From Carole Torgerson, Carole Torgerson, School of Education, University of Birmingham
Writing on the role of financial incentives to change behaviour (9 April, p 40), Nic Fleming notes that the outcomes are often counter-intuitive.
In the academic year 2004-05 I, along with colleagues, ran a randomised controlled trial evaluating the use of financial incentives to encourage adult learners to attend literacy classes (Oxford Review of Education, vol 34, p 493). We found that adult learners in the classes that received a modest financial incentive attended fewer teaching sessions than learners in classes in the control group, who were not paid.
At that time, government policy encouraged the use of financial incentives to increase attendance at basic literacy classes. Given the evidence from this trial, it is clear that such incentives need careful evaluation before they are introduced.
Birmingham, UK
