A Study on the Monetary Incentives as a Policy Instrument and the Change of School Organization

This study focuses on the agency of policy instrument and aims to analyze the impact of monetary incentives embedded in the Classroom Innovation Lead Teacher(CILT) Policy on teachers and their community. The research e x plores: (1) how CILT’s lead teachers perceive and internalize the policy; (2) how monetary incentive-based policy instrument influence their professional values, identities, and practices; and (3) how it reconfigures collegial relationships among teachers and school organizations. Lead teachers participated in the policy for a variety of reasons, including interest in digital technologies, a sense of fulfillment, anticipation of change, monetary benefits, and the desire to enhance professional competence. Some of them focused mainly on building their portfolio and occasionally subverted established organizational norms for personal gain. Some experienced identity confusion, feeling guilt. Certain colleagues criticized them as profit-driven, and, in some cases, the lead teachers’ efforts and expertise went unrecognized. Monetary incentives without moral messages have produced the distinct phenomenon of “teachers who move for profit,” and this mechanism continues to reinforce the capitalist system and individualism.. In the long run, teachers’ commitment may weaken, and hinder cooperation within the school community.