Gaming behaviour of teachers towards the enhanced performance management system : a qualitative study of Singapore's education system

Abstract

The Enhanced Performance Management System (EPMS) of teachers in Singapore is assumed to be faultless because of students’ outstanding academic results, however existing literature points to public servants achieving performance targets by gaming the system. Thus, this paper explores the expressions, reasons and implications of gaming behaviours among teachers under the EPMS and proposes practical strategies that comprise both enforcing and enabling mechanisms to limit the extent of harm of gaming behaviours on students. Thematic analysis was done on findings from online forums, 30 semi-structured interviews with teachers, vice-principals and principals and 34 structured interviews with alumni. Future studies can consider increasing the representativeness of the sample group, interviewing more stakeholders, utilizing the social-desirability scale and examining how to foster a learning culture under the EPMS based on the intrinsic motivations of teachers.