Influence of Anchored Empowerment on Commitment to Change

Developing teachers’ commitment to change is essential in order to succeed an educational change. However, to date, there is a lack of knowledge about how to develop commitment to change. Earlier studies have shown that anchoring is a technique that allows people to unconsciously influence their decision making and thoughts. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the influence of anchored empowerment on teachers' (affective, continuance and normative) commitment to change. In addition, the differences in gender and job satisfaction are also examined. In order to investigate this, a quasi-experimental design was established. In total 205 Dutch secondary school teachers participated and were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions: encouraging anchor, discouraging anchor or control group without an anchor. The results indicated that both an encouraging anchor and a discouraging anchor did not influence teachers’ commitment to change. Moreover, no difference was found between male and female teachers in influencing their commitment to change via the anchoring technique. In addition, no differences were found between the extent to which satisfied teachers and unsatisfied teachers were committed to change. While the results did not confirm the scientifically based hypotheses, this study provides a new perspective in educational science.