%
Ptrnative Ehnnative
3183 17
99 % 1%
FIGURE 4-5

136

 

 

 

MALE AmINIST’RATORs Poms ADMINISTRATORS
'(A + C) (B + D)
323 ACI-ZIEVEIVIENI‘ 264
588 RECOGNITION 686
194 RESPONSIBILITY 226
103 GROWTH 4o
29 RORK ITSELP 177
132 SCHOOL POLICIES 100
134 SUPERVISORY _PROVI #112
70 WORKING CONDITIONS 72
1523 1017415 1677
48% - PERCENTAGES , 52%

 

 

WW

FEMALE'IEACI‘ERS

 

 

$1: + B) (C + D)
252 ACHIEVEMENT 335
526 RECOGNITION 698
197 RESPONSIBILITY 223

60 GROWTH 83
60 WORK ITSEIF 146
121 SCHOOL POLICIES 111 .
134 SUPERVISORY PROVI 112
71 WORKING CONDITION 71

1421 mm 1779
44% PERCSNEACES 56%

 

 

FICXIRE 4 ° '5

'137

Achievement Content

Achievement was found to be a major point of emphasis in
the written evaluations that Grosse Pointe administrators
prepared for Grosse Pointe teachers. Every one of the 200
evaluations that were surveyed for the study contained
multiple references to positive achievements of teachers:
an average of 587 achievement descriptions per evaluation
were counted. Approximately two-thirds, or 390, of these,
achievement references described instructional behavior:
the remainder of the counted achievement citations ranged
in content from building and staff responsibilities to
professional organization membership. 0f the 200
documents, 2% or 12, contained no references to
instructional achievements of teachers. 0f the 3200
counted references, only 5 which is less than 1%,
contained a negative achievement denotation. The most
frequently counted instructional achievement tOpics were
confined to:

1. observed accomplishments of specific instructional
tasks such as planning. reporting, and testing:

2. effective implementation of traditional teaching
methods:

3. satisfactory coverage of district curriculum
guidelines:

4. demonstrated use of appropriate instructional

:materials. No significant differences between expected

138

achievement frequencies and observed achievement

frequencies was found.

ACHIEVEMENT FREQUENCY COUNTS

administrator/teacher category
A (m/m) 135 23%
B (r/n) 117 20%
C (m/f) 188 32%
D (f/f) 147 25%

administrative gender
Male (A + C) 323 55%
Female (B + D) 264 45%

teacher gender
Male (A + B) 252 43%

Female (0 + D) 335 57%

school level g: administrator

 

High School 297 50%
Middle School 149 26%

Elementary School 141 24%

139

ACHIEVEMENT CONTENT SAMPLE REFERENCES:

A typical achievement reference used language such as:
”showed improvement in organizing lessons"
"was able to make good progress in new area"
"used the technique of questioning"
Achievement references occasionally sounded like "product"
statements such as:A
"develOped written philOSOphy on computers"
”organized new unit on motors"
Evaluative statements about teacher achievement were
occasionally made by association with student achievement:
"one of his students won a prize in a
national contest"
"her students achieved success in art"
Achievement references sometimes focused on
non-instructional teacher accomplishments such as:
"she took a computer course at Wayne”
"she wrote a news article on a class project

for The Grosse Pointe News

140

Recognition Content

The study found that no other Herzberg-identified
single component of motivation had greater frequency of
use in teacher evaluations than recognition. Grosse
Pointe administrators quantitatively stressed recognition
as the primary focus of 1224 appraisals. While occurring
infrequently. negative recognition content also was
observed and counted in the study. The most frequently
observed recognition topics paralled the instructional
achievements tOpics closely such as: 1)specified classroom

~tasks, 2)traditional teaching methods 3)district

curriculum guidelines 4)appropriate instructional
materials.

As a motivational factor, recognition
communication differs markedly from achievement

communication. The chief difference between recognition
and achievement language concerns the focal point of the
communication: achievement statements describe behavior
(empirically: recognition statements describe statements
that administrators used to describe behavior
judgmentally. The recognition statements that
administrators used to describe a teacher’s performance
behavior focused either positive or negative attention in
the form of the language of praise or criticism for
administratively approved behavior.

The fact that Recognition statements exceeded

141

achievement .statements in frequency of appearance in the
Grosse Pointe administratorsfi evaluations of teachers was
due to either repetitious praise for the same achievement
by a teacher. or praise that was general in nature for
such things as a teacherls positive attitude or
commitment. Qualitative research, especially studies
focused on characteristics of traditions, have found that
institutional standards, determined by behavior recognized
by institutions, exert a powerful but not totally
determining influence on behavior within the institution.
A significant 'difference between expected recognition
frequencies ~and observed recognition frequencies was
found.

RECOGNITION FREQUENCY COUNTS

administrator/teacher category
A (m/m) 269 22%
B (f/m) 257 21%
c (m/f) 269 22%
D (f/f) 429 35%
administrative gender
Male (A + C) 538 44%
Female (C + D) 686 56%
teacher gender
Male (A + B) 526 43%
Female (C + d) 698 57%

y 142

schoolIlgzgl‘gf’administrator
High School 367 30%

Middle School 416 34%
Elementary School 441 3%

RECOGNITION CONTENT REFERENCE SAMPLES
Recongition outnumbered all of the other 8 motivational
components of the study. A typical recognition reference
used language such as:

"doing a fine job"

"shows good potential"

"uses quality processes"
Recognition references occasionally appeared to focus on
the evaluator as much as the teacher:

"X surpassed my expectations"

"I am fortunate to have X on my staff"

"I enjoy Xls pleasant disposition”
Recognition references occasionally focused on
characteristics of teachers which could arguably be
considered "givens" of instructional performance:

"X is anexperienced teacher"

PX is stable"

"X is known as a solid-thinker"
Sandwhiched in between positive remarks, were occasional
negative Recognition references:

"X was observed smoking in view of students"

"X is possessive about audio-visuals"

143
Responsibilitngontent

As a quantified reference. responsibility was
found to be a relatively minor factor in the teacher
performance evaluations that Grosse Pointe administrators"
wrote. In a motivational sense, responsibility is a
crucial factor in performance improvement. Psychologistst
studies have indicated that if a person thinks he has the
responsibility of even modest personal control over his
destiny, he will become more committed to tOp performance.
The question of responsibility speaks to the very heart of
motivation. because it addresses the subject of control:
Herzbergian evidence has shown that with self-control. as
Opposed to administrative control, a worker is much more
likely to be motivated to improve his performance.

Responsibility as a motivational component also
speaks to the relationship between administrators as
evaluators and teachers as performers. Ideally, the
teacher as a professional performer is most observably
motivated when his independence from authoritative control
encourages a predisposition to explore alternative
instructional strategies. However, few written
evaluations in this study portrayed frequent references to
independent teacher responsibility. 0n the contrary, most
observations of the Herzberg-identified responsibility
component simply mentioned a teacherfis noticeable
initiative‘ in ”self-starting" conventional achievement

practices. The difference between individual

144

responsibility for taking action. and administrative
responsibility for taking action is the factor of control:
with little evidence of responsibilityeencouraging
language in the documents of this study, the suggestion of”
administrative control rather than administrative support
for teacher selfrcontrol is implied. No significant
difference between expected Responsibility messages and
observed Responsibility messages was found.
RESPONSIBILITY FREQUENCY COUNTS
administrator/teacher category
A (m/m) 97 23%
B (r/m) 100 24%
C (m/f) 97 23%
D (f/f) 126 30%

administrative gender
Male (A + C) 194 46%
Female (B + D) 226 54%

teacher gender
Male (A + B) 197 47%
Female (0 + D) 223 53%

school level 93 administrator
High School 151 36%
Middle School 118 28%

145

Elementary School 151 36%
. RESPONSIBILITY CONTENT SAMPLE REFERENCES
A typical Responsibility reference used such language as:

"manifests a caring attitude"

”kind and helpful nature"

"willing to contribute”

Responsibility references occasionally referred to
professional actions peripheral to instruction such as:

"took charge of meeting arrangements"

"earned respect of department colleagues"

"responds to identified learning needs"
Responsibility ‘ references occasionally focused on
determination or self-starting abilities:

"persisitent efforts to reach all students"

"single-handedly develOped new approach"

"willing to search for best materials"
Responsibility references occasionally attributed
compliance to a sense of responsibility in messages such
as:

"always COOperates cheerfully"

"makes every effort to cover curriculum"

"has an internal clock for on-task classwork"
Responsibility references occasionally were described as
the apparent absence of need for external control:

”needs few reminders"

"never missed important deadlines"

"acts without prompting"

146

Growth Content

‘Quantitative results of teacher performance
appraisals indicate that, as a motivational process.
written evaluations do not substantially serve Grosse.
Pointe teachers in a growth-oriented function. Grosse
Pointe administrators could be said to perceive the power
of growth messages according to the reinforcement rule
that a stimulus may be more valuable by its relative
rarity of use. The usefulness of the written messages of
the study appeared to be primarily centered in recognition
of apparently approved teacher behaviors rather than in
involvement ‘ with behavior improvement articulation.
Common growth areas that might be expected to be present
in teacher evaluations, but rarely were, included
increasing teaching effectiveness, appraiSing learning
problems, understanding curriculum goals, reviewing
materials selection, or improving individual standards.

Growth, as a motivational component of
evaluation, specifically refers to insightful knowledge of
results. Usually a teacher can tell whether a particular
cycle of activity has worked, but Often the teacher also
needs critical information about whether this completed
cycle is leading to the overall goal of the instruction.

Growth in performance has been shown to occur
when a performer has reason for change: identifying needs
and prOmoting Opportunities for growth in the

instructional performance evaluation process means

147

communicating meaningful reasons for change, in writing.
The tendency to write a quick "relief” form of praise
instead of the insightful feedback needed for regenerative
growth may be symptomatic of an administrative ethos of
apogee of confidence in instructional reformation. A
significant difference between expected Growth frequencies
and observed Growth frequencies was found.
GROWTH FREQUENCY COUNTS
administrator/teacher category

A (m/m) 40 28%

B (r/n) 20 14%

c (m/f) 63 44%

D (f/f) 20 14%

administrative gender

Male (A + C) 103 72%
Female (B + D) 40 28%

teacher gender
Male (A + B) 60 42%

Female (0 + D) 83 58%

school level 2;.administrator

High School 62 43%
Middle School 62 43%

Elementary School 19 14%

148

GROWTH CONTENT REFERENCE SAMPLES:
A typical growth reference messages used language such as:
”selected 5 major goals for next year”
"plans to use more class discussions"
"hOpes to involve more students in program"
Growth references occasionally appeared to use
administrative expectations as a growth motivator:
"I would like to see..."
"I fully expect more improvement in..."
"My expectations for X include...”
Most growth references gave no specific indication of how
change was to occur:
"needs to slow lectures down"
"might try alternative methods"
"should offer more types of practice"
Growth references occasionally appeared to encourage
beneficial change by describing what behavior should not
occur:
”needs to eliminate some of the overlapping units next
year”
"must avoid having every student do same drills"
"should not expect LD kids to learn at same rate as the

majority of the class"

1.49
Th£_Work Itself Content

.An analysis of the frequency of references to
teaching work itself in the 200 performances appraisal
documents studied here provided a basis for the finding
that a significant discrepancy seems to exist between the
Grosse Pointe espoused purpose of evaluations and the
"real" purpose. Rarely was information offered in any of
the written evaluations that identified significant
factors of the work itself such as references to: teaching
systems. teaching environments, or teaching behavior.
Without feedback on the performance quality of observed
interaction with any identified components of the work
itself, the probability of growth in a teacherts
instructional skill development is difficult to predict or
to motivate.

Herzbergfis definition of the work itself as an
important motivational factor referred to the instrinsic
rewards inherent (tin effective performance that a
successful teacher could expect to receive. For
administrators writing teacher evaluations, using language
to express the workfis intrinsic significance means
grasping the power of communication to translate a
teacherls personal scale of inherent teaching values into
concrete language that sends the transference of positive
feedback concerning future instructional behavior. No
significant difference between the expected Work Itself

frequencies and the observed Work Itself frequencies was

150
found.

THE WORK ITSELF FREQUENCY COUNTS

administrator/teacher category
A (m/m) 0 0%
B (f/m) 60 29%
0 (m/f) 29 14%
D (f/f) 117 57%

administrator gender
Male (A + c) 29 14%

Female (B + D) 177 86%

teacher gender

 

Male (A + B) 60 29%
Female (C + D) 146 71%

school level 2: administrator

High School 206 100%
Middle School 0 0%
Elementary School 0 0%

THE WORK ITSELF CONTENT REFERENCE SAMPLES
A typical reference to the work itself used
language such as:
' "love for kids"

"enthusiasm about math"

151

"intellectually motivated by
scientific method of thought"

References to the work itself occasionally
described the apparent effect that the presence of this
motivational factor had on the evaluated teaching
performance:

"promotes excitement about French"

”encouraged many students to consider
jobs in business"

”has been successful in promoting
interest in new physics course"

The work itself was referenced in several
negative critical observations:

"appears to have lost the spark"
"does not radiate love for all
aspects of the subject" ,
1 “displays no interest in new
developments in social science field"

Since the work itself is a primary indigenous
factor of professional performance, its use as a
motivational force might be expected to be more profound
than the data evidenced in the fairly low frequency counts

of this study.

152
School POlicies Content

‘As a hygiene element, school policies have been
shown to serve only a maintenance factor in stimulating
teacher satisfaction, not as an enhancement stimulating
improved performance. In the 200 written evaluations
studied for this project, school policies, defined as the
set of behaviors that are administratively important to
the district, served a relatively infrequent role in
written communication.

Theoretically, school policies serve as
motivation to the extent that they supply information
leading to the modification of a teaching assignment, such
as placement in more apprOpriate educational positions. or
that lead to promotions, or terminations. In actual
practice, evaluated performers in many different fields,
have been found to use organizational policies as a
listening post or a measuring stick which indicates what
evaluators really want. In the light of employment
. survival. a conclusion employees have frequently come to
about school policies is that administrators chiefly want
order, tidiness, punctuality, deadline observance, and
exact compliance with rules and procedures. School
policies, in this capacity, are only capable of
maintaining authority control. not motivating performance
improvement. A Significant difference between expected
School Policies frequencies and observed School Policies

frequencies was found.

153

SCHOOL POLICIES FREQUENCY COUNTS

administratorlteacher category
A (m/m) 58 25%
B (f/m) 63 27%
C (m/f) 74 32%
D (f/f) 37 32%

administrative gender
Male (A + C) 132 57%
Female (B + D) 100 43%

teacher gender
Male (A + B) 121 52%
Female (0 + D) 111 48%

school level g: administrator
High School 84 36%
Middle School 64 28%
Elementary School 84 36%

SCHOOL POLICIES CONTENT REFERENCES SAMPLES‘
A typical school policies reference used language such as:
"acceptable standards"
"implements rules"

"uses apprOpriate techniques"

154

School policies references occasionally described
characteristic teacher actions as if there were
uncharacteristir and worthy of special attention in
Writing:

”desires worthwhile instructional conditions"

"waits for Opportune moment to begin"
School policies seemed to be a communication area
especially vulnerable to the use of language expressions
such as:

"runs a tight ship"

"knows when to put foot down"
School policies serves essentially as a hygiene factor in
human organizations. The absence of frequent reference to
this component, suggests only its apparent lack of
importance as 'a source of teacher or administrator

dissatisfaction.

155

' Supervisory Provisions Content

School administration, like business management, has
historically divided itself by actual practice into two
forms of action: 1)problem prevention, and 2)
environmental shaping. Problem prevention refers to the
flagging and control of organizational disruptions, while
environmental shaping describes positive motivationsl
strategizing. The Supervisory provisions of a school
district serve as a clearly observable model of which form
of action the district seems to promote. 0f the 200
evaluation documents analyzed in this study, Supervisory
provisions were referred to 246 times, and then, almost
always, in a problem prevention role.

The infrequent mention of Supervisory Provisions found in
this study seems to indicate this factorAS minimal
presence in the work environment of Grosse Pointe teachers
and seems to point to the probability that for Grosse
Pointe administrators, Supervisory provisions is a problem
prevention tool. An evaluation system which claims to
have performance improvement as its objective, probably
requires a stronger activation role than simple problem
control. Operating as a maintenance function rather than
as an environmentally stimulating function, the component
of Supervisory provisions, in Grosse Pointe, seem to be
describable as more of a rationale for administrative
control than as a force for instructional improvement. A

significant difference between expected Supervisory

156
Provisions frequencies and observed supervisory provisions
was found.
SUPERVISORY PROVISIONS
administrator/teacher category
A (m/m) 67 27%
B (f/m) 67 27%
C (m/f) 6? 27%
D (f/f) 45 19%

administrative gender.
Male (A + C) 134 54%

Female (B + D) 112 46%

teacher ggnder

Male (A + B) 134 54%
Female (C + D) 112 46%

school level g; administrator

 

High School 172 70%
Middle School 25 10%
Elementary School 49 20%

SUPERVISORY PROVISIONS CONTENT REFERENCES SAMPLES
A typical Supervisory provisions reference used language
such as:
"invited principal to Observe different

sections"

157
"kept an Open door policy"
"prepared a summary of the yearts
achievements"
Supervisory Provisions references occasionally focused on .
both the administrator and the evaluated teacher:
”I appreciate his use of quality methods"
"is an asset to any building principal"
Supervisory provisions occasionally used negative content
language such as:
”never responded to my suggestions for
bulletin boards"
"had several conferences With principal about

grading standards"

158

Work Conditions Content

For teacher evaluation purposes, Work conditions
are often synonymous with evaluative observation
practices. The method of collecting data about a
teacher's performance is a work conditional situation
that, in Grosse Pointe, seems to mean the sum of common
administrative procedures used for prOviding teachers with
a required statement ‘Of where they stand: or how they
compare with other teachers on each of a set of
pre-determined performance criteria. An analysis of the
data of this study appears to indicatethat the same set
of procedures was used with all observed teachers
regardless of their training, their experience, or their
particular situation. On a quantitative basis, Work
conditions, defined as part of the evaluation process or
as any other part of working Operations, did not appear to
be a major point of emphasis in the 200 written
evaluations studied. Frequency counts of references to
Work conditions were apparntly more significant as a
primary indicator of the mechanistic approach written
evaluations tended to use, in practice and in language, in
communicating standardized appraisals of Grosse Pointe
teaching performance. A significant difference between
expected Work conditions frequencies and observed Work

conditions frequencies was found.

159
WORK CONDITIONS FREQUENCY COUNTS

administrator/teacher category
A (m/m) 35 25%
B (f/h) 35 25%
C (m/f) 35 25%
D (f/r) 36 25%

administrative ggnder
Male (A + c) 70‘ 49%
Female (B + D) 72 51%

teacher gender

Male (A + B) 71 50%
Female (C + D) 71 50%

school level 2: administrator

 

High School 36 25%
Middle School 71 50%
Elementary School 35 25%

WORK CONDITIONS REFERENCE SAMPLES
A typical Work conditions reference used language such as:
"maintains an atmosphere of relaxed order"

”managed an increased load of students"

160

Work conditions references occasionally mentioned
efficient behavior without specifying whether such
efficiency was instructionally beneficial:

”used consumable workbooks"

”displayed good stewardship of supplies"

Work Conditions as a hygiene factor of teacher ”burnout"
was occasionally mentioned:
"really feels the frustrating shortage of
instruments”
"dislikes working in a room without

windows”

Work conditions is a maintenance factor of motivation that
generally causes concern only when it generates
dissatisfaction. Discussions of equipment shortages,
workbook consumption rates, or windowless rooms is hardly
likely to prompt reinvigorated performance responses, but
might lessen dissatisfaction if these areas were of
hygienic concern to the individual teacher whose

performance was being appraised.

161

Evaluation Langgage Content

Because the process of motivating is largely the
process of building confidence, written evaluation
language, and motivation are all of a piece and must be
treated as inseparable, related parts: the manifest way a
message is phrased and set down is, to a great extent, the
manifest idea being communicated. Thus, an analysis of
written confidence-building begins with an analysis of
written exposition.

In most of the 200 evaluation documents of this
study, predictable phrasing and mechanical expression
appear to reflect an institutional evaluation attitude of
systematic behavior reinforcement. What most of the
studied evaluations seem to do was to simply retrace, in
carbon copy fashion, a (list of behaviors that a teacher
was observed to perform during an evaluation period.
Communication which merely tells a perSon information that
he probably already knows about his own behavior has been
found to be helpful in increasing the efficiency of that
person's behavior, but because of limited supporting
content, is usually incapable of enriching an individual's
personal understanding about performance improvement.

Linguistic analyst, S.I. Hayakawa, explains that
understanding the relation between language and reality,
requires an understanding of the fact that the meaning of
individual words is not in the words themselves, but in

the context of their use: in the distinct thoughts and

162

relevant emotions, and related experiences of both the
writer and the reader. Analyzing written evaluation
content ‘thus means analyzing administrative thought by
studying the verbal strategms used to convey meaning.
While oral language has a personal tone, rhythm, and
volume, to enhance a communicated message, written
language is largely dependent on word choice, sentence
structure, and chosen event to symbolically convey
important insight and meaning.

Two factors of communication which are capable of
conveying a secondary layer of meaning to a reader are the
grammar and :visual presentation elements of written
language. Many of the 200 evaluation documents studied in
this project tended to convey a lack of pre-writing: they
often appeared to be rough drafts rather than polished
compositions in terms of their general lack of editing,
proofreading, and professional typing. The following
frequency counts of these factors were observed:

Grammar Errors
107 sentence fragments

63 .run-ons/COmma splices
19 subject-verb agreement

24 pronoun-referent agreement

Mechanics Errors
3? punctuation

22 spelling

163

18 usage

21 typos

Writing Style Flaws
35 parallel structure
163 passive voice
14 illogical tense shifts
12 illogical pronoun shifts
18 redundant phrasing
Grammar Error Content
Sentence incompleteness usually was caused by
incorrect writing of subordinate clauses (e.g. ”Since the
knowledge was gained last year.”), gerundial phrases (e.g.
”Using computer resources wisely."), and appositives (e.g.
"This veteran, a model of how science teachers should
conduct labs."). Run-ons and comma splices sometimes
seemed to be purposely incorrect when the missing subject
of the problem sentence would frequently have been the
evaluated teacher's name (e.g."Lesson plans offered a
variety of aetivities showing an awareness of many
student interests."). Basic errors in agreement usually
stemmed from problems in person, number, and gender
mismatches.
Mechanics Error Content
Comma and period functions as separators of ideas
were the' most frequently observed mechanical problem. At

the elementary level, the misuse by overuse of the

164

exclamation point was especially noticeable: sometimes two
or three exclamation points in a row were used at the end
of a single sentence. Spelling commonly presents a
problem in written language not because English lacks a
system for correct spelling, but because it has so many
systems operating at once: spelling was another problem,
but not a serious one. Usage problems, ranging from the
excess use of the word VERY to a puzzling tendency to use
nouns as .verbs, appeared on a small, but regular basis
(e.g. . to emphasis,. to conference, and the trendy,
ubiquitous preposition INTO as in, ”He is into writing.").
Typos seemed to occur more often in documents prepared on
portable typewriters which suggests they were probably
written outside the evaluatorls office. In summarizing
the grammatical effects of the documents of this inquiry,
Ben Jonson’s words(1623) come to mind, "Neither can his
mind be thought to be in tune, whose words do jarre: nor
his reason in frame, whose sentence is preposterous."44
Writing Stylg

Most sentences observed in this study followed
the so-called natural or simple order of thought: subject
- verb - object. Only occasionally did an administrative
writer use periodic form in which an idea is not completed
until the end. This observed use of simple declarative
mode appears to be apprOpriate to the evaluation writer’s
task of 'making an important point rather than creating an

impressive effect. However, the use of many short

165

declarative sentences tends to grow tedious for the reader
in terms of communicating motivation.

The fact that clarity of writing reflects clarity
of thinking is probably most evident in the use of
parallel structure. A tendency toward lack of
appreciation of this stylisitcally important technique was
evident in the studied documents (e.g. "The hand-outs were
explicit, incorporated hands-on techniques, and timed to
end at the bell.”). Passive voice was a significant
factor in the frequenby counts of flaws even though the
passive is known to be characteristically lifeless and
more difficult to interpret than the active voice. (e.g.
”tOpics are generated...time is permitted). Shifting verb
tense hapazardly from present to past tends to distract
meaning and distort linguistic emphasis which is also true
in the illogical shift from he or she to you which was
observed in reference to the same person in the same
paragraph. Redundant expression, which is somewhat
understandable in rough drafts, seems inappropriate, if
not somewhat comic, in a final draft (e.g. "The reason is
because...our world around us").

An investigation of what the language of 200
performance evaluations reveal about Grosse Pointe
administrative thought is intended by both form and
substance to generate a set of predicitions of how
evaluative- documents can be prepared that linguistically

encourage meaning, confidence, and therefore, motivation,

166
in a teacher’s professional performance growth. The

observed language of the documents of this study prompts
the suggestion that the teacher performance evaluation
system is not given the margin of importance that
gletter-perfect, ”professional” documents are normally

given.

99n91u§i°9

The results of this investigation support the
argument that the written evaluations under study appear,
on a quantitative basis, to be motivationally grounded,
but may, in fact, be inadequate because of an apparent
lack of a growth-oriented standard of judgment: the
standard of performance measurement, Observed in this
study, pointed to adherence to traditional practices that
maintained a longstanding Grosse Pointe conservative
image. Large abstractions, incomplete information, and
the use of trivial data, as well as language errors are
all examples of writing problems found in this study which
seem to be responsible for the production of written
evaluations which tend to serve as behavioral summaries
more than as motivational tools.

The incongruity between the philoSOphic preamble
on each written evaluation concerning instructional
improvement, and the actual communication observed in each
evaluation concerning standard behavior appears to be

self-contradictory. In the face of a preponderance of

167

recognition factors, the Grosse Pointe teacher performance
evaluation system could be described as motivationally
significant as a maintenance system, with traditional
teacher behavior as the focus of maintenance. Formative
phraseology, notwithstanding, the 200 written Grosse
Pointe evaluations emphasized inference judgments about
the kinds of things teachers were doing without actually
stating how that data might be used to enhance or improve
instructional .performance. An analysis of the cumulative
data reinforces a primary conclusion that Grosse Pointe
teacher evaluations chiefly promote administrative
maintenance purpose, not instructional growth purposes.
Taken together in writing, the eight Herzberg
components should add up to a personally meaningful,
clearly communicated mission. While no guaranteed linear
path to motivated improvement exists, the evidence present
in this study points to an administrative tendency toward
communication entrOpy rather than disciplined use of
motivational theory for teacher improvement. AS
motivational tools, Grosse Pointe evaluations seem to be
designed to maintain rather than to stimulate: as a group
these evaluation documents tend to address relatively
general areas of competence, deal with ambiguous
descriptions, and address a limited set of standardized
instructional traits which, presumably, are important in
most instructional settings. As such, the findings Of

this inquiry suggest that during the Grosse Pointe teacher

168

performance. evaluation process, nothing significant
occurred‘ in relation to performance change. In studying
communication methods, American sociologist Rose
Goldsen(1977) noted, ”All educators teach who they are and
how they think much more than what they know.”45 The
basic premise of Grosse Pointe evaluation of teaching
seems to be that all instructors in the district,
regardless of a multitude of contextual conditions, can be
. motivated with the same form of communication language.

Findings in the "client-oriented" learning
research of Carl Rogers(1961) and others suggest that
an exposure to supportive change messages should provide a
person with more than an accumulation of facts, an
accretion of knowledge: it should also present a pervasive
personal experience that produces changes of a definite
sort in which a person:

1) sees himself differently:

2) accepts himself more fully:

3) grows more selfeconfident and self-directing:

4) becomes more flexible, less rigid:

5) adapts realistic goals:

6) becomes more accepting of others:

7) becomes more Open to evidence.

Chapter V

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary

Interpreting the results of a content analysis
essentially means choosing a comprehensive perspective
from which to assess the complexity and importance of the
study&s findings. The process of determining an
appropriate perspeCtive begins with an understanding that
a content analysis produces a varied collection of
separate frequency counts. However, the separate
frequency counts, do not exist in a vacuum: each count
exists as a piece of a paradigm. In this inquiry, each
separate count reveals in its pattern of accumulated use,
an emerging vision of the particular role that a
professional evaluation process has in the larger context
of a school districtts overall purpose. For this study,
the frequency counts of observed references to the
components of Herzbergfis theory of motivation, are the
pieces in the context of Grosse Pointe administrative use
of motivational theory in written teacher performance
evaluations.

As a study of control, few issues in education
are more controversial than the administrative evaluation
of teachers. Even when a school district like Grosse

Pointe declares, in print, that improvement of the quality

169

170

of its instruction is the major purpose of its teacher
evaluation program, this administrative issue continues to
be troublesome, in part, because the written apparatus
that Grosse Pointe administrators collectively use, tends
to impose external control rather than elicit internal
improvement motivation. Current literature on teacher
evaluation, especially that of McGreal(1983) and
Sergiovanni(1986), calls attention to the maxim that a
school districtts teacher evaluation messages reflect its
administratorst priority systems. In that context, the
200 evaluation communications written by Grosse Pointe
administrators, which were studied in this project, reveal
conclusively, by their similarity of both substance and
form, a commonly held priority system in which teacher
evaluation seems to serve a conservative,
tradition-maintenance role rather than the purported
instructional performance improvement role. Communication
which claims to improve, but, in practice, tends to
control externally, implies unstated directions about the
district administrators! perceived need for teacher
compliance and passivity rather than teacher growth and
active decision making.

Any discussion of evaluation behavior begins with
the question: What is the prOper domain of the evaluator?
For teacher performance evaluators, the answer must be
that the. proper domain is in the actual practice of

teaching: specifically it is involved in 3 processes:

171

,1). the gathering and accumulating of
performance-relevant observations:

2) the selecting and discarding of observation
data based on its value in predicting performance
improvement:

3) the writing and polishing of effective
communication about observed behavior relative to
performance improvement.

Failure to satisfactorily complete any one of the
three sequential processes impedes the administrator as
evaluator from sending motivationally significant written
appraisal messages to teachers. The findings of this
study indicate that Grosse Pointe administrators are
apparently accumulating sufficient observation data, but
tending to follow no definite pattern in ordering the data
into purposeful, carefully culled, planned arrangements of
supportive written messages.

One common reason for motivationally inadequate
written evaluations is a general lack of understanding of
the nature of criticism. Professional criticism does not
merely mean a search for flaws: it means the making of
discriminating judgments using a valid set of standards.
The judgments produce an Opinion which may be favorable or
unfavorable, or a little of both, but it must be an
Opinion. Professional criticism is not a statement of
fact or an emotional, spur-Of-the-moment reaction: rather,

it is arrived at through informed thought, and genuine

172

analysis. A Crucial to professional criticism is the
support .of well-chosen evidence by a writer who remains a
caring but emotionally detached appraiser. Reading a
well-ordered evaluation. a teacher can sense, behind the.
supportive words, a real person, a human being trying to
speak to another human being about something both peOple

consider worth sharing.

173

Achievement Conclusions

.Among workers in many types of organizations,
evaluation of human performance is popularly interpreted
as something ‘ that ”others do about you." This.
gravitational direction away from a worker's participation
in his own evaluation is common in the field of education,
and is clearly in evidence in this study’s findings about
achievement reporting. The "something that others do
about you” is reflected in the ironic fact that the
evaluation messages Grosse Pointe administrators prepared
about the instructional behavior of teachers listed
numerous capsulized references to professional
achievements of teachers, in the past tense. The most
frequently mentioned achievements observed in written
evaluation documents were brief general descriptions of an
individual's accomplishment of various teaching goals,
learning A problem solutions, program goals, or
administrative goals. The emphasis on past achievements
depicted in cursory descriptions marked the Grosse Pointe
evaluation process as significant for its memoralizing of
scattered instances of teacher effectiveness rather than
as important for its support of performance growth
orientation.

While education itself has the task of preserving
and passing on what has been learned in the past, the
evaluation of educational instruction has a different

task, and in many ways, a more difficult one. An

17.4

evaluation must also add something to the recognized
achievement of a teacher's performance: it must discover
in. the observed teaching performance the knOwledge of how
to ‘positively influence future teaching practice. As an
evaluator, an ‘educational administrator must, therefore,
understand the goals of teaching, and also understand how
to linguistically influence others to improve their
efforts to obtain these goals. However, many observed
written evaluation comments, such as the following, tend
to. be unwritten "place markers” rather than stimulators
because their incompleteness: direction for growth are
mi 3 a ing making the c ommunication mot ivationally
inadequate:

"Teacher X made very effective use of

learning centers."

What kind ‘of uSe is made of learning centers is
IHTt specified nor is the endeavor in which the effective
use was observed. The lack of completeness tends to make
this reference an insufficient springboard for potential
Performance growth.

”Teacher X's reinforcement of students as
they contribute is contagious.”

What form of reinforcement of what behavior, and
how did this action stimulate the students-’ excitement
OVer what are some of the unanswered issues of this
evaluation‘ message. What growth potential might stem from

this observed performance skill is not made clear.

175

A noteworthy aspect of evaluations which stress
achievements is their unique, indirect unnammed ”audience”
character: achievement-oriented evaluations in Grosse
Pointe appeared to be written less for the motivational
assistance of the evaluated teachers, as for the
informational benefit of unnammed third party, probably
Board Office administrators responsible for teacher
contract continuation. 0f the 200 written evaluations
studied, 95% of the messages used the third person
pronouns, he or she, him or her, in reference to the
evaluated teacher, even though the written evaluations
were supposedly a direct comunication from an
administrator to a teacher for the latter-'s instructional
improvement guidance. In some instances, third person
Pronouns, apparently referred to outside third parties,
While second person pronouns, apparently referred to the
evaluated teacher. The usual result of messages addressed
130 an ambiguous audience is“ that no single reader feels
Personally communicated with, (which means that no one
feels personally motivated to respond. Approximately half
of the messages further diluted the communication impact
by using pronouns with three different antecedents in the
Seme message: first person pronouns, apparently in
reference to the writers themselves, second person
Pronouns, apparently referencing the evaluated teachers,
Plus third person pronouns, apparently addressed to an

unnamed reader who seem to require not growth messages,

176
but employability rationale.
"I think it is important to remember that
Teacher X inherited a class achieving significantly
below grade level in several subject areas, and a
year later most of your students are now achieving at
grade level."

Confusing pronoun shifts of this message obscure
the targeted teacher: the product emphasis on quantity
gains without any explanation of how, why, or what exact
instructional behavior was laudable, or how this quality
might be extended makes this evaluation reference subtly
communicate that a performance is measured by output,
rather than by instructional actions. The message tends
tc: be deficient in both communication form and
motivational content.

Achievement, which David McClelland(1961) called
the sin qua non of motivation, should, by definition,
appeal to a teacher’s urge to improve and to do things
better. However, a history of strictly past performance
achievements, which is what the Grosse Pointe documents
communicate, tends to promote a record-keeping tone in a
lmrittten appraisal as Opposed to a motivationaly
‘Significant stimulant which translates achievement into
ifuture. growth by positively discriminating between
acceptable past effort and desirable future direction. .As
a mirror of purposes, written evaluations need to serve as

assistance for achievement activation rather than just

177
monuments for past effort. Perhaps the most obvious form

of the problematic past tense appraisals observed in this
study was the exaggeration statement, particularly an
exaggerated statement of the obvious.
"Teacher X’s goal to develOp cognitive
skills is progressing splendidly.”

Without further explanation of just what
achievement is being referenced, kudos for the development
of cognitive skills which is the exegesis of daily
instruction, borders on the absurd: the question is not
answered: what is. the growth potential for this
instructional behavior?

”His teaching methods are endless."

If praise can kill by faintness, it can probably
murder by hyperbole. Exaggerated ambiguity is place of
Clear and complete statement seems to reveal a common
administrative writing dilemma: messages that are not
really what the writer intended.

The varied collection of written achievement
references counted in this study included many of a
trivial or non-instructional nature. Use of such
unimportant data in a professional evaluation recalls

Charles Silberman' s classic comments in Atlantic

 

W essay, ”Murder in the Classroom." "What is
Wrong with elementary and secondary education, or, for
that matter, higher education, has less to do with

incompetence or indifference or venality than with

178
mindlessness. " 46

"She is a member of AAUW and serves as its

corresponding secretary.”

"She wrote an article on her history unit

that was published in the paper.”

"He attended a Michigan history workshop
this year.”

Apparently these three efforts are praiseworthy
achievements, but exactly why they are or exactly how they
:migtrt help performance improvement is left unstated. By
themselves, these remarks seem to be attempting to mention
professional achievements, but left incomplete, they
conununicate that the achievements are remarkable de facto
awui have no meaningful relationship to growth in
instructional performance.

I Achievement is .usually defined as the
accomplishment of a worker’s goal. Implicit in this
definition is the a. conscious effort or deliberate
improvement a person must make in order to achieve. Not
iJucluded in this definition of achievement are the routine
auui ordinary tasks whidh accompany specific effort tO'
a~chieve a definite goal. However, an evaluation which
Chooses to describe the ordinary work actions of a person
as if these actions were the achievements themselves, in
Effect, confuses means with ends. The end is clear
enough: improved instructional performance: the evaluation

Process is a question of means: how to improve

179

instructional performance. Documents which emphasize the
actions ‘ of instructors as if they were the completed ends

appear to communicate displaced evaluative process goals.

”Diagnostic testing is done in every basic
subject area.”

What is assumed here is that the mentioned
testing is necessary, unique, especially effective, or
particualrly note-worthy. Why else mention a standard
function of instruction? No potential for performance
improvement is apparent in citing this behavior. The use
of the passive voice and the ambiguous "every basic”
increases the stress on diagnosis as an end, something to
be done, rather than as a useful means toward a specified

end.

"Sets realistic goals that students can
obtain."

Such a comment might be apprOpriate for a novice
teacher, but descriptions of achievement of a basic
teaching skill as if it were a final outcome appears to be
an exercise in empty expression. Communication that lists
an action without describing it as an important part of a
Whale, has the hollow ring of fact and not the resonance
of informative stimulation. Evaluation messages about
basic, daily behavior tend to be lists of facts unless the
evaluator extends their meaning and their motivational

impact. Such communication as this observed evaluation is

180
reminiscent of T.S.Eliotls beatitude, "Blessed is the man
who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving us
worldly evidence of the fact.”47

Implicit in evaluation communication that calls
attention to the use of methods of teaching as if they
were the achievements of teaching, is the insinuation of
approval and encouragement for continuation of the cited
behavior. Not only are ends and means confused by such
references, but potential direction for improvement is
Obscured.

”Teacher X is a good lecturer."

Using a particular method well implies,
cryptically, that lecturing is an appropriate and
desirable activity: the omission of any explanation of how
or why good lecturing is admirable reduces this
achievement reference to the level of contextual vacuity.
The communication lacks definite' information about how
this skill in lecturing might be related to instructional

performance growth.

181
Recognition Conclusions

Used in the evaluation process, recognition, as a
component of motivation, is an effort to assist or to
shape growth using words or symbols for two purposes: tO'
increase a person's self-consciousness of what he has
done: and to enhance a person's conceptualization of what
more he might do. Jerome Bruner noted that peOple,

Go about the task of searching for
information...that reflects recognition of the
complex environmental regularities of their work
world, or that sensitively recognizes their own
limited capacities for processing mitotic
information, and finally, recognition of the
hidden risks involved in making certain kinds of
behavior choices.48

A motivational analysis of the evidence of Grosse
Pointe administrators' evaluation language indicates
nearly uniform treatment of teacher evaluations as a
recognition process. While Fredrick Herzberg clearly
identified recognition as a primary motivational force in
human behavior, the impetus of the recognition
communication observed in this study, i.e. recognition
that quantitatively overshadows the seven other Herzberg
factors by a 5:1 ratio, suggests that the recognition
factor is serving as motivation for teachers to simply
maintain and exhibit an approved set of teacher
performance behaviors. Limiting recognition to a set of
conventional, closely defined performance characteristics,
limiting the use of motivational theory to one single

component' of recognition, and limiting the addressing of

recognition communication primarily to an external third

182

party, points to Grosse Pointe written evaluations which
function' more as justifications for salaried teaching
positions than as actual professional behavior appraisals
designed for improvement purposes.

Recognition that lacks specificity serves
primarily as acknowledgment rather that as motivation for
greater effectiveness. The following observed commments
mention instructional artifacts without discussing their
purpose or utility or significance.

"Counselor X has drawn up a new senior check

list."
"Teacher X has been working on a weekly
progress reporting system this year."

Without any elaboration of what, why, or how,
these recognition statements lack susbstance or direction
for growth. As.a psychological principle, recognition of
an action is generally sufficient as a basis for
motivating greater effort toward repeating that action,
but not toward refining it.

Recognition that draws attention to the inherent
behavior of a profession indicates an assumption that this
inherent behavior might not actually be a professional
"given" or that other evaluation data is not deemed as
worthy as this observation.

"Teacher X prides himself on not discussing
other students with students or the methods of fellow

teachers with students."

183

"Teacher X reacts with maturity to a variety
of parents.”

"Teacher X is able to distinguish between
develOpmental behavior and misbehavior."

The message in communications that state the
obvious or that highlight behavior usually considered
basic is that the evaluation has nothing important to say.
This unfortunate practice carried to the extreme results
in recognition .statements as logically absurd as the
following:

"Yes, there is much of Teacher X present in
what he does."

"Teacher X has a good sound program."

"Teacher X's transmittal of work is of a
remarkable nature."

Dramatic statements of recognition which show an
equally amazing tendency toward the absurd appeared in
several teacher evaluations:

"The LRC consists of two blind or partially
sighted students. Teacher X outlines the daily
individual goals for the students on the chalk
board.”

"With at least four wild Indians in her
classroom, Teacher X has worked miracles.”

"Teacher X is a basic skills teacher with a
flair for basic creativity."

The potential for misleading, damaging, or

184

disheartening communication influences was also found to
be significant in recognition meSsages that fail to
clearly specify what the behavior is that is being
evaluated and why. Missing links in communication tend to
suggest negative or critical judgments which may not be
the writer's intention.
"I am not aware of any unfavorable reactions
by parents or students to Teacher X."
"Her bi-monthly newsletter up until February
was appreciated."
"Teacher X is highly anxious to be involved
with students."

To avoid evaluation or judgment is to simply
react: language, such as the references Observed in this
inquiry, implies, ”I don't like what you're doing." A
reaction of dubious implications is subtly, but
significantly, different’ from language which says
straightforwardly, "What you‘ are doing may not be as
helpful or as effective as it could be. Let's analyze
what might be done instead."

Internal logic is not only lost but communication
becomes exceptionally difficult when language structure is
noticeably awkward or literally nonsensical.

”A student who has difficulty communicating
and lacks in appropriateness of response was so well
dealt with by Teacher X that the student himself was

extremely happy with himself and was most accepted by

185

his classmates."

”Teacher X's students achieved appropriate
knowledge and skills in a superior manner."

”A system of teacher correcting student work
followed by correcting of mistakes by students has
been instituted in the classroom."

In any reading task, a reader essentially wants
to see what a passage indicates without getting lost or
delayed by the language used. Meaning in language emerges
from a reader's comprehension process whereby words are
built into sentences, and sentences are built into
paragraphs. When a reader is forced to examine the
language of communication itself, his need for
clarification can reduce or cancel any motivational
effects the passage might have.l In the last quoted
observation, the word "correct" has two different
meanings: the passage also tends to cause confusion by its
lack of parallel structure.

The central problem of this and many other
observed evaluation messages is not the use Or the
omission of motivational theory: the dilemma appears to
the be non-judgmental basic character of the performance
evaluations. Recognition of traditional Grosse Pointe
values and priorities seems to be the major projection of
the studied documents.

While it is indisputably in the best interest of

every teacher to adapt to the school's working climate,

186

the tendency of recognition for tradition maintenance
messages‘ is in encouraging the school district to value
form over substance because in such communication greater
attention is paid to image rather than 'to genuine”
achievement.

"Teacher X is a high quality teacher who
helps the Grosse Pointe image of quality in
education."

"Teacher X has been learning the Grosse
Pointe writing model."

"X is a very ethical Grosse Pointe teacher.”

The use of Grosse Pointe as an adjective with no
extenuating explanation of why or how this name is a
standard of ideal behavior conveys the implicit message
that how something is done is more important than what is
done. The emphasis on form over substance is, in many
ways, symptomatic of (the problem some school
administrators have in developing genuine employee
involvement and participation. The implication is, "You
must work to participate with us in our (unofficially)
presecribed style: if you don't understand, it's your
fault.”

Negative recognition which was occasionally
observed in the Grosse Pointe evaluation documents has
been found in the literature of mental measurement to be
logically. usable, but psychologically useless information.

In the cognitive sphere, there is an impressive body of

187

evidence that indicates that negative feedback, data which
describes performance. shortfalls, is peculiarly unhelpful
to a person seeking performance improvement.

“Teacher X's statement of goals was not up
to her usual quality."

"An undue amount of time was spent on
handwriting at the expense of more critical areas of
instruction."

The qualifiers "appears," "tends," "seems," often
imply negative criticism especially if imbedded in large
abstractions and vague cliches. W.H. Auden once noted,

You do not educate a person's palate by
telling him that what he has been in the habit
of eating - watery, overboiled cabbage, let us
say, - is disgusting, but by persuading him to
try a dish of vegetables which have been
properly cooked. With some peOple, it is true,
you seem to get quicker results by telling them
- POnly vulgar people like overcookd cabbage:
the best peOple like cabbage as the Chinese cook
it' - but the results are less likely to be
lasting.49

C. S. Lewis suggests, ”most people are more
anxious to express their approval of disappointment of
things than to describe them." 50 However, without
description, negative recognition messages appear to be
enticing the reader into accepting "prefabricated"
Opinion. A particularly unhelpful form of negative
recognition occurs when evaluation messages themselves
lack internal logic.

' "Teacher X has frequently used the computer

in the classroom... The problem of Teacher X's lack

188

of organization does not seem to be caused by lack of
knowledge, but lack of ability to think sequentially,
and to get ideas across to students in a sequential
manner.”

Since the essence of computer thinking is
sequential ordering of ideas, the claim in this negatively
critical message, i.e. that Teacher X fails to use
sequential organizational skills, seems to lack logical
integrity. The evaluation probably confuses Can’t for
Won't, and may have intended to communicate that Teacher X
refuses to plan ahead, or to think through the dayis
lessons. Theory suggests that evaluators who are faced
with Won't problems might approach motivational
improvement messages using a logically structured
problem-solving process that involves communication about:
1)clear specification of the problem: 2)analysis of the
problem in terms of instructional behavior: 3)definition
of alternative solutions: 4)selection of a solution to the
behavioral system of this individual teacher, in order to
encourage X to fully utilize his observed abilbity (with
computers) to break down a learning concept into
sequential steps.

Historically, school administrators have been
relatively negligent in recognizing and rewarding school
peOple for jobs well done. Oftentimes, the sheer size of
a school' organization prevented individual teachers from

gaining the recognition that motivationally strong

189

behavior usually thrives on. However, the abundance of
recognition references observed in the written evaluations
of Grosse Pointe teachers concomitantly with the
relatively sparse number of references to all other
Herzberg-identified elements of motivation suggests the
need for defined parameters of frequencies for recognition
messages in the instructional evaluation process.

Recognition is a motivational component which
only signals action: recognizing a behavior does not
replace the need for ,communicating how to refine that
behavior. ReCognition language that is incomplete or
unclear, tends, by its ambiguity, and obscurity, to serve
as an obstacle rather than a support for motivationally
significant evaluation communication. The fact that so
few observations of performance weaknesses were noted in
this study probably does not indicate a lack of
performance weaknesses, but an administrative avoidance of
the difficulty of supportively discussing performance
weaknesses in writing. Teachers, who are not informed of
observed problems, fit Carlyle's words, "The greatest of
faults, I should say, is to be conscious of none."51
Figure 5-1 delineates the typical characteristics of
peOple who have strong human need for recognition.

A key element in the psychological research of
Abraham Maslow on human motivation is the discovery that
once a goal is achieved by a human being, that goal loses

its motivational power and can no longer move a person to

190
achieve more. By describing a teacher's maintenance of

accepted, traditional behaviors as if this were an.
accomplishment worthy of written recognition, Grosse
Pointe instructional evaluation documents effectively
communicate a sense of finality or completeness that
motivational theory has shown to be growth limiting rather
than growth stimulating. The fact that almost all of the
evaluation documents in this study identified a standard
collection of recognized teacher achievements, illuminated
the shared difficulty Grosse Pointe administrators
apparently have in using written messages as actual
prOpellants of improved teacher performance rather than
simply as approval mechanisms.
Responsibility Conclusions

Accepting responsiblity for a behavior
essentially means understanding the reasons for performing
the behavior and making a personal commitment to positive
action. Part of the administrative task of evaluating
professional performance involves communicating persuasive
reasons for teachers to accept the responsbility for their
own professional improvement. Another part of the
administrative task is in exhibiting an understanding that
commitment is not a one-sided affair. Mutuality of
responsibility means that two parties are involved:
administrators as exhibitors of trust and confidence,
teachers -as encouraged performers who accept the

contention that significant contributions are possible.

191

SATISFYII‘E INDIVIDUAL aim NEEDS

The man or woman with a strong need for recognition
is often characterized by the following traits:

likes to be the center of attention - talks loudly
welcomes opportunities to gain new recognition

' aVOids situations where achievements cannot be recognized
needs reinforcement of recogrdtion on a regular basis ‘
seeks praise consistently - readily accepts praise

needs to feel appreciated - Strives for fame

seeks retards for personal accorplishments

likes to display status symbols in an ostentatious may

is consciuos of 1 appearance - wears clothes for recognition

needs to believe that accomplishments are considered important
by others

welcomes job assignments that provide recognition

sets specific goals which, when achievel, will provide
recognition

From Vincent W. Kafla and John H. Schaefer.‘ 'Ccen Naragelegt.
New York: Peter Wyden, Publisher, pages 48-49.

Figure 5-1

192

In this study of 200 evaluation documents, Grosse Pointe
administrators, by their stated objectives, apparently
believe Grosse Pointe teachers should accept a
responsibility for instructional improvement, but the
evaluations they write rarely communicate insightful
remarks on how or why teachers might improve. Without an
articulation of the specific grounds on which to affirm
responsibility for improvement, evaluated teachers are, in
effect, apparently expected to trust administrative
generalizations about the purposes of the instructional
world in which they are asked to be responsible.

In 1974 social psychologist Stanley Milgramls
findings on human compliance revealed that for a person to
feel responsible for his actions, he must sense that his
behavior originates from his own decisions:

When a person comes to view himself as
the instrument for carrying out anotherls
wishes, he no longer regards himself as
responsible for his actions. The most
far-reaching consequence is that the person
feels responsible to the authority directing
him, but feels no responsibility for the content
that the authorityprescribes.S

Even when evaluations are aimed at motivating
improvement, rather than at increasing adequacy or
obedience, communication can be stymied by administrative
concern for loss of management authority. As a control
mechanism, a performance evaluation can encourage
individual personal control in many ways that do not have

to come at administrative expense. For example,

communicating a clear direction on how to improve onels

193

performance .of a specific instructional task is likely to
. motivate , growth without any administrative goal
displacement. Evaluations which appeal to the human
ability to reason logically and philOSOphically, tend to
motivate personal responsibility to create order and
meaning in professional work. However, evaluations which
assume that a teacher will enlarge his sense“ of
professional responsibility primarily on the basis of
trust of administrative authority were the most commonly
occurring condition disCovered.in this study.
"Last tear_’ I suggested that X take the
responsibility to set up meetings with his
mmiddle school colleagues. Although one meeting
was held, some golden Opportunities were lost.
Try again."

The language of this evaluation message is
remarkably ambiguous: while X apparently followed through
once on last year's suggestion for a meeting, the motive
for his one "responsible” action is unclear. The motive
for his lack of further action in "responsibly" organizing
more meetings is equally unclear. No purpose for holding
a meeting is stated, nor is any evidence given that X
personally valued the idea and therefore, took
responsibility for its enactment. Inferred in this phrase
"golden Opportunities were lost" is a documented lack of
professional responsibility on X‘s part, but no written

evidence supports either the "golden opportunities” of the

194

implied motive for the "loss.”
Exacerbating the communication weakness of this evaluation
message, is the shift from third person, talking about X,
to the second person, talking to X. The infusion of first
person, I, at the Opening of the message, further confuses
the issue of whether this message is intended to be a
supportive dialog or a formal professional description.
The trite phrase ”golden opportunities" and the rather
flippant phrase, "Try again,? tend to obscure rather than
clarify the point of this message.
The use of "left-handed" or awkwardly circuitous wording
of responsibility phrases was observed in a significant
number of teacher evaluation documents.

"X does not shy away from parent conferences."

Saying that X welcomed or was agreeable or
receptive to parent conferences states the same Opinion
but in less ambiguous, "backhanded" fashion.

”X is very amiable to finding a solution in the
best interests of students."

"children are challenged and produce to their
capabilities."

Aside from the misuse of amiable, i.e. friendly,
warm, for amenable, i.e. Open, willing, these
responsibility messages are of questionable value:
reference to a teaching action that was taken in the best
interests .of students or that challenged are, by omission

of explanatory detail, non-information. They express only

195
the obvious ‘and draw no further lesson or direction.
While the written messages apparently are intended as
' compliments, their lack of refinement conveys rather
nebuous support for an evaluated teacherfis growth in
professional responsibility.

Since responsibility, by definition is individual
and self-generative, the broad motivational appeals to
categorical, impersonal instructional skills frequently
found in the written performance evaluations of Grosse
Pointe teachers, tended ‘to be motivationally inadequate
and generally useless, and to reflect an administrative
attitude of manipulative control in regard to

instructional improvement

196

Growth Conclusions

‘The ethical baseline of the medical profession,
"Do no harm," seems to be the same uncertain rationale
used by educational administrators in preparing written
teacher evaluations. The fact that communication, in
writing, about performance growth sometimes causes
defensiveness in those being evaluated is apparently a
psychological concept carefully respected by Grosse Pointe
administrators: few direct statements concerning areas of
professional performance growth were observed among the
200 evaluations studied in this project. A confusion of
problem with solution also appears to be part of the
explanation of the nearly complete lack of specific
communication regarding movement toward increased
effectiveness in teaching skills that was found in this
study. In fact, the written concern with means such as
grades, credits, etc. tends to limit growth incentives for
defensiveness, adaption, self-preservation, and systematic
enculturation.

Simply mentioning growth as the purpose of the
evaluation document does not, ipso facto, stimulate
growth. Describing a teaching performance as a behavior
that is fixed and stable rather than as an action whose
value depends on its readiness to revise at a momentfis
notice, suggests an evlauation process that is a
traditional, formalized set of platitudes and cliches.

Part of the difficulty of addressing growth messages to

197

teachers ‘is the administrative dilemma of discerning
individual performance needs ranging in seriousness from
reflections on self-actualization through "first-aid" to
profound "re-education.” In any case, providing conscious
thinking in writing and even verbal insights about a
growth need have been found to be insufficient without
added documented attempts to begin a "re-conditioning" of
instructional performance behavior.

Rather than supportive messages about refinement
of instructional .presentation, limited communication
regarding avoidance of inappropriate behavior appears to
be the extent of administrative ability or willingness or
obligation to assist teacher performance growth. From the
information conveyed in the 200 documents of the study, it
might be concluded that the achievement of instructional
efficiency and institutional preservation rather than
instructional effectiveness was the primary goal of Grosse
Pointe administrators.

References to growth that were observed in the
written evaluations of Grosse Pointe teachers tended to be
ambiguous in both tOpic substance and language form.

"Continue to work to strengthen yourself."
”X should take more time to prepare lessons."

The use of convoluted language apparently written
in support of performance growth was occsionally pbserved
in the 200 documents of the study.

"X must make every effort to treat each

198
individual equitably and not single out certain

students and give up on them prematurely.
Recognize that you can expect only small givens
from some."

"When the class as a whole fails to be courteous
X should stOp teaching and use good group
measures to win their attention and absorb their
attention on important matters."

The message in awkward, confusing phrasing is
that the evaluating administrator is either an incompetent
writer, or that the message his is communicating is not
important enough for clearly defined, planned composition.

In order to convey meaning, abstract words
require a necessary reference: the omission of informative
details from most of the growth statements that were made
to evaluated teachers rendered the statements practically
useless in terms of change. Evlauators support growth by
promoting performance changes that help teachers conduct
more instructionally effective classrooms.

The absence of a significant number of
growth-oriented messages in the Grosse Pointe teacher
evaluation documents appears to be a subtle message that
says to teachers, "We really donfit expect you to change."
The omission Of expected growth references in written
performance evaluations signals a cutting off of all but
one connection to growth: a recognition of conformity to

pre-set values suggests a growth of teacher security of

199

the status .type documented by McMurray(1954), and points
to an observable disparity between growth, as the stated
goal of the Grosse Pointe performance appraisal system,
and the absence of growth messages in the actual Gorsse‘
Pointe performance appraisal documents.

”X should continue to participate in school

activities.”

"X would do well to attend more system-wide

in-service workshops."

In similar fashion, encouraging. messages of
growth in professional areas outside of instruction were
weakly supported by the same vagueness as observed
messages about instruction. This lack of significant
administrative attention to predictable teacher growth
needs seems to signal an administrative perception of
professional growth as a simple matter of control:
encourage growth by telling someone to grow._ By contrast,
professional growth, as a matter of motivation, involves
stimulating a reasoned °response based on a systematic,
guided, personalized communication process. When
evaluation promotes change through purposeful language, it
explores the concrete experience of observed behavior and
tends to formulate a challenging, reasoned, new vision
that promotes and inspires improvement.

The lack of growth mechansims in the standard
teacher evaluation process was probably most evident in

the omission of references to the school systemts mission,

200

its reason for existence. From the emphasis on
recognition rather than on growth, it would be logical to
surmise that the objective of the Grosse Pointe School
System is the maintenance of tradition—bound homeostasis.
Emersonfis poetic description of the unending thirst for
perfection might help to guide administrative decisions on
the SCOpe and content of instructional improvement
messages that are actually aimed at growth:

Our life is an apprenticeship to the
truth that around every circle another can be
drawn...that there is no end in nature, but
every end is a beginning: that there is always
another dawn rising on midrnoon and under every
deep a lower deep Opens.53

In displaying growth as a fundamental of
cOOperation and a form of security, evaluation documents
reinforce precisely that quality which probably least
needs to be emphasized: adaptability, at the expense of
the indispensable support: individual imaginative judgment
to choose finer alternatives in teaching. AS such, the
Grosse Pointe administrative use of motivational theory
tends to serve not as a primary motivator for improvement,

but as a reinforcement of a perceived satisfactory status

quo.

201
The Work Itself Conclusions

.Written communication about the work itself is
based on a recognition of the interdependence between
professional service and professional energy. In the~
autonomous work life of a classroom teacher, the role of
systematic, reasonably reliable, stimulating feedback on
performance is crucial if instructional improvement is a
serious objective. Herzberg's identification of the work
itself as an important component of motivation pointed to
the role, in the sevaluation process,. that meaningful
instruction itself can have in encouraging a teacher's
commitment to performance improvement efforts as a
satisfying form of self-expression. Capitalizing on the
motivational value of teaching. work itself, within the
framework of a written evaluation, means purposefully
defining the potential of an individual teacher's positive
perception of his personal teaching efforts in precise
enOugh language that the motivationally energizing aspects
of these instructional contributions become visible and
appealing.

The fact that so few references to the element of
the work itself became apparent in the content analysis of
Grosse Pointe teacher evaluation documents seems to point
to either the lack of administrative appreciation of this
component as a significant improvement motivation tool, or
else the -lack of administrative understanding that Grosse

Pointe evaluation documents tend to be incongrous with

202

Grosse Pointe evaluation aims. A focus on the work
wtself, .as both technically and artistically worthy of
evaluation documentation calls for administrative
attention to the expressive character of actual teaching
events so that the evaluated teacher who is, in a sense,
too closely involved in the work, is enabled to recognize
the significance of teaching behavioral improvement
possibilities.

A sense of humor expressed in writing about the
inherent frustrations of the work itself is one way to
extrapolate motivationaly elevating .features from
problematic situations and aim them, in writing, at
performance growth expectations. Dorothy Parker (1931)
observed that:

The possession of a sense of humor
entails the sense of selection, the civilized
fear of going too far. A little humor leavens
the lump, surely but it does more than that. It
keeps a writer from making a dull jackass of
himself. Humor, immagination, and manners are
interchangeable. 54

However, under the best circumstances, humor is
difficult to write: in a teacher evaluation document the
necessary timing and tone of motivationally positive humor
might be nearly impossible to achieve. The few attempts
at humor noted in the documents of this study do not seem
to be of "lapel-grabbing" quality, and could hardly be
considered to elevate the reader's thoughts about Tthe

work itself.

"X is highly reliable and loves her work even

203
when her students don't love it.”

"X has what it takes!"

”X adds brightness to our little schoolhouse!"

The weakness of these ' references to the
motivational power of the work tself speaks of evaluations
as insignificant, possibly insincere, tools of
administrative support for instructional performance.
Ill-conceived attempts at humor may be more damaging
communication than the dullness mentioned in Ms. Parker's
words: false attempts may reiterate the message that
teacher evaluation is another form of teacher control.

”The real challenge for X is to realize his
knowledge, his presence, his personality, and
his enthusiasm for wood to-take students into
the math, the blueprint reading, and other
'relationships which have the potential for
making mechanics rather than peOple with an
avocation."

A message such as this appears to be directly
addressed to the work itself motive, but its unfortunately
tortured grammatical structure make it nearly impossible
to comprehend. Administrative writers might do well to
note the old adage that clear writing is synonymous with
clear thinking.

Ultimately, references to the work itself

increase the probability of motivating improvement when

204
they acknowledge the underlying special. quality of a
performer's vision of his job, while helping the performer
accept the negative features of it, and reflect on how
performance behavior of the work itself could be improved.
Infusing motivational theory into written teacher
evaluation essentially means infusing a personal sense of
meaning into the teaching enterprise: the question of
teaching Johnny arithmetic becomes an answer to, Why teach
Johnny? In discussing the motivational dimension of the
work itself, Mother Teresa of Calcutta(1983) once
commented,
There is always the danger that we may
just do the work for the sake of the work.
Understanding where the respect and the love and
devotion come in explains why we try to do it as
beautifully as possible.55
Evaluation language that provides information on
the higher order relevance of a teacher's efforts can be

said to be effectively addressing the motivational

component of the work itself.

205

School Policies Conclusions

‘School policy, in its most desirable form, might
be described as an organizational framework which
strategically influences and shapes school life without
being an overt control mechanism. School policy usually
becomes a component in the teacher evaluation process when
an organizational guideline, purportedly intended to
assist school Operations, becomes, instead, an obstruction
or an intrusion in a school's instructional processes.
The fact that the° School policies component is
infrequently mentioned in the 200' evaluation documents
studied in this project, seems to indicate that, for
teaching purposes, Grosse Pointe School policies are
reasonably non-obstructive and generally inobtrusive. At
the same time, exclusion of information about School
policies as a possible means of improving individual
teacher performance, might also be interpreted as a lack
of administrative understanding of how specific policies
might help to promote instructional improvement. For
instance, the possibility that specific use of ”prime"
classroom instructional time which research has found to
occur at the Open and close of a class period, for
instructional Purposes rather than for classroom
management tasks might, be noted as a policy route to
improved instructional practice.

The school policies that are mentioned in the 200

studied evaluations tended to play a traditional role of

206
maintaining. established school order. As a maintenance
rather than a motivational tool, school policies have been
found to encourage and facilitate reliable but not
necessarily outstanding teaching performance. However, as
a motivational tool, school policies provides a practical
yardstick for administrators to identify and connect the
many necessary (operational demands of a school without
sacrificing instructional goals.
"A great amount of paper work takes place within
her classroom and X needs to be organized to
keep abreast of it and return school work to
students in a timely manner."

The emphasis in this message seems to be on
improving efficiency in Operations which are fundamentally
necessary in classroom management. The question of what
the school work is that needs returning to students is
not addressed which makes a rational decision about when
it should be returned logically unanswerable.

"Few students are sent to the main office for
discipline."

Without a discussion of the circumstances which
necessitate sending students to the office, this message
is a rubuke to the use of school policies as a
motivational tool. This message might be intended as a
criticism for failure to consistently observe school
policy, or it might be read as congratulations on such

effective management that few student behavior problems

207

arise that must be sent to the office for correction.

"X organized a field trip for learning
disabled students where each earned a specified
level of 'good behavior' points.”

A reader unfamiliar with the vagaries of some
administrative minds might conclude that the purpose of
this documented instructional endeavor was for students to
earn 'good behavior' points. No information is provided
on the instructional value of the trip that the point
system apparently controlled so servicably.

School policies, as a motivational element, is
intended to help a school avoid both the the functional
fixedness of rigid instutional thinking and the limited
vision of uniform, "carbon cOpy" control of peOple.

School policies that have been found to activate
improved performance are closely related to a school's
mission: motivationally significant school policies avoid
the temptation of expediency, and instead, attempt to
usefully provide the supportive type of structure and
sequence in school life that not only reduces the.
difficulty of obtaining performance success, but
stimulates the acquisition of further instructional

achievements.

208

Supervisorerrovisions Conclusions

Supervisory provisions as a motivational
component involves the use of the evaluation process as a
rational, purposeful prOpellant of performance meaning."
The form and substance of motivationally significant
written communication, involving supervisory provisions,
speaks to the building of trust in a teacher-evaluator
relationship of mutual respect.

Psychological studies at the University of
Chicago. by Bloom and Broder(1950) along with Goodnew and
Pettgrew(1955), reveal the striking importance of
supervisory provisions as a cognitive stimulator or '
behavior improvement. The Chicago research showed that
the acts of a person who thinks that he has an
intelligence performance problem to be solved, differ
markedly in motivational intensity from the person who
perceives that his performance problems are controlled by
random forces.

Supervision that is aimed at assisting
performance improvement assumes that:

1) the teacher is a source of perceptive,
emotional, and thought processes:

2) teaching is an intellectual process involving
a continuing series of decisions made before, during, and
after an instructional performance:

3) learning to refine existing teaching behaviors

or acquiring and applying new teaching bhaviors involves

209
engagement,. alteration, or installation of pre-requisite
mental processes.

As a component of motivational theory, appplied
to written teacher evaluation practices, supervisory
provisions should reflect administrative skill in
activating improvement problem finding and expression.
That skill might also include the element of charm, a
factor sometimes described philosophically as, "the
quality in others that makes us more satisfied with
ourselves." I

The administrative dilemma of serving as a critic
while attempting to stimulate is touched on in research on
right brain vs left brain activities. Mueller(1954)
identified right brain subjective cognitive processes such
as imagination and intuition and left brain objective
rational procesSes such as analysis and learning. Hunter
(1980) reported that most peOple process information
sequentially in their left hemispheres which is temporal,
analytical, and logical. As evaluators, administrators
sometimes deal with hemishpericity by choosing between
communicating in the forms of a subjective "rubber stamp"
or an objective meticulous judge which means choosing
between giving unconditional, prima facie acceptance to a
teaching performance (right hemishpere) or offering
conscious acceptance or rejection of action based on
authoritative evidence (left hemisphere). Neither

hemisphere is more powerful: messages that integrate

210

hemispheric Aprocessing focus on reason and illustration to
encourage instructional improvement.
"I look to X to take an active role in
supervision between classes in the adjacent
lavatory. Everyone working together can be
helpful.”
"X gives a good accounting of himself in using
established lines of communication."

As an administrative tool, supervisiory
provisions is concerned with providing teachers with
information about what is expected of them. Many
organizations seem to persist in applying McGregor's
Theory X approach which postulates that the average
employee must be directed, controlled, coerced, and
sometimes threatened with punishment to make sure he or
she puts forth maximum effort. By contrast, advocates of
Theory Y hold that, the average employee is Capable of
assuming responsibility, possesses great potential, and
will act responsibly if treated well and expected to
perform effectively. Supervisory provisions messages that
address control issues rather than teaching or learning
issues suggest the prevalence of Theory X thinking.

"While X is very knowledgeable of each
student's personality, his teaching style is not
to get close personally to his students, but to

Set high standards for students to attain.”

211.

In' addition to the convoluted sentence structure
caused primarily by the unfortunate placement of the
"not,” the content of this evaluation statement befits the
label, "Doublespeak." Exactly what knowledge X has of
each student's personality is not clear. While this
knowledge is related to learning, it is also unclear if it
is a noteworthy achievement that X has acquired this
knowledge. The meaning of does, "not get close to," is
left unstated. High standards relative to an undefined
scale are Set by X. How these standards help students to
gain is not specifieded. The quality that is being
evaluated here remains ambiguous to the reader.

"X seem to have a good relationship with
individual children in class. Classroom
management needs to be improved and this will be
accomplished when X is able to plan work and
adhere closely to plans. The children will gain
a sense of security when they know what is
expected and when expectations are consistent.
This will decrease the number of teacher
interruptions for disciplinary purposes."

The first sentence might be read as a "SOp" or as
genuine praise, but the reader might find it impossible to
tell which interpretation to make because of the brevity,
vagueness, and lack of transition to the rest of the
written evaluation. If the praise is genuine, it is not

used as a solid basis for building improvement. What

212

exactly X should do to improve classroom management, in
view of. his apparently positive relationship with the
class, is not suggested. The simplistic tone at the
conclusion suggests that the real agenda of this teaching~
performance evaluation is administrative control, not
instructional performance growth.

"In the area of discipline, I do not see X's

students: and this is understandable when one is

present in his classroom to view how interested

students are in what is happening.”

The language and structure of this message are so
jumbled that logiCal communication is impossible:
apparently it was not planned or edited. What 'the
statement seems to convey is a weak attempt at praise:
effective instruction is apparently guaged here by the
measure of how few students are sent out of class for
administrative behavior control. ‘Communication of this
nature of control suggests why the instructional
evaluation process is often viewed by both teachers and
administrators as occasions of mutual suspicion.

Dougals Strains, develOper of the matrix
organizational structure, defined supervisory provisions
methaphorically as a lens whose function is helping peOple
to focus their energies in a common direction. Rather
than focusing on a common esprit de corps, the 200
documents 'of this study seem to suggest that supervisory

provsions in Grosse Pointe are chameleon-like in

"213

encouraging adaption to administrative control rather than
growth in instructional performance. Supervisory
provisiOns, as a motivational component, sometimes prompts
improvement by shedding light on a performer's individual
potential in a manner immortalized by Johnathan Swift:

Although man are accus'd

for not knowing their own Weakness,

yet perhaps as few

know their own Strength.

It is in Men as in Soils,

where sometimes there is a Vein of Gold,
which the Owner knows not of.56

Work Conditions Conclusions

An integral part of work conditions for most
public school teachers is the isolations of the
profession. Teaching, in buildings usuallly patterned
after turn-of-the-century factory models, is often
characterized by self-containment and by a relatively low
level of COOperative ventures undertaken with other
adults. Toffler described the institutional effects of

school in Futures Shock:

The whole idea of assembling masses of
students (raw material) to be processed by
teachers (workers) in a centrally located school
(factory) was a stroke of industrial genius.

The whole administrative hierarchy of education,
as it grew up, followed the model of industrial
bureaucracy. The very organization of knowledge
into permanent disciplines was grounded on
industrial assumptions.5

Collegiality, in the form of collaborative

214

efforts to 'construct curricula, develop materials and
ideas and share experiences is something of a rarity.
Organizational behavior research involving work conditions
has shown that the relative solitariness of an occupation
serves as a reliable indicator of its members’ job-related
affiliation needs. McClelland(1953) first defined the
affiliative influence on work as a person! need for human
interaction and support in order to perform his job with
satisfaction. As an attribute of the evaluation process,
work conditions centers on the quality of the relationship
that exists between an administrator as a sensitive
evaluator, and a teacher as a professional performer whose
spiritual need for meaningful job feedback is
indispensable.

The key question in analyzing administrative
motivational tactics .centers on the issue of control,
Specifically: control for ~what purpoSe? Work conditions
as an attribute of the working relationshOp between
administrator and teacher is largely a matter of intent.
An authoritative exercise of control is generally based on
a view of man as a machine who simply processes
information and acts on it in a fairly mechanistic,
manipulated fashion. However, an exercise of control by
an administrator whose paramount concern is personal
performance growth, tends to be more subtle and responsive

to an individual as a professional partner who shares

215
similar values. As a human relationship issue, work
conditions might be defined as a bellweather structure of
external conditions which‘signal administrative control by
authoritative power, or administrative control by
supportive self-government.

The challenge in preparing motivationally
significant written teacher evaluations is the search for.
language that displays an evaluatorfs and a teacher’s
shared ,vision of schooling and learning in terms that
distinguish professional approaches from the surface
issues of work conditions. Unfortunately, work
conditions, even though mentioned infrequently in the
total count of the documents of this study, usually
appeared to address teachers as functionaries who
implement standardized curricula in orderly ways.

Operations research, particularly in
decision-making systems has documented the dynamic that
the minute an administrator as an evaluator is introduced
into the teaching situation, that situation changes.
Written language displaying the type and quality of how
the teaching situation has changed constitutes the
motivationally significant element of work condidions
being studied in this part of the project.

”X keeps a structured classroom environment so
students are familiar with the daily academic

.routine and can expect positive reinforcement

for apprOpriate behavior, and consequences for

216
inappropriate behavior."

.”I rarely see X without a briefcase carrying
plans from one school to another.”

”The implacable attitude X takes toward students
who fail to observe class policies accounts for
the fine cOOperation evident in the room.”

Evidence of whether the administrative-teacher
relationship tanscends the traditionally autonomous
'professional environment is not apparent in the
quantitative analysis of motivational elements observed in
the communication content of Grosse Pointe written teacher
performance evaluations. Successful communication of work
conditions messages means successful integration of the
essential idealism of organized instructional performers
with the necessary pragmatism of organized school
administration.

Because work conditions is a hygiene component,
the fact that successful communication of work conditions
messages, which appears to be a function of
well-develOped, perceptive communication skills, is not
apparent in the frequency counts of this inquiry, does
not, of itself, indicate motivationally deficient written
evaluations. No guaranteed linear path to motivationally
effective performance evaluation exists. However, a
COOperative spirit of personal communication appears to be
the required frame of reference for a writer to have in

order to recognize the thousand unique vulnerabilities of

217

all the participants in a school's work environment when

attempting a meaningful selection of activation language.

218

Evaluation Languagg, Conclusions

Ambiguity was found to occur in evaluation
language that was vague, oversimplified, truncated,"
disorderly, or so awkwardly complex that a teacher as a
reader would be assumed to experience confusion rather
than enlightenment.

”Mathematics instruction is an area in need of
increased attention."

"X maintainS‘ an upbeat attitude that exictes
students.”

"Teacher X has much information about the
curriculum."

The use of unqualified superlatives, which are
known to be ambiguous by their obvious hyperbole, tends to
set a tone of insincerity: this practice was frequently
observed in the evaluation documents of this study. It
seems that evaluators feel that positive comments are not
always convincing unless couched in excessive, glittering
praise.

"Teacher X always demonstrates the knowledge of
an encyclOpedia and the artistry of a Picasso in
teaChing students to fully enjoy science."

"X is an extremely well-informed individual."

”X is the consumate health teacher who lives in

.complete accordance with the doctrines he

instills in his kids."

219

. By contrast, the evaluation language of the study
sometimes subtly conveyed the most damaging communication
by saying the least: messages that say nothing beyond the
obvious tended to sound cold and reserved. Ambiguity was
apparent in this type of message because of the apparent,
but unstated administrative indifference to this
individual's teaching performance.

”X presents the prescribed curriculum and

assigns the usual amount of Work."1

"X establishes a 'work schedule that allows him

to prepare for his various classes."

Coded, ”buzz,” "doublespeak," or ”loaded"
language which can cause an Orwellian ambiguity by
obfuscating an issue with emotional judgments, vague
circumlocutions, or misleading inference was found in the
evaluation documents of this inquiry.

”X is a good lecturer.” .

"X's conduct is professional: he observes all
the rules.”

"X Observes ethical standards in his own way."

One sign of a skilled evaluator, according to
Richard Pascale(1978) of the Harvard Business School, is
an evaluator's ability to give usable feedback with the
subtle nuance of the Japanese "Zen" or "face-saving” arts:

Ambiguity has two important

connotations for management. First, it
is a useful concept in thinking about

220

how we deal with others in writing.

Second, it provides a way of
, legitimitizing the loose rein that a
manager permits in certain
organizational situations where

agreement needs time to evolve or

where further insight is needed.58
Inept allusion caused unnecessary ambiguity in a few of
the written evaluations of this study. This form of
ambiguity not only confuses, but rebukes the intelligence
of the reader.

”X is a real pro. She is a Pandora's box of
teaching tricks."
"X runs his classroom like a champion. He is
Casey at the bat."

If all writing is actually a self-portrait of the
mind of the writer, some evaluation writers apparently
think with the assistance of glass balls: several
evaluations I displayed the . unmistakable Delphic
inscrutability of astrologers:

"Some misunderstanding with the offering and
accepting of help keeps surfacing. Attempt to
clear up what may be a big misunderstanding.
There may yet be time to lend assistance.”
"Your admission to being very frustrated will
help you better appreciate the LRC. Keep your
eyes and ears Open."
Jacques Barzun's terms of evaluating written ambiguity are
moral not aesthetic:

What is execrable is what misleads, what
traduces, what injects error, what cloaks the

221

absence of thought or feeling, what pretends to
be something other than it is, what is false.59

Pronoun usage in the 200 documents of this inquiry were
revealing in both their communication focus and their'
grammatical usage. The evaluator as a writer has the
delicate problem of addressing a reader in language that
will help him to listen with an Open mind. The evaluator
must, as Hamlet said, "Suit the action to the word, the
word to .the action." However, the use of the first
person, "I” which shifts attention away from the teacher
to the administrator was observed in at least 50% of the
written evaluations. Piaget's(1923) .MEQEi ‘3; ‘Hgmgg
Development first suggested that placing self, the "I," in
the centrality of a message reveals the writerPs
difficulty in understanding a situation independently from
himself. The frequency of embedded "I" statements in the
studied evaluation documents seemed to reduce the teacher
from the most important component of the evaluation
process to a secondary role.

"I was impressed by..."

"I noticed..."

"I liked..."

"It was interesting to me that..."

Authority control and egocentrism are the

messages of ”I" usage: one evaluator even referred to
himself as "I, the Principal" which suggests the serious

intellectual impropriety of solipsism, the treatment of

222

one's experiences as the only form which can be real or
valid. However, linguists do not all agree with the
time-honored stricture which puts ”I" or "me" off limits
in evaluation writing. ”Many peOple have come to think
that subtracting the self makes for objectivity and
validity, but depersonalization is not impartiality."60
However, the "I" usage in these observed documents did not
indicate a lack of objectivity, but a control orientation
toward paternalism: the person behind the "I" appeared to
be as central to the observed performance as the evaluated
teacher. In light of the fact that the ”audience” for
written teacher performance evaluations includes central
office personnel, the inclusion of ”I" in refernce to the
evaluator, in messages of praise about a teacher, have the
distinct tone of self-congratulations that comes from
clling attention to oneself. In the Sixth Century, B.C.,
a venerable Chinese sage, Tao-ti Ching was recorded as
advising:
As for the leader at the tOp, it is
best if peOple barely know he exists. As he
says very little, his words have more value: and
when the work is done, the people are pleased,
because they think they did it all themselves.61
Shifts from first person "I" to second person,
"you" pronouns, in reference to the same person, occurred
rarely in the evaluation documents. When ”I" was used,
the teacher being evaluated was usually referred to as

Teacher X. The use of "you" became illogical when it

interchanged with the third person, ”He/She" or Teacher X

223

in the same context. Describing Teacher X to someone else
and then addressing Teacher X in the same message caused
the thrust of direction for change to sound more like a
routinized order than a stimulating suggestion.

"X is improving in planning: you should try to

use the lab more next year."

"Most of Teacher X’s students are working at

grade level. You need to plan ways to help the

slower students to catch up with the class."

A Yale study(1961) once determinied that the
twelve most persuasive words in English began with the
word, "You,” which suggests that "You" could serve well in
motivational communications if the ”You” were communicated
as a specified person in a specified person to person
dialogue... (The remaining eleven words were: money, save,
new, results, health, easy, safety, love, discovery,
proven, guarantee.) Probably the most unctious reference
to evaluated teachers occurrred in the regular use of
fragmented sentences which omitted both the teacher's name
or the term, ”You.”

"Working well with slow children."
”Keeps in touch with the latest research."
"Always uses kindness..."

Pronoun misuse infers a communication message of
randomness or administrative carelessness which tends to
impart a' lack of importance to the whole evaluation

process. The observed disparity between inherent

224

administrative claims to literate communication skills and
the mistakes discovered in the evaluation documents
suggest the probability of the evaluated teachers'
diminshed confidence in administrative judgment and“
ability to motivate performance improvement.

Passive Voice and Parallel Structure

An extensive use of passive voice verbs was
observed in the studied evaluation documents. Theodore
Bernstein saw a vast diffence between active and passive
voice: "The active voice, in which the subject does the
acting, creates a forceful conviction that leaves no doubt
about who did what, but inverting the sentence into the
passive voice weakens the action and produces a less
compelling picture in the reader's mind."62

"Five major goals were selected..."
”X was observed to...”
”Time is permitted...”

The passive- voice as an undesirable stylistic
element in writing is not the same quality as John Stuart
Mill's desirable state of "passive susceptibility.”
Mill's condition of passivity referred to a person's
deliberately acquired capacity to entertain new and
enriching ideas. It was Mill's theory that human passive
sensibility needed to be cultivated, nourished, and guided
just as carefully as human active capacities if mental
wants were to be satisfied in a lasting rather than a

transitory fashion. While passive voice treats the

225

subject of .a composition as a simple receptor of action,
passive susceptibility assumes tht the subject has an
inexhaustible need to receive powerful, stimulating,
personal ideation.

Parallel structure, which means the purposeful
repetition of grammatical structure in presenting more
than one idea, was occasionally abused in the studied
evaluation documents causing an unnecessary loss of
clarity and meaning.

”X speaks to parents daily, personally and on

the phone."

"Topics are generated, and X lists assignments

before students are allowed to discuss

problems.”

"Everyone. enjoys the word searches, and to take

crossword puzzle quizes.”
Composition errors involving passive voice and parallel
structure tend to reduce the authority directness of
communication and could easily be avoided by more careful
editing practices. Writing that attracts and holds a
reader's attention is re-written prose. Purposeful
re-reading and re-writing by a writer reduces stylistic
errors, while it prunes unnecessary wording, tightens
ambiguous language, and eliminates pointless, witless
statements. As Barzun has noted,

No One should complain of the trouble of

revising. Writing is a social act: whoever
claims his neighbor's attention by writing is

226

duty bound to take trouble. In any case, what
is life for unless to do at least some things
right? 63

Use _o_f Trivia

Loss of teacher trust in the evaluation process
is probably most surely attained by the inclusion of
trivia in evaluation documents. Since there is an obvious
limit to the number of points that can be made in written
evaluations, an administrator must discover the major
points and eliminate those that are unnecessary. While
infrequent mention of trivial items was observed in the
studied Grosse Pointe evaluations, the fact that any were
used is a disquieting indicator of the presence of an
apparent lack of serious, thoughtful pre-planning.

”X likes to wear fun colors.”

"Keeping his desk clean is important to X."

"X can usually be observed near the bulletin
board.”

Written references to cosmetic, non-essential, or
irrelevant data tends to turn descriptions of serious
behavior into parodies of serious .behavior. Omitting
trivia is ordinarily .considered a thinking skill: in
compostion preparation, it is considered an important
pre-writing determinant based on a thorough understanding
of what constitutes the important issues of instructional
performance. Steinbeck noted,

There is already a pretty general
temptation to consider the conductor more

important than the composer, the cellOphane more
desirable than the goods, the sun tan more

227

appealing than the face.64
Redundancy

Even though the unnecessary repetition of
descriptive elements in written communication tends to be
grossly illogical, evidence of redundant phrases were"
occasionally observed in the documents of this inquiry.
The presence of such absurdities suggest either a failure
of administrative writers to prOperly revise their
original drafts, or an insensitivity to language choice
-and meaning.

”Good positive use of behavior modification
techniques...”

"X1s concerns are real and genuine..."

”Her transmittal of work to parents is of a
remarkable, outstanding nature."

"...Operates well and effectively."

Inappropriate, clumsy, or sloppy language use
tends to make communication both callous in form and
elusive in purpose. Correct usage comes from careful
re-working and cannot be "spooned like hot fudge over ice
cream." There is no substitute for treating writing
as a sequential, process-oriented activity that deals with
difficult material through am active, perceptively
thoughtful pattern of linguistic responses.

Writing produces both visible thoughts
and a record of how we arrived at that thought.
It yields a document that enables us to see what
we know. Existence of this record thus permits

us to stand off from our thoughts and to reflect
on them, to test our inferences against relevant

228

data, f and to check the validity of our
assertions. In other words, writing leaves a
trail by which we can analyze how we came to
build new meanings of significance, to develOp
new generalizations, and to invent or find new
relationships. The process of writing actually
ends in a product which helps us refine our
thinking and create new learning.65
Grammatical Errors
Primary instances of bad grammar in the
evaluation documents of this study involved, in descending
order of their observed frequencies:
Sentence fragments
("Likes kids 0 o o ")
(”With all the responsibilities and demands of
a new assignment.”)
Subject-verb agreements
(”This exercise of yours continue to
support to 'o- ” ) .
("The book of suggestions list.”)
Pronoun-referrent agreement
("Everyone wants to use their...")
(”A teacher must use their best judgment.")
Punctuation, particularly the exclamation point.
("X accepts students of all abilities!!!")
(”The lessons on Australia were masterful!!!")
Sentence run-ons/Comma splices
("He uses praise and encouragement, support
for all efforts is given.")

("Many others have learned to count on him he

never fails to help.”)

229

Use of "however" as a coordinating conjunction.

‘ (”Students keep notebooks, however X expects
more than just filled pages."

("The child agreed however he didntt follow
through.”)

The incorrect practice of using extra exclamation
points as acceptable end punctuation was only noticeable
in administrative writing at the elementary level. Such
an obvious mistake might be attributable to the evaluation
writerfis poorly conceived attempt to emphasize a point of
praise. The use of the exclamation point as a
self-serving, authority-centered device has long been
recognized and deplored by professional writers, as in
this advice from Lewis Thomas,

Exclamation points are the most irritating
punctuation mistake of all. Look! they say,
look at what I just said! How amazing is my
thought! It is like being forced to watch
someone elsefis small child jumping up and down
crazily in the center of. the living room
shouting to attract attention. If a sentence
really has something of importance to say,
something quite remarkable, it doesnét need a
mark to point it out. And if it is really,
after all, a banal sentence needing more zing,
the exclamation simply emphasizes its banality266
Bad grammar suggests carelessness or ignorance, neither of

which correlates with motivationally effective
communication. Kilpatrick once warned serious writers,
"The notion that a person can be a good writer and turn up
his inose at rules of correct grammar and spelling is
false. Bad grammar is like fingers across a blackboard.

A reader wontt stick with the writer very long."67

230

At the outset of _Qgg‘Interpretation Aristotle describes
words .as symbols or signs that something is happening
inside the ‘writer. Aristotlels correspondence theory
simply means that word choice may vary with the individual.
writer and his intended receiver, but the inner experience
that the chosen words represent have the same meaning for
everyone. Linguistically, as well as psychologically,
motivation means motion in the direction of a desired end.
In the numeric, pattern of Herzbergridentified language
usage by Grosse Pointe administrators, in writing teacher
performance evaluations, descriptions of How Things Are,
which is recognition of aceptable teaching behavior,
.rather than How Things Ought To Be, seem to constitute
performance improvement. The distinctive gap .between
observed action and improvement action seems to indicate
an apparent motivational deficiency in the study of Grosse

Pointe evaluation documents.

231

Summary
Writing, which is itself an arduous task, could

be described as a linguistic form of cognitive
reinforcement. By design, evaluation writing purportedly“
is aimed at reinforcing an individualls tendency for
self-initiaated performance improvement, which makes the
practice of writing lock-step, ”cook book" performance
evaluation content, as was frequently observed in this
inquiry, both ineffective for administrative practice
means, and inadequate for teacher improvement ends. The
problem of evaluation writing must, in other words, not be
fitted to the limitations of the writer. Hazlitt
described writing that avoids a "pro-wired” pronunciamento
tone as, "more like the remarks which occur in a sensible
conversation' and less like a lecture: something is left to
the understanding of the reader." 53 '

Freud(1905) introduced the concept of
psychosexual stages (of human develOpment (oral, phallic,
oepidal, latency, genital), and noted that when meeting
another human being, the first distinction a person tends
to make is, "male or female?" 69 The frequency counts of
this study appear to indicate that his remark applied to
administrative thoughts about teachers as receivers of
motivationally significant written evaluations.
Administrators themselves were almost equally divided by
gender as' writers, but seem to perceive widely varying

needs between male and female teachers as receivers of

232

’

motivationally supportive communication. In the 200
,documents _of this study, male teachers received 76% fewer
motivational comments than female teachers: only the
maintenance factors of school policies and supervisory
provisions showed a slightly higher (average: 6%) male
audience.

Why the observed female teachers received so much
greater motivational attention is a debatable issue that
would appear to have its genesis in the issue of whether a
leadership style or a control style characterized the
administrator writing of performance evaluations.
Analyzing leadership-control functions in terms of the
communicative relationship a school administrator displays
in his or her written evaluation messages to teachers
means focusing on the needs-satisfaction language that the
administrator seems to be using. The documents of this
study of Grosse Pointe administrators appear to reveal
that female school administrtors perceive female teachers
as needing recognition, particularly as approval, in the
individual written performance documents at a rate 75%
higher than male teachers. Male administrators especially
seem to perceive female teachers as requiring a higher
rate of documented motivational mesages: male
administrators wrote 4% more motivational references in
individual female techer evaluations than in male teacher
»evaluations. As a study in control, written communication

of motivational messages to females at a rate almost three

233

times higher than that of male teachers suggests the
possibility of female dependency and attachment to
administrative support, while the lower frequency of 12%
fewer messages at which male teachers received
motivational messages from both male and female
administrators suggests an administrative perception of
greater male teacher autonomy and detachment from
administrative support.

Communication practice stressing motivational
attention to female teachers who, as a gender, Seem to
identify more with motivationally defined components,
particularly the work itself, seems to be one definite
conclusion from the frequency counts of this study which
showed that 72% of female administrators addressed 42% of
the work itself messages to female teachers. However, a
dichotomy in male/female teacher motivational needs may
not be sufficient explanation: not a single male
administrator addressed the work itself component to male
teachers, although 29 male administrators addressed the
work itself component to female teachers. Both male and
female administrators appear to understand the importance
of motivational systems as a whole in affecting teaching
performance, but by relying heavily on any single aspect
of suppportive communication, or by omitting coordinated
use of any single aspect of motivation, some
administrtators may be approaching the use of theory in

writing performance evaluations with a perspective too

234

narrow for effective, motivationaly significant messages.

No obvious conclusion can be drawn from the
varying frequency of use of motivationally significant
language by different school level administrators as
performance evaluators, primarily because Grosse Pointe
administrators tend to rotate to different level
administrative posts and cannot easily be identified as
clearly elementary, middle, or high school administrators
either 'by experience or personal philOSOphy. What seems
to be apparent from the frequency cOunts of this study is
that, no matter what the school level‘ is, school
administrators as evaluators have differnt perceptions of
female and male teacher needs for written motivational
communication about instructional performance improvement
effort. Patterns that appear to be most discernible in
the Grosse Pointe administrative use-of motivation theory
are:

1. the dominance of high school administrative
use of motivational elements in teacher performance
evaluation documents:

2. the dominance of female teachers in
motivational communication receiver roles:

3. the dominance of recognition as the primary
motivational component used by Grosse Pointe
administrators in addressing performance evaluation tasks.

To say that means must not be confused with ends,

235

in the context of this study, is to say that using
language ,is not always communicating. A discussion of
performance improvement necessarily involves a discussion
of change. In the evaluation process, motivation is a
practice based on an understanding of predicted and
desired behavioral change. However, as means,
motivationally significant evaluations which stress
recognition and fail to explain change, tend to serve as
ends, facilitating maintenance of past, approved actions
rather than stimulating change toward improved future
instructional behavior. Applying motivational theory
productively implies using performance feedback as a
referential means to increase a performerls understanding
of growth which is the clear end: recognizing teaching
achievement is recognizing progress toward a goal, but
should not itself be confused with the goal. Jerome
Bruner(1964) explained, "The reward of deeper‘
understanding is a more robust lure to effort than we have
yet realized." 70 MOtivation, in other words, increases
with understanding, and understanding increases with
knowledge. The informative feedback administrators can
communicate promotes motivaton by providing teachers with
cogent, useful knowledge aimed at renewed instrucitonal
performance.
In defense of the practice of writing many
evaluatiOns which communicate the same message, i.e.

behavior recognition, to many different peOple, it might'

236

be said that successful people usually achieve success for
. the same_ reasons: the success of one high performance
teacher probably paralles the success of many others. In
a school system like Grosse Pointe where ”success,” as*
traditionally defined by high standardized student test
scores, has remained characteristically consistent for
many years, it is somewhat . understandable that
instructional evaluation processes and communication
procedures have also remained virtually static. Using the
traditional results 1of.apparent experienced success seems
to indicate little need for improvement modifications.
Goodlad(1985) cautions that when comparing the quality of
schools. by looking at achievement test scores of students
still in them, the data on dropouts and those pushed out
of organized education programs should also be considered.

Underlying administrative reliance on student
learning achievement .is the apparent assumption that
institutional improvements such as curriculum or schedule
'changes, by themselves, will adequately satisfy Grosse
Pointets instructional growth requirements. As a result,
the professional performance feedback on instructional
effectiveness that was observed in this study, seems to be
‘predominantly status maintenance of a traditional success
formula rather than a learning, growth-oriented system of
informed teaching behavior.

'Part of the problem of preparing motivationally

effective written appraisals is a rationale of civility:

237

many administrators, probably with the best intentions,
seem to ‘desire not to hurt the feelings of others or to
upset anyone. Toynbee(1973) noted that:

As a civilization, we have become more
sensitive to the evil of cruelty than any
historical epoch before us. For us, cruelty is
the cardianl sin as pride was the cardinal sin
of traditional Christianity. 71

Unfortunately, when negative messages about
instructional problems are not clearly sent to the
involved teachers, or important facts about teaching are
not definitely stated, candor is lost, communication
sufers, and civility tends to become an organizational
liability. Communication psychology has discovered that
the avoidance of unhappy consequences, or conflict
irresolution, may be a deeply ingrained habit that can be
difficult to recognize and "unlearn." Without the ability
to see professional criticism as a source of
enlightenment, not condemnation, and the capability to
write sensibly and honestly with a view that is personal
without being overly familiar, evaluators are limited to
writing messages that are delusory about the growth
decisions of professional motivational needs. The
similarity of content and form vaServed in many Grosse
Pointe evaluation messages seems to indicate that writing
non-judgmental performance appraisals which only claim to
assist improvement appears, from the results of this

study, to be less of a conflict problem, than a

communication breakdown and an administrative failure to

238

understand that motivation arises from the healthy stress
of positive stimulation and the challenge of unsatisfied
needs. I 1

Psychological studies have shown that a
tensionless state, or the relieving of tension at any
cost, is not a source of motivation: rather, it is the
potency of meaningful actualization that has been found to
be manfis source of new energy and improvement. ”The most
significant changes occur when two cultures bump up
against one another.” 72 The lack of tension observed‘
in the studied GrosSe Pointe documents seems to indicate
administrative paternalism, the apparent desire for
teacher fealty, instead of administrative support for
individual teacher decision making. By comparison,
research has shown that writing performance-evaluations,
assists responsible, growth-oriented decision making and
avoids the "narcotic" effects of dependency associations
or the behavioral control quintessentially associated with
the Protestant Ethic. Taken to its worst conclusion, what
nonemotivational evaluations appear to do is to rebuke the
ideal of teaching as a professional activity which sets
its own standard of performance conduct, and requires
’ administrative assistance primarily for the formal
managment of lower order employee needs.

A further problem of writing motivationally
effective performance appraisals is a general

administrative reluctance to invest supportive energy into

 

 

   

 

239

writing teacher evaluations when the instructional
evaluation proCess overall tends to offer results that
arenxt easily measured. The continuing lack of a sound
performance measurement system, in place, to accurately
judge what good performance is, and to compare performance
among professional teachers means that administrators have
little reliable evaluation data on which to make
performance assessments. However, current educational
research, particularly in "effective schools”
(Hunter,1980) and cognitive psychology (Bloom et al.,1956)
are identifying instructional practices that, when
performed well, have been proven to make a difference.

The evaluation process, of itself, has no
dynamism: it is the school administrator, in aggressively
integrating motivational theory with both educational
research and communication psychology, who transcends the
simplicity of acquiescence-seeking appraisals messages.
Preferring the monotony of uniformly written performance
documents, in some ways, is similar to an institutional
clinging to known disadvantages rather than risking the
anarchies of change. However, Sizer(1972) noted, with
frustration, educationls persistent unwillingness to
respect and use the benefits of theory as a basis for
change.

At a more abstract level, administrators may
resist writing motivationally oriented teacher evaluations

because of longstanding institutional divseveness.

240
A classic difficulty faced by programs

whose "goal is to deliver services to teachers is
teacher cynicism 9 teachers have seen many
programs come and go, but schools stay the same.
Such cynicism is the result of years of
frustration from failure in attempts to make
things work better, because the system is
unresponsive in important ways. The reasonable
reaction to continual frustration is anger,
apathy, and cynicism much of which gets focused
against the school administration.'r3

A. N. Whitehead(1953) once noted that any
groove of abstraction is bound to be an inadequate
way of describing reality. .What educators, as a
group, may tend to overlook in evaluating their
institutional efforts is the immutable reality that
substantial performance improvement changes are
usually long range projects. The exponentially
greater use of recognition as a motivational tool
belies the complexity of the entire teaching process
and, in oversimplifying, addresses improvement change
as if it were a given.

Maslow(1954) terms the practice of writing
nonejudgmental appraisals, "rubricizing," and notes
that this form of nominal recognition is far less
fatiguing for administrators to do than to write
messages that encourage new thought.

All reactions that may be labled,
$rubricized,£ may then be redefined as
efforts to freeze or staticize or stOp the
motion of a moving, changing process in
order to be able to handle it. 74

Similar to the old adage that human

friendship is possible only with a particular

241

individual, a true motivational spirit can only exist
. which is ‘localized: hence, the narrowing of this study to
a particular school district, Grosse Pointe. In a sense,
understanding Grosse Pointeés use of motivational theory
means understanding that' this systemts long history of
academic excellence may be serving it as a form of
inertia: the tendency of a body in a state of
self—satisfaction is probably to remain content. Another
way. to analyze the contributions of Grosse Pointets
present homeostasiSeoriented teacher evaluations system is
to consider the consequences of not having it.

Organizational develOpment studies have found that in an
environment which is turbulent and a work force that is
skilled, greater improvement is encouraged when
administration is democratic, rather than
controlnoriented. Hypothetically, it appears likely that
administrative control-orientation probably would invite a
new flexibility in teacher decision making, which,
although time consuming and slow, could bring with it a
concomitant increase in teacher responsibility for
performance strengthening. Traditional wisdom holds that
when something is gained, something else is lost. What
.Grosse Pointe probably]! would stand to lose by increasing
its application of motivational theory in written teacher
evaluations, might be the consistency, stability, and
low-risk- predictability of a control system which is
logically and politically well-matched to its relatively

242

old, conservative, slow—to—evolve school systems However,
the cost of growth in any human enterprise is the
increased vulnerability of change.' ”Progress,” said
William James, ”is a terrible thing..." 75 The purpose of
this study, like the purpose of education itself, is to
provide a sound basis for developing a better
understanding of motivatonal behavior in order to
realistically assist a transcendence of a seeming
contradiciton between the advantages of continuity and the
disadvantages of change, without compromising a loss of
the benefits of .eitherw A school systemés process of
written teacher evalation is one part of its improvemet
programs For substantial growth, the whole school system
must be improved, not just adminstrators or teachrs, or
curriculaw

Efforts at improvement must encompass the school

as a system of interaacting parts, each

affecting the others 76 -
In observing the lessons of history, Lewis Thomas
suggested that information serves as a motivational tool
when it informs a person about himself in terms that
encourage him to motivate himself, especially when that
improvement information is crucially needed. The findings
of this study suggest that the greatest difficulty in
providing that information is the difficulty of using
.language to express ideas so overwhelmingly complex that

at. times they seem nearly inexpressible; still, our

2u3

language is the only one we have» In The Medusa And The

' Snail, Thomas noted,

These ought to be the best of times for the
human mind, but it is not so, All sorts of
things seem to be turning out wrong, and the
century seems to be slipping through our fingers
unfulfilled. I cannot begin to guess at all the
causes of our cultural sadness, not even the
most important ones, but I can think of one
thing that is wrong with us and eats away at us:
we do not know enough about ourselvesm We are
ignorant about how we work and about where we
fit in, and about how we should begin to answer
the uncomfortable questions of civilizations We
.need to know morew 77

2&4

RECOMMENDATIONS

Overview

In November, 1986 a report entitled "Teacher
Evaluation: Five Keys To Growth" was released jointly by
the National Education Association and the American
Association of School Administrators following a United
States Department of Education sponsored survey of several
hundred teachers on their evaluation experiences. The
report argues that teacher evaluations should be designed
to promote professional growth. "The key to excellence in
schooling is enlightened, effective evaluation." 78 The
NEA-AASA report claims that evaluations which serve a
significant role in improving instruction tend to use
positive strategies that support teacher improvement and
is congruent with the findings of this study on "The Use
of Motivational Theory in Teacher Performance
Evaluations." Both works are based on the understanding
that most useful administrative evaluations of teachers
focus on personal classroom performance improvement rather
than on routinized classroom performance techniques. The
thesis of both works is that increasing learning itself is
a difficult area for anyone to control, but increasing
learning by improving a teacherbs instructional
performance is an area that can be controlled by
aministratOrs, particularly through the wise use of

written teacher evaluation.

245

Implications arising from this study focus on the
need for' further articulation of the principles of
effective evaluation language in order to continue efforts
to incorporate theoryrbased performance improvement
decisions into professional behavior. The findings of
this study as well as the findings of the NEA—AASA report
on administrative evaluations of teachers suggest that
educators are equipped to improve their performance
decisions: 1)when they know which instructional acts they
do succeed, 2)why these acts succeed, and 3)when they are
shown a number of effective alternatives to replace less
successful behavior.

Focusing on growth in instructional performance
essentially means focusing on learning as a factor in
behavior change. One of the implications of this study is
the obvious need to combine relevant and well-documented
tenets of learning theory with the newly researched tenets
of the teacher evaluation process. 1 Instruction, for
example, according to Effective Schools Research, is
defined as the teacherfls deliberate decisions and actions
to increase the probability of learning. One of the prime
tenets of this theory of learning is that everyone can
learn the next thing beyond that which he already knows,
and that is the only thing anyone can learn. If the new
objective is too difficult or too easy, learning will not
be efficient and probably not effective. The critical

development of effective teacher performance evaluation

246

systems is an inherently evoluationary process as Herbert

Simon once explained:

Organizing a professional system is very
much like mixing oil with water. It is easy to
describe the intended product, less easy to produce
it. The task is not finished when the goal has been
achieved. Left to themselves, the oil and water will
separate again. So also with the disciplines and the
professions. Organizing, in these situations, is not
a once-and-for-all activity. It is a continuing
administrative responsibility, vital for the
sustained success of the enterprise.7§

As a consequence of combining findings about learning
1Mith. findings about teacher evaluation needs, an administrator
Should. be able to understand the need to individualize his
improvement communication so that it focuses on the ”next"
‘thing each teacher is able to grasp and utilize in actual
instructional practice. The communication shortcomings
discovered .in the performance evaluations studied in this
project points to the reason why many educators have developed
a habitually critical 'attitude toward evaluation language:
concomitantly, the findings of this study may encourage, in
educators, a self-revealing, needs-assessing attitude toward

performance evaluation.

Suggestions for Further Reseqrch

 

A central question of knowledge is its
validation: perhaps the best way to conclude a study is to
suggest the need for further study. Needed now are
additional systematic data from studies of professional

behavior which will result in the further refinement of

247

motivational concepts and principles. A specific intent
, to improve instruction should guide further attempts to
predict and control professional action. Administrative
evaluations of teachers as an evolutionary process could"
benefit from the following inquiries:

- a study of veteran teachers of perhaps 20 or
more years of service to determine what special
motivational needs might be evident for peOple whose
performance expectations are probably already high:

- a study of first and second year teachers to
determine not only how what distinctive motivational needs
they, as a group, might have, but also what special
limitations their evaluations should have:

- a study to isolate distinctive areas of
professional growth in order to determine objective
measures of growth and effective means of communicating
about growth: i

- a study to detrmine how to mesh instructional
peformance feedback. with variable instructional
performance contexts so that feedback becomes more
meaningful and more accurate;

r a study of why non-relevant material is
sometimes found in teacher performance evaluations; such
non-relevant concerns include discussion of coffeee
habits, smoking habits, parenting styles, clothing, and
personal hobbies, all of which seem to substitute for

teacher evaluation and seem to suggest that sometimes

3548
administrators ”take the path of least resistance” rather
than evaluate actual instructional performance

9 a study of how task interference might be
reduced for administrators who require minimum time
interruptions in order to effectively assess individual
teacher&s performance strengths and motivational needs:

- a study of how meaningful reform is
accomplished in monololistic or bureaucratic
organizational structures:

a a study of how diversity of teaching method is
understood, described, and encouraged in monolithic
structures such as schools:

a a study of the common assumptions school
administrators tend to have about "what they want" when
assessing teaching performance:

- a study of the extent of continuity and
consistency in educational systems& personnel policies:

- a historical study of the use of legal or
financial solutions rather than human resource solutions
to teacher motivational problems:

- a study of panel data concerning longitudinal
effects of consistent, motivationally inadequate
performance evaluations on teacher effectiveness:

- a study of how to match evaluation procedures
to varied instructional models:

- a study of attempts to personalize teacher

evaluations without invading teacher privacy:

249

- a study of why vague, indistinct, and trite
categories of language which impede meaningful
communication, are sometimes used in written teacher
evaluation. Such terms include wonderful teacher, nice
lesson, good relationship, fine job, and top grade.

9 a study of why administrators encounter
difficulties with using motivational processes in
preparing written teacher evaluations: the study might
attempt to: find ways these identified difficulties might
be avoided:

- a study of what factors influence the use of
evaluation‘ data, particularly motivational communication:
this study could focus on factors affecting the nature of
evaluation use such as teacher receptiveness:

- a study of congruence of evaluation data with
expressed values of teachers and documented expectations
of school districts: this study might also examine
consistency of communication of these areas:

- a study of the complex challenges of the change

that '"innovative learning” instead of "maintenance
learning" would have on disciplinary structures in
schools:

- a study of the way in which specific content
and instructional procedures engage psychological
processes and previous knowledge structures so that
desired learning outcomes are more likely to be achieved

achieved:

250

Summary
We mark with light the memories of the

few interviews we have had, in the dreary years
of routine and sin, with souls that made our
souls wiser, that spoke what we thought, that
told us what we knew, that gave us leave to be
what we inly were. ET
Action, according to an old adage, is the proper
fruit of knowledge. Implications arising from this study
include action in the direction of continued inquiry into
-the nature of motivational language. This inquiry
attempted to study relational issues as they impact school
organizations and' to pursue answers to the questions of
what might be hand why it isntt. If the study is not to
serve as an end in itself, it must promote a clearer
understanding of how a written performance evaluation can
serve school administrators as a motivational device for
instructional improvement rather than as a rote quality
control measure. The study suggests that improvement
stimulation most effectively occurs when teachers are
treated as individuals and are allowed to suggest
solutions to problems and analyze information in a number
of flexible, alternative, self-managed ways. The message:
evaluations as if teachers themselves mattered, reflects
Albert Einsteinls words, "In an age of large scale events
and organizations, the greatest single issue of importance
apart from the question of peace or war, is for the

individual to feel that he counts." 3&1

In terms of evaluators, Einsteinés wisdom could

251

be interprered to mean that the purpose of administrative
' evaluation of teachers is to assist teachers in modifying
their attitude toward their existing patterns of
instruction in personalized, positive ways and, in the
process, to understanding individual human limitations.
Evaluation processes that stress improvement as their
goal, as the Grosse Pointe process did in this study, have
an execution problem not a conceptualization one when
their docuemented procedures simply do not match their
stated goals. Administrative influence stems from the
ability to communicate clearly and effectively on issues
of importance to instructional improvement in a collegial
rather than authoritative way.

Marshall McLuants work with communication in the
twentieth century revealed that the message is often the
medium itself. As a medium, written. evaluations of
instructional performance contain both direct and indirect
messages that are capable of either stimulating or
limiting a teacherfis motivation for professional growth.
McLuanfis work showed that the visual effect of a written
document can increase the impact of carefully planned
thought transmission. Communicated meaning involves the
double transformation of thoughts into words and words
back again into thoughts, or as Aristotle explained,
"Spoken words are the symbols of mental experience, and
written words are the symbols of spoken words."82 In a

sense, understanding the limits of human information

252

processing ' helps understand the limits of
singleeperspectives views of messages that address peOple
as uncomplicated, rewardrdriven performers. The
knowledge gained in this study of how communication
affects individual behavior in organizational settings
attests to the belief of Swiss philosopher Henri-Fredric
Amiel that management within groups is not necessarily
group management.
Each personfis experience starts again
from the beginning. Only institutions grow
wiser. They acculumate collective experience:
and, because of this experience and wisdom,
people who accept commmon rules find that while

their own nature remains unaltered, their
behavior is gradually transformed. 8&3

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A
OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS
Information Feedback Systems

Information about the state of a system is the ingredient
from which decisions are generated. All system decisions
implicitly or explicitly contain the concept of a desired
state of affairs. The process whereby decisions attempt
to adjust to actual conditions defines an
information-feedback system: a decision function is
deficient unless it is working toward some objective

within the framework of the information system.

Smoothing of Information

The effort to detect underlying significant changes in
information, while ignoring the superimposed, meaningless
fluctuations is called smoothing or averaging. Smoothing
of incoming information occurs at every decision-making
point in the system. Intuitive smoothing is introduced by
a Wait and See attitude in reaching decisions. Full and
immediate action is seldom taken on a change of incoming
information:. this tendency to delay action is introduced

by a judgment, or procrastination, or indeciveness.

I")
U!
U)

254

Noise

Random disturbances in information flow due to erratic
signals are known as‘ noise and serve as a problem to
information accuracy to the extent that the system is

sensitive to disturbance and cannot control or filter it.

Descriptive Knowledge

Verbal information which appears in the form of
non-numerical data is known as descriptive knowledge which
can be easily translated into quantitative form.

Descriptive information almost always implies relative
magnitudes and assumptions: attributing arbitrary scales
and quantitave values to these concepts can provide
orderliness without carrying any implications about
accuracy. Descriptive information is rich in data about
the probable form of decision functions under limiting
conditions. Reluctance to use descriptive knowledge
usually indicates a reluctance to create precise
definitions and to set up arbitrary scales of measurement
for the descriptive quantities: crystallized and clarified

terms are essential.

255

Perceived versus Actual

The decision maker acts 'on what he perceives to be the
state of affairs. This perception is usually not
identical with the actual state of affairs, but depends on
the sources of information used and the amount of
prejudice and distortion with which the information is
viewed. If a situation is viewed with preconceived
judgments or ”blindness," the system he analyzes may be
the one he initiailly thought to be present or which he
wished were present. A system image is apt to become a
reflection of how the participants hope the system
Operates rather than a picture of how it does operate.

Wishful thinking and strongly formed past prejudices are
both hazards to successful appraisal, evaluation, and

analysis.

Distortion

A fascination with methodology is apt to lead to a
disprOportionate amount of attention to peripheral
questions of technique, a case of distortion of ends with

means, or form with substance.

256

Performance Objective Model

Redfern(1963), Armstrong(1973), Iwanicki(1981) and others
indicate that the most useful personnel evaluation

programs will:

-1. Engender coOperative efforts between the person being

appraised and the ones doing the evaluating:
2. Foster good communicatiion between the parties:

3. Put premiums on identifying what needs improving,
planning how to achieve the needed improvements, and

determining how the results will be evaluated:

A. Promote professional growth and develOpment of the

person being appraised:

5. Stress the importance of evaluators becoming insightful

and skilled in the art of evaluating:

6. Make a commitment to the prOposition that the bottom
line or the desired result is greater effectiveness in the

teaching/learning/supervising process.

257

Management Dy Objective

Management by Objectives (M30) is an administrative
process in which all the efforts of the school system are
organized to achieve specific results by a predeterminied
date. These specific results must contribute to achieving
the clearly stated long-range objectives of the school
"system. 0diorne(1965) described M30 as, "a process
whereby the superior and_ subordinate managers of an
organization jointly' identify its common goals, define
each individualts major areas of responsibility in terms
of the results expected of him, and use these guides for
operating the unit and assessing the contribution of each
of its members." The goals to be achieved dictate almost
everything that occurs in the system which tends to give

MBO a strong accountability orientation.

Clinical Supervision

Clinical supervision takes its label and the assumption
behind the concept from the initial work of COgan(1973)
and Goldhammer(1969). It is defined as the rationale and

practice designed to improve a teacher's classroom

 

258
performance through a collegial professional relationship

between a teacher and a supervisor who takes detailed
' observational data from the events of the classroom.

Clinical supervision assumes that most teachers, when
supplied with adequate information and allowed to act on
it, can analyze, interpret, and decide in a self-directed
and constructive manner. Most studies of Clinical
supervision deal with the concept as a supervisory model

rather than an evaluation procedure.

Organizational Design

Formal organization is distinguished from other social
systems by the fact that it is designed to accomplish
objectives. It is justified on the basis that it can
accomplish goals more efficiently: that is, Optimum
behavior is more likely in formal organizations than it is
in social groups that have no design. The purpose of
design is to provide conditions which facilitate optimal
attainment of objectives. Carzo and Yanouzas(1967) note
that, "The organizational design, as well as the obectives
which it is supposed to attain, must produced balanced
values: balanced in the sense that they provide sufficient

incentives to sustain cOOperation from all participants."

{fin-ma

259

Job Satisfaction

Job satisfaction is persistent affective state which has
arisen in the worker as a response to the total job
situation. This affective state varies along a
liike-dislike or an evaluative dimension. Satisfaction
tends to depend on a worker’s actual job situation, his
perception of the situation, his expectations, and frames
of reference for judging what constitutes adequate and
inadequate rewards. Job satisfaction, as used in
motivator-hygiene theory, refers not only to feelings of
fulfillment and well-being, but also to a stron

orientation about doing the job.

Input‘l Output Analysis

Input /' Output analysis is a science that considers a
system as a "black box" or an entity, and assumes that all
that can really be known about the entitiy is what goes
into the system and what comes out of it. An analysis of
what goes in and what comes out can produce certain
propositions: what comes out is a function of what goes in

or the inputs to a system affect the outputs.

260

' Power Relationships

The power relationships in a system are means by which”
things are altered and changed. Intra-organizational
conflict is an example of bad adjustment and is often
measured in terms of morale and satisfaction. Adjustment
to conflict is often attempted by altering the styles of
supervision used by administrators, or by reallocating
reward and punishment systems, or by training, or through

priority setting.

Other forces influencing power relationships within a

system include:

unions - as channels of information adjustment from

the lowest system levels to the highest:

computers - as speed and amount of information
processing agents: their prOper use can facilitate power

adjustment:

organizational chart restructuring e as an alteration
in the internal information network may adjust power

relations:

 

 

261

THE GROSSE POINTE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM
TEACHER EVALUATION WRITTEN FORM

The purpose of the evaluation process
is to regularly assess the performance
of the professional staff in order to
foster self-improvement, increase the
effectiveness of instruction, and
fulfill the contractual provisions
between the Grosse Pointe Board of
Education and The Grosse Pointe
Education association - Local One.

INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES
Promotes achievement .
Promotes personal growth of students
Uses quality processes
Manages Student behavior fairly and '
effectively
Uses sound evaluation procedures
Implements curriculum V
Prepares and organizes effectively
Is knowledgeable in area of
responsibility
Contributes to school and departmental
activities
Communicates effectively with parents
Observes professional ethics
Follows established procedures
Optional goals and evaluation

Other

Columns

Columns

Columns

Columns

Columns

Columns
Columns
Columns
Columns
Columns

Columns

Columns

02-08
09-13

lh-ZO

21-25

.262

CODE BOOK

Code Number of each evaluation
Code Type of each evaluation:

male administrator/male teacher
female administrator/male teacher
male administrator/female teacher
female administrator/female
teacher

UOUH>

Order of evaluation
analysis(l,2,...200)

.Overall character of each evaluation:
. . . , ,

F formative evaluation (more than
50/0 '
of identified phrases serve as
motivators)

S summative evaluation (less than
50%
of identified phrases serve as
motivators)

Achievement motivator phrase
frequencies

Recognition motivator frequencies
Responsibility motivator frequencies
Growth motivator frequencies

Work Itself motivator frequencies
School Policies hygiene frequencies

Supervisory Practices hygiene
frequencies

Working Conditions hygiene frequencies

Code book for content analysis of teacher performance
evaluations: frequenCies of motivator-hygiene phrases.

263

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frequency

Coding Form:

counts of metivational

components of teacher

performance evaluations.

FOOTNOTES

26h

FOOTNOTES

1 Albert Einstein, Albert Einstein: Philosopher and
Scientist. (Cambridge: Library of Living Philosophers,
1950), p. 71.

2 Howard Bechman,M.D., ”Doctor's Listening Skills
Crugial To Their Patients," Detroit Free Pressz (27 May
198 , p. 1B.

3 Robert Frost, Robert Frost, A Tribute 22 The
Source. (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1979),
p. 105. .

h Fredrick Herzberg, The Motivation 33 Work (New
York: John Wiley & Sons, 1967), p. 43.

5 Martin Buber, Between Man and Man (New York:
Beacon, 1955), p. 202.

 

6 M. Scott Myers, "Who Are Your Motivated Workers?,”
Harvard Business Reviewz (Jan-Feb, 196k), p. 86.

7 Henry David Thoreau,ny Life At Walden (Concord,
MA.: Little, Brown, & Company, orig.T35E), p. 56.

8 Gordon Allport, Patterns and Growth In Personality
(New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winsto'fi-n, 19617, p. 78.

 

9 Leona Tyler, The Psychology 2; Human Differences,
Third Edition (New York: Appelton, Century, Crofts,
1973), p. 190. ‘

10 Serge Moscovici, Society and Theoryin’Social
Psychology (New York: Academic Press, 1972), p. 53.

 

11 Samuel Johnson, Samuel Johnson's Dictionary, (New
York: Pantheon Books, 196R, originally 1709), p. 83.

12 Rensis Likert, New Patterns 32 Management (New
York: McGraw-Hill, 1961), p. 6.

 

 

13 George Gordon, Lord Byron, Childe Harold's
Pilgrimage; London: Modern Selections, 1910)p. 103.

 

1h Myers, p. 6.

15 For particularly good reviews of the literature
critical to the motivation-hygiene theory, the reader is
referred to: D. A. Whitsett and E. K. Winslow. "An
Analysis of Studies Critical of the Motivation-Hygiene

265

Theory,” Personnel Psychology 20 (1967): 121-132: Ben
Grigaliunas and Y. Wiener. "Review of Research Critical of
Motivation-Hygiene Theory: An Analysis and Clarification”
and R. A. Crabbe. ”Employee Motivation in the Panama Canal
Company - A Replication of Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene
Theory.” Doctoral Dissertation, The George Washington
University, 1972.

16 Recent studies suggest Herzberg's theory is viable:
Steve Kerr, Anne Harlan, Ralph Stogdill, ”Preference for
Motivator and Hygiene Factors in a Hypothetical Interview
Situation,” Personnel Psychology, Vol 26 (1973) pages
369-75, and Earl French, Morton Metersky, David Thaler,
Jerome Tresler, "Herzberg's Two Factor Theory: Consistency
vs Method Dependency," Personnel Psychology," Vol 26
(1973). pages 377-8 .

17 Fredrick Herzberg, ”One More Time: How Do You
Motivate Employees?” Harvard Business Review (1959), p.
7.

18 Malcolm Forbes, ”The Chairman's Expressions,”
Forbes, (Jan 1986), p. #7.

19 Laurence W. MacQueen, ”An Importance-Weighted
Approach to Overall and Job-Facet Satisfaction of
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20 M. M. Gruneberg, Job Satisfaction, (London:
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21 Max Abbott, "Evaluating School Administrators: The
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2h Madeline Hunter et al., "What Should Be the Top
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266

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56 Jonathan Swift, The Complete Essays of Jonathan
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57 Alvin Toffler, Future Shock, (New York: Random
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58 Richard Tanner Pascale, "Zen and The Art of
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61 Tao-Ti, Sources of Chinese Tradition, ed. William
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72 John Goodlad, "The Great American School
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76 Goodlad, p.94.

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79 Herbert A. Simon, Administrative Behavior, Third
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