Intrinsic Motivation and Academic Achievement What Does Their Relationship Imply for the Classroom Teacher ?

L ^ N C O U R A G I N G CHILDREN'S INTRINSIC MOTIVATION CAN HELP THEM TO ACHIEVE ACADEMIC SUCCESS (ADELMAN, 1978; ADELMAN & TAYLOR, 1986; GOTTFRIED, 1 9 8 3 , 1 9 8 5 ) . TO HELP STUDENTS WITH AND WITHOUT LEARNING DISABILITIES TO DEVELOP ACADEMIC INTRINSIC MOTIVATION, IT IS IMPORTANT TO DEFINE THE FACTORS THAT AFFECT MOTIVATION (ADELMAN & CHANEY, 1 9 8 2 ; ADELMAN & TAYLOR, 1983). T H I S ARTICLE OFFERS EDUCATORS AN INSIGHT INTO THE EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT MOTIVATIONAL ORIENTATIONS ON THE SCHOOL LEARNING OF STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES, AS W E L L AS INTO THE VARIABLES AFFECTING INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION. ALSO INCLUDED ARE RECOMMENDATIONS, BASED ON EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE, FOR ENHANCING ACADEMIC INTRINSIC MOTIVATION IN LEARNERS OF VARYING ABIL IT IES AT A L L GRADE LEVELS. I .NTEREST IN THE VARIOUS ASPECTS OF INTRINSIC and extrinsic motivation has accelerated in recent years. Motivational orientation is considered to be an important factor in determining the academic success of children with and without disabilities (Adelman & Taylor, 1986; Calder & Staw, 1975; Deci, 1975; Deci & Chandler, 1986; Schunk, 1991). Academic intrinsic motivation has been found to be significantly correlated with academic achievement in students with learning disabilities (Gottfried, 1985) and without learning disabilities (Adelman, 1978; Adelman & Taylor, 1983). However, children with learning disabilities (LD) are less likely than their nondisabled peers to be intrinsically motivated (Adelman & Chaney, 1982; Adelman & Taylor, 1986; Mastropieri & Scruggs, 1994; Smith, 1994). Students with LD have been found to have more positive attitudes toward school than toward school learning (Wilson & David, 1994). Wilson and David asked 89 students with LD to respond to items on the School Attitude Measures (SAM; Wick, 1990) and on the Children's Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (CAIMI; Gottfried, 1986). The students with L D were found to have a more positive attitude toward the school environment than toward academic tasks. Research has also shown that students with LD may derive their self-perceptions from areas other than school, and do not see themselves as less competent in areas of school learning (Grolnick & Ryan, 1990). Although there is only a limited amount of research available on intrinsic motivation in the population with special needs (Adelman, 1978; Adelman & Taylor, 1986; Grolnick & Ryan, 1990), there is an abundance of research on the general school-age population. This article is an at tempt to use existing research to identify variables pertinent to the academic intrinsic motivation of children with learning disabilities. The first part of the article deals with the definitions of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The next part identifies some of the factors affecting the motivational orientation and subsequent academic achievement of school-age children. This is followed by empirical evidence of the effects of rewards on intrinsic motivation, and suggestions on enhancing intrinsic motivation in the learner. At the end, several strategies are presented that could be used by the teacher to develop and encourage intrinsic motivation in children with and without LD. l O R E M E D I A L A N D S P E C I A L E D U C A T I O N Volume 18. Number 1, January/February 1997, Pages 12-19 D E F I N I N G M O T I V A T I O N A L A T T R I B U T E S Intrinsic Motivation Intrinsic motivation has been defined as (a) participation in an activity purely out of curiosity, that is, from a need to know more about something (Deci, 1975; Gottfried, 1983; Woolfolk, 1990); (b) the desire to engage in an activity purely for the sake of participating in and completing a task (Bates, 1979; Deci, Vallerand, Pelletier, & Ryan, 1991); and (c) the desire to contribute (Mills, 1991). Academic intrinsic motivation has been measured by (a) the ability of the learner to persist with the task assigned (Brophy, 1983; Gottfried, 1983); (b) the amount of time spent by the student on tackling the task (Brophy, 1983; Gottfried, 1983); (c) the innate curiosity to learn (Gottfried, 1983); (d) the feeling of efficacy related to an activity (Gottfried, 1983; Schunk, 1991; Smith, 1994); (e) the desire to select an activity (Brophy, 1983); and (f) a combination of all these variables (Deci, 1975; Deci & Ryan, 1985). A student who is intrinsically motivated will persist with the assigned task, even though it may be difficult (Gottfried, 1983; Schunk, 1990), and will not need any type of reward or incentive to initiate or complete a task (Beck, 1978; Deci, 1975; Woolfolk, 1990). This type of student is more likely to complete the chosen task and be excited by the challenging nature of an activity. The intrinsically motivated student is also more likely to retain the concepts learned and to feel confident about tackling unfamiliar learning situations, like new vocabulary words. However, the amount of interest generated by the task also plays a role in the motivational orientation of the learner. An assigned task with zero interest value is less likely to motivate the student than is a task that arouses interest and curiosity. Intrinsic motivation is based in the innate, organismic needs for competence and self-determination (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Woolfolk, 1990), as well as the desire to seek and conquer challenges (Adelman & Taylor, 1990). People are likely to be motivated to complete a task on the basis of their level of interest and the nature of the challenge. Research has suggested that children with higher academic intrinsic motivation function more effectively in school (Adelman & Taylor, 1990; Boggiano & Barrett, 1992; Gottfried, 1990; Soto, 1988). Besides innate factors, there are several other variables that can affect intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic Motivation Adults often give the learner an incentive to participate in or to complete an activity. The incentive might be in the form of a tangible reward, such as money or candy. Or, it might be the likelihood of a reward in the future, such as a good grade. Or, it might be a nontangible reward, for example, verbal praise or a pat on the back. The incentive might also be exemption from a less liked activity or avoidance of punishment. These incentives are extrinsic motivators. A person is said to be extrinsically motivated when she or he undertakes a task purely for the sake of attaining a reward or for avoiding some punishment (Adelman & Taylor, 1990; Ball, 1984; Beck, 1978; Deci, 1975; Wiersma, 1992; Woolfolk, 1990). Extrinsic motivation can, especially in learning and other forms of creative work, interfere with intrinsic motivation (Benninga et al., 1991; Butler, 1989; Deci, 1975; McCullers, Fabes, & Moran, 1987). In such cases, it might be better not to offer rewards for participating in or for completing an activity, be it textbook learning or an organized play activity. Not only teachers but also parents have been found to negatively influence the motivational orientation of the child by providing extrinsic consequences contingent upon their school performance (Gottfried, Fleming, & Gottfried, 1994). The relationship between rewards (and other extrinsic factors) and the intrinsic motivation of the learner is outlined in the following sections. MOTIVATION AND THE LEARNER In a classroom, the student is expected to tackle certain types of tasks, usually with very limited choices. Most of the research done on motivation has been done in settings where the learner had a wide choice of activities, or in a free-play setting. In reality, the student has to complete tasks that are compulsory as well as evaluated (Brophy, 1983). Children are expected to complete a certain number of assignments that meet specified criteria. For example, a child may be asked to complete five multiplication problems and is expected to get correct answers to at least three. Teachers need to consider how instructional practices are designed from the motivational perspective (Schunk, 1990). Development of skills required for academic achievement can be influenced by instructional design. If the design undermines student ability and skill level, it can reduce motivation (Brophy, 1983; Schunk, 1990). This is especially applicable to students with disabilities. Students with LD have shown a significant increase in academic learning after engaging in interesting tasks like computer games designed to enhance learning (Adelman, Lauber, Nelson, & Smith, 1989). A common aim of educators is to help all students enhance their learning, regardless of the student's ability level. To achieve this outcome, the teacher has to develop a curriculum geared to the individual needs and ability levels of the students, especially the students with special needs. If the assigned task is within the child's ability level as well as inherently interesting, the child is very likely to be intrinsically motivated to tackle the task. The task should also be challenging enough to stimulate the child's desire to attain mastery. The probability of success or failure is often attributed to factors such as ability, effort, difficulty level of the task, R E M E D I A L A N D S P E C I A L E D U C A T I O N 1 O Volume 18, Number 1, January/February 1997 and luck (Schunk, 1990). One or more of these attributes might, in turn, affect the motivational orientation of a student. The student who is sure of some level of success is more likely to be motivated to tackle the task than one who is unsure of the outcome (Adelman & Taylor, 1990). A student who is motivated to learn will find school-related tasks meaningful (Brophy, 1983, 1987). Teachers can help students to maximize their achievement by adjusting the instructional design to their individual characteristics and motivational orientation. The personality traits and motivational tendency of learners with mild handicaps can either help them to compensate for their inadequate learning abilities and enhance performanc