A Study on the Professional Characteristics of University Teachers and an Incentive Mechanism for Them

How to stimulate the enthusiasm of the teachers is one of the difficulties that universities face in their management.The career of teaching is featured by the following characteristics: teachers are mainly engaged in mental labor;their performance is difficult to measure;they have relative freedom in work which gives them much room to act on their own;their social position is relatively high.At present,in the assessment of a teacher's performance such problems as follows exist: a teacher's performance is largely measured by quantitative targets;the role and treatment of young teachers are not given enough attention;the incentive measures are not effective enough,etc.There should be a correct understanding of the varying needs of different kinds of teachers,and different stimulating measures should be applied to cater to the different needs of teachers.In addition,the power to administer the teachers and the power to assess a teacher's performance should be passed down to the various colleges and departments.A flexible and soft standard should be exercised in evaluating a teacher's performance.