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School Effectiveness and School Improvement

An International Journal of Research, Policy and Practice
Volume 25, 2014 - Issue 4
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Articles

Group incentives for teachers and their effects on student learning: a systematic review of theory and evidence

, &
Pages 570-601
Received 27 Aug 2012
Accepted 11 Mar 2013
Published online: 10 Dec 2013

The effects of teachers’ group incentives on student achievement are examined by reviewing theoretical arguments and empirical studies published between 1990 and 2011. Studies from developing countries reported positive effects of group incentives on student test scores. However, experimental studies from developed countries reported insignificant effects. Some of the evidence appears to show a positive association between small group size of teachers and the effectiveness of group incentives. Still, it is uncertain whether the key to successful group incentives in teaching emanates from the incentive size, teacher group size, teacher intrinsic motivation, or type of incentive (rank type vs. non-rank type). Furthermore, most studies show that individual teacher incentives have positive effects unlike studies on group incentives. However, there is a lack of comparative studies of group incentives and individual incentives. We conclude that current empirical evidence has unclear policy implications and recommend additional experimental research.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nyasha Tirivayi

Nyasha Tirivayi is a post-doctoral researcher at the Top Institute for Evidence Based Education Research (TIER) at Maastricht University in The Netherlands. She is currently working on research projects evaluating the role of teacher incentives on student performance and assessing economies of scale in higher education. Her research interests are in development economics, education economics, and public health. She has recently graduated with a PhD in Public Policy and Policy Analysis from Maastricht University. Email:

Henriette Maasen van den Brink

Henriette Maassen van den Brink is Professor of Evidence Based Education at Maastricht University and the Scientific Co-ordinator of the Top Institute for Evidence Based Education Research (TIER), an institute that is hosted by Maastricht University, the University of Amsterdam, and the University of Groningen in The Netherlands. She manages and co-ordinates the scientific research activities of TIER and also directs the Teachers Academy, which offers an MSc of Evidence Based Innovation in Teaching and a Master of Evidence Based Policy and Evaluation. Her research interests are in education economics, evidence based education, labor-market economics, and health economics. She is also Professor of Economics at the University of Amsterdam. She holds a PhD in Economics (University of Amsterdam). Email: or

Wim Groot

Wim Groot is Professor of Evidence Based Education and Programme Leader of the Top Institute for Evidence Based Education Research (TIER) at Maastricht University in The Netherlands. As programme leader, he oversees evidence based education research activities at Maastricht University and also manages the Teachers Academy, which offers an MSc of Evidence Based Innovation in Teaching and a Master of Evidence Based Policy and Evaluation. His research interests are in the field of economics of education and health economics. He is also Professor of Health Economics at the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences at Maastricht University. He holds a PhD in Economics (University of Amsterdam). Email:
 

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