Ways to Stimulate Motivation and the Application of the Theory of Self Determination in Education - Essay Example

identification (all above optional – if you need them) Psychology Topic Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation Developing Teachers’ Intrinsic Motivation The Essay It is an almost universal concern today to find ways to self-motivate, and to energize oneself and others, in business, workplaces and in education. Given the high demands placed on people within their working lives, particularly in the Western World, this need to find motivation and ways to motivate others is absolutely essential. In education, it is vital that both learners and teachers find ways to maintain keen, enthusiastic approaches to learning. Certainly, much is made of finding ways to keep students motivated: it is also essential that teachers find ways to motivate themselves, given the high demands and stresses they face in their lives within schools. This paper will argue that it is an essential characteristic of teachers that they are intrinsically motivated for the most part. The external controls on teaching and teachers in most Western countries makes it apparently challenging for teachers to maintain a sense of motivation, energy and commitment. It is only through the development of an internal sense of motivation, commitment and ongoing dedication that the teacher will avoid dissatisfaction and disappointment in this career. It is further suggested that school leadership, on the level of local and governmental management, needs to take this necessity into account. Styles of management of schools and teaching staff are specifically noted as able to empower teachers toward self-motivation and even self-actualization within their careers and personal lives. A theory which is particularly relevant, within education, in this search for motivation, is Self-Determination Theory (SDT) (SDT web page, 2011). This theory proposes that human motivation is dependent on human’s feelings of “autonomy, competence, and relatedness” (SDT web page, 2011) – it is where the conditions are most suited to growing these feelings in individuals that the highest motivation, engagement in, dedication, success and persistence can be found. The implications of a theoretical framework such as this are evident within education. Certainly students can benefit from conditions in which they are autonomous, feel competent and relate to their studies. SDT proposes that students can have practices and structures provided for that can “enhance” rather than “diminish” (SDY web page 2011) their needs satisfaction, and thus be able to perform and achieve at the highest levels possible. Similarly, though, this theory can and should be applied in the practice of teachers, and in their personal approaches: if teachers discover their intrinsic motivations, rather than rely on extrinsic motivation, their performance in classrooms is sure to be enhanced. Motivation is not a single, easily established concept. Necessarily, people have differing “amounts, but also different kinds of motivation … they vary not only in level of motivation but also in the orientation of that motivation” (Ryan & Deci, 2000, p. 54). Building from this, Deci and Ryan refer to their earlier work, from 1985, which proposes a basic distinction – intrinsic motivation, “doing something because it is inherently interesting or enjoyable” as opposed to extrinsic motivation “doing something because it leads to a separable outcome” (Ryan & Deci, 2000, p. 55). Intrinsic motivation results in improved learning and achievement but it can be affected either positively or negatively by parents and teachers, within the context of children’s education (see: Ryan & Deci, 2000; Deci, Koestner & Ryan, 2001, and Soenens & Vansteenkiste, 2005). Similarly, extrinsic motivation is categorized as possibly only external, so that an individual performs only due to being seemingly forced to complete a task, but with “resentment, resistance and disinterest” (Ryan & Deci, 2000, p. 55). But such external motivation – a goal set for a student, for example – may also have been internalized, allowing for self-endorsed extrinsic motivation. Tied to SDT is an associated theory, Cognitive Evaluation Theory (CET). The focus here is in developing feelings of competence in individuals, leading to an enhancement of intrinsic motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2000, p. 59). Importantly, though, individuals do have to associate their feelings of competence with a sense of autonomy, or self-determination. It is also true that individuals perceive a variety of things as external controllers of behavior, and that these can diminish a sense of competence, relatedness and autonomy. Ryan and Deci (2000, p. 60) review such examples as tangible rewards, deadlines, threats, directives and competition pressure, showing that these may in fact prevent the individual’s sense of self-determination. It is thus challenging to develop intrinsic motivation. Much human behavior stems from external motivations, due to social demands, externally produced rules (especially in schools), and the lack of intrinsically interesting activities in places of learning, or the workplace. The development of humans, then, could be argued to be absolutely dependent on intrinsic motivation. Not only in childhood, but throughout the life of an individual, a need exists for novelty, assimilation, and active application of creativity and skills. This aspect of human nature directly affects “performance, persistence, and well-being across life’s epochs” (Ryan & La Guardia cited in Ryan & Deci, 2000, p.55). And consequently also, the argument is developed by Ryan and Deci (2000, p. 56) to suggest that life is primarily directed to satisfying the psychological needs for competence, autonomy and relatedness. Applying this theoretical framework to teaching children or adolescents has certainly proven effective. The “interpersonal dimensions of autonomy support and relatedness” significantly influence the “affective and cognitive outcomes of education” when adults engage in “fostering an inner motivation to learn” according to Ryan and Powelson (2000, p. 65). A reward-system of motivation – be the rewards physical or verbal – was shown in a study by Deci, Koestner and Ryan (2001, p. 15) to diminish intrinsic motivation, particularly in children. The advice of these writers is to develop more interesting learning environments and activities for children, with the aim of ensuring that intrinsic motivation, which leads to better creative task engagement, cognitive flexibility and conceptual understanding (Amabile, 1982, McGraw & McCullers, 1979, cited in Deci, Koestner & Ryan, 2001, p. 15). Yet, even what is perceived as intrinsic can be extrinsic. Introjected regulation is described as internal regulation by individuals motivating behavior to avoid feelings of pressure, guilt or anxiety, or to gain ego-enhancement or pride (Ryan & Deci, 2000, p. 62). And not all external motivation is completely without individual autonomy. Identification with the personal perception of the importance of a behavior may allow the individual to accept a regulation as his/her own. Finally, integrated regulation describes the full acceptance of an external regulation into the self. Thus an extrinsic motivation has been accepted completely as part of the self, and comes to operate as an intrinsic motivating factor. Research in the field of Educational Psychology bears out opinion such as those referred to in the preceding paragraph. An autonomy-supportive teaching style, for example, has been shown to improve school engagement, higher grades and better school adjustment among adolescents (Soenens & Vansteenkiste, 2005, p.591). In the same paper, psychological control is argued to be related to increased depression, lower self-esteem, externalizing of problems, and to negatively affect students’ academic performance. It is an ongoing concern of researchers and educational practitioners to develop ways of encouraging internal rather than external motivation in children and adolescents. What, then, of teachers? On a more broad societal scale, it has been shown that controlled regulation is associated with negative psychological consequences, whereas autonomous motivation produces high performance, well-being, and low burnout (Eyal & Roth, 2011, p. 257). This is true of employees’ motivation and thus autonomy-supportive behaviors such as provision of rationale, provision of choice, allowing criticism, encouraging critical thinking, and demonstrating the value of a behavior are advised by leadership experts writing on management of the workplace (Assor et al., 2002; Gagne & Deci, 2005; Roth et al., 2009; cited in Eyal & Roth, 2011, p. 259). Bono and Judge (2003) found that transformational leaders encouraged autonomous motivation for specific goals among their employees (Eyal & Roth, 2011, p. 260) and task performance and innovation were improved by this leadership style. Within the sphere of teaching, the major influence on teachers’ levels of motivation is the Principal’s development of a clear vision, framed school goals, and the attempts to seek staff consensus on desired outcomes (Eyal & Roth, 2011, p. 261). Vision set up by the Principal tends to offer potential personal goals for the teacher, and the belief that future change is possible. It is necessary that the vision is reflective of the needs and interests of the school community, and realistic, so that teachers will be prepared to sacrifice their own interests for the sake of the organization (Barnett & McCormick, 2003, cited in Eyal & Roth, 2011, p. 261). Another determinant of teachers’ motivation is the leader’s support of teachers’ professional and personal development. This support improves the individual’s sense of competence, self-efficacy and consequently their motivation levels (Geijsel et al., 2003, in (Eyal & Roth, 2011, p. 261). If collective and collaborative leadership is included in the management style sketched above, the impact on teachers, but also students is very positive. Eyal and Roth (2011, p.262) propose that teachers’ motivation improves the quality of students’ performance. Studies have also shown that actual training to induce feelings of competence, as well as the confirmation of expectations when teachers are presented with a new learning style or methodology influence intrinsic motivation positively. Perceived usefulness of e-learning technologies was found to predict satisfaction and intention to continue e-learning usage among teachers in a study by Sorebo, Halvari, Flaata Gulli, and Kristiansen (2009, p. 1182). This sense of usefulness, the consequent feeling of competence, and continuing improvement of skills and knowledge in e-learning all contribute to an intrinsic motivation among teachers. It is clear that teachers’ not engaging with e-learning will reduce learning outcomes for students – when it is assumed that e-learning strategies are effective and promote intrinsic motivation in students. In Singapore, the teaching of National Education formed the basis of a study into developing intrinsic motivation among teachers of this subject. Citizenship teaching is acknowledged to be a notoriously difficult subject, often avoided by teachers (Keng, Chia Liub, & Wanga, 2008, p. 396). The fear is that of teachers are not themselves positive about citizenship education, and perhaps view it as government propaganda they will not be able to convey the basic tenets of the subject effectively. This is directly a question of the teacher having to be intrinsically motivated to teach this subject rather than extrinsically motivated, and therefore being unconvincing in the classroom. The study proposes that if Self-Determination theory is applied to an evaluation of these teachers some clarity will be gained as to the means by which the teaching of citizenship could become worthwhile. Thus the researchers used the definitions created by Deci and Ryan (see: 2000, pp. 54-65) to measure their study participants’ degrees of commitment to teaching this subject. Subjects were assessed as being Amotivated – they had no sense of personal causation or intention to act. Or they could show high involvement with the material – whether from extrinsic or intrinsic motivations. Differing levels of perceptions and satisfaction levels were found among the subjects. The assumption is that differing levels of patriotism may have affected the outcomes. Highly patriotic teachers would have high degrees of intrinsic motivation to teacher citizenship; would value the external need to teach the subject; and would therefore approach their task with motivation. The advice given in the Recommendations section of this paper, importantly for the argument presented in this essay, bears out the theoretical framework of SDT. It is advised that free choice to teach or not to teach citizenship be afforded to teachers. Consideration of the high motivation of certain patriotic teachers should be used in selection and qualification of citizenship teachers. And the training of teachers should include strategies to communicate a “strong sense of belonging and appreciation of the nation’s heritage” (Keng, Chia Liub, & Wanga, 2008, p. 408) and hence develop an intrinsic motivation for teaching the subject based on competence, autonomy and relatedness. Thus, the need for teachers to be intrinsically, rather than extrinsically motivated is evident from the recommendations of these researchers to the Singapore government. It is clear that teachers’ autonomous motivation toward teaching predicts students’ autonomous motivation toward learning (Eyak & Roth, 2011, p. 261). Further, Pelletier et al. (cited in Eyal & Roth, 2011, p. 261) found that teachers being autonomously motivated themselves, led to their employing more autonomy-supportive practices in the classroom. Teachers also are less likely to experience burnout if they are autonomously motivated. In particularly Western society, the external controls on teaching are extensive. These external controls, such as curriculum restrictions, externally imposed standards and grade-related goals make it difficult for the teacher to find a level of intrinsic motivation. A very fundamental concept in SDT is that improved achievement is directly linked to autonomous motivation. Thus it seems apparent that the means must be found to encourage a sense of intrinsic motivation in teachers. As has been shown, this would positively affect the lives not only of teachers, but of students, too. References Deci, E., Koestner, R. & Ryan, R. (2001) “Extrinsic Rewards and Intrinsic Motivation in Education: Reconsidered Once Again” in Review of Educational Research, Spring 2001, vol. 71, no. 1. pp. 1-15 Eyal, O. & Roth, G. (2011) “Principals’ Leadership and Teachers’ Motivation: Self-Determination Theory Analysis” in Journal of Educational Administration, 2011, vol. 49, no. 3. pp. 257-268 Keng, C., Chia Liub, W. & Wanga, J. (2008) “Teachers’ Motivation to Teach National Education in Singapore: a Self-Determination Theory Approach” in Asia Pacific Journal of Education, December 2008, vol. 28, no. 4. pp. 396-408 Ryan, R. & Deci, E. (2000) “Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic definitions and New Directions” in Contemporary Educational Psychology, 2000, 25. pp. 54-65 Ryan, R. & Powelson, C. (1991) “Autonomy and Relatedness as Fundamental to Motivation and Education” in The Journal of Experimental Education, Fall 1991, vol. 60, no. 1. pp. 49-65 Soenens, B. & Vansteenkiste, M. (2005) “Antecedents and Outcomes of Self-Determination in 3 Life Domains: The Role of Parents’ and Teachers’ Autonomy Support” in Journal of Youth and Adolescence, December 2005, vol. 34, no. 6. pp. 590-602 Sorebo, O., Halvari, H., Flaata Gulli, V. & Kristiansen, R. (2009) “The Role of Self-Determination Theory in Explaining Teachers’ Motivation to Use e-Learning technology” in Computers & Education, 2009, 53. pp. 1177-1186 The Self Determination Theory (SDT) web page (Overview) on the Website of the University of Rochester available at http://www.psych.rochester.edu/SDT/. Accessed October 21, 2011 Read More