Journal of Research and Reflections in Education

June 2018, Vol.12, No.1, pp 093-101

http://www.ue.edu.pk/jrre
Relationship between Extrinsic Motivation and Students’ Academic
Achievement: A Secondary Level Study

1 Shafqat Naeem Akhtar, 2Ijaz Ahmad Tatlah, Muhammad Iqbal3

1PhD Scholar, Division of Education, University of Education Lahore

2 Assistant Professor Division of Education, University of Education Lahore
Email: tatlah@ue.edu.pk
3
Assistant Professor Division of Education, University of Education Lahore
The study was aimed to find out the relationship between teacher motivation and students‟ academic
achievement at the secondary school level. A sample of 950 secondary school teachers was taken out of
3168 secondary school teachers. Survey technique was used to collect data through a questionnaire
(MOT-SIII). The academic achievement of the students was measured by taking the results in the annual
examination conducted by Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Lahore (BISE). The collected
data was analyzed by using mean, standard deviation and Pearson r. It was found that teacher motivation
was having a strong correlation with academic achievement of the students. It was recommended tangible
benefits can serve as a better source for the enhancement of Extrinsic motivation level of teachers.
Keywords: extrinsic motivation, student‟s achievement, secondary level
Introduction be displaying higher integrity at the
Excellence and quality of an education workplace as well as increased output in
system directly related to the performance of comparison to the employees with a low
its teachers. Professional competencies, level of motivation (Gagne & Dcci, 2005;
skills, teaching methodologies, hard work, Kuvaas, 2006). In academic intuitions, the
devotion and zeal of teacher enhance the motivated workforce can be seen in the form
performance and leads towards desired of faculty and instructors who handle the
excellence and quality of education. responsibilities of knowledge acquisition
Though the professional components are of among the students. Teachers play a pivotal
great importance yet the psychological role in facilitating the learning of students.
aspects that make a teacher competent and The interaction between teacher and
confident at the workplace cannot be students, adoption of teaching practices,
ignored. As in organizational psychology, it attitude towards the challenges encountered
is focused that not only the ability of a in the classroom are some of the key
person but also the motivation plays very elements on which motivation level of a
vital and effective role in improving the teacher can have a strong influence (Reeves,
performance of an employee (Compbell and 2004).
Pritchard, 1976). Motivation is the driving Researchers have argued that
force that directs the behaviour of a human teachers who feel are motivated to perform
being in personal and professional contexts. their job-related responsibilities are able to
In case of professional context, the depict better outcomes as reflected through
employees who are motivated are found to their capability to maintain an adequate level
JRRE Vol.12, No.1 2018

of motivation among the students (Ames, of needs, motives, drives, goals and
1990). Davidson (2007), in a study incentives as the key psychological
conducted in Tanzania it has been asserted processes (McKenna, 2000, p. 89) which
that lack of motivation among the instructors were considered to be at the core of the
can have a negative impact on the goal-directed behavior, or motivation.
performance of students. Moreover, the lack Motivation can be regarded as the
of motivation can result in the adoption of a basic part of human experience. From
teacher-centred learning the style. This can infancy till old age, the behaviour of people
inevitably result in the restricted learning is directive by some underlying motives or
and educational development of the needs which propel them to behave in a
students, which is likely to be reflected in certain manner. An individual who is
their exam scores. Bishay (1996) has motivated is likely to feel a greater level of
proclaimed that the impact of teacher commitment in performing a task as
motivation on the output displayed by compared to a person who has a low level of
students in exams and test can‟t be ignored. motivation. The psychological factor of need
The quality of teaching students receive in can propel a person to work towards the
the context of classroom directs the process fulfilment of his needs by engaging in
of their cognitive development, thus certain behaviours. Motives, on the other
motivation of teachers and student hand, are viewed as „inner states‟ of an
achievement in school are strong interlinked individual which can encourage the
factors. engagement in voluntary or goal-directed
Theoretical Background behaviour. Similarly, incentives trigger
The term motivation has evolved out interest among people, facilitating them to
of the Latin word „move‟, which means to participate in particular activities, thus
move. The earliest definition of motivation depicting manifestation of the phenomenon
considered it to be a set of “psychological of motivation (McKenna, 2000). Motivation
processes that cause the arousal, direction is a multifaceted phenomenon, as
and persistence of behaviour” (Mitchell, individuals can experience different levels
1982). Further investigators have of motivation as well as feel motivated due
highlighted the importance of the behaviour to different factors. Based on this backdrop,
being focused on some specific goal, thus the researchers have investigated the
emphasizing the element of goal-directed identification of types of motivation,
behaviour, and voluntary participation in suggesting the existence of two main
activities that facilitate towards the categories of motivation namely: intrinsic
achievement of certain goals (Kreitner & and extrinsic motivation. Both of these types
Kinicki, 2006). In addition to this, scholars of motivation can encourage the employees
have made efforts to classify various to deftly participate in work-related
elements that drive the goal-directed activities and improve their work
behavior among humans and animals, thus performance (Amabile, 1993). The influence
resulting in the identification of the factors of extrinsic motivation is reflected in the

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behaviour where the employees focus on invested in the work-related responsibilities

tangible outcomes of performing certain (Frank & Lewis, 2004). In addition to this, it
activities. There have been researchers who has also been argued that extrinsic forms of
have supported the use of extrinsic reinforcement, if not appropriately aligned
motivation as a means of maintaining an with the needs of the employees can result in
adequate level of motivation among the negative outcomes for the organization.
employees (Osterloh & Frey, 2000). Other The attitude of management towards
researchers such as Kreps (1997) have employees may also decrease the level of
supported the use of extrinsic or external motivation of workers. In case of
motivators on the ground that the tangible educational institutions, the interaction
nature of external reinforcement makes it a between administration, principal and
more feasible tool of establishing a clear teachers is of great importance (Bogler,
connection between the sequence of input, 2001). Griffith (2001) has further inferred
output and reward. Nevertheless, critics of that since principals hold a leadership
extrinsic sources of motivation have argued position in the school, their capability to be
that the changes in employee behaviour such a transformational leader carries
as increased performance are only a implications for the level of job satisfaction
temporary shift in the behaviour of the and motivation of the teachers. In addition to
workers. Removal of tangible sources of this, principals who have been able to foster
motivation will eventually result in lowering an environment conducive to learning and
of the performance. In some cases offering motivation of staff and students had a
external rewards brought no significant greater probability of obtaining a better
improvement in the effort employees result
Research Objectives Ho3: There is no significant relationship
The study is based on the following research between the extrinsic motivation of
objectives: female teachers and students‟
1. To find out the relationship between the academic achievement at the
extrinsic motivation of teacher and secondary school level.
students‟ academic achievement at the Research Design
secondary school level. The study was descriptive in nature
Hypotheses of the Study and survey method was used for the purpose
Ho1: There is no significant relationship of data collection. Since the study was also
between the extrinsic motivation of aimed to establish the relationship between
teachers‟ and students‟ academic the extrinsic motivation of secondary school
achievement at the secondary school teachers (SSTs) and students‟ academic
level. achievement, the so the nature of research
Ho2: There is no significant relationship was also co-relational.
between the extrinsic motivation of Methodology
male teachers and students‟ A survey was conducted to find out
academic achievement at the the relationship between the extrinsic
secondary school level.
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motivation of teacher and students‟ instrument was validated through experts‟

academic achievement at the secondary opinion and the calculated value of
school level. A number of 950 secondary Cronbach alpha was 0.73 which was found
school teachers were selected as sample. through a pilot study that was conducted on
There were 3168 secondary school teachers 100 teachers. The academic achievement of
teaching metric level classes in high schools the students was measured by having the
of five districts of Lahore division. A sample results of the students in the annual
of 950 teachers was selected through examination conducted by BISE Lahore.
proportionate samplings adopting the PPS Data Analysis
technique as there was a different number of Data were analysed by using
teachers in five districts of Lahore division. Statistical Program for Social Sciences
The research instrument named Motivational (SPSS) version 15. Descriptive analysis was
Orientation for Teaching Survey (MOT- used for data analysis and Mean and the
SIII) was used to measure the motivation Standard deviation was calculated to find
level of secondary school teachers. The out the level of extrinsic motivation of the
instrument was developed on a five-point teachers. Pearson “r” was used to find out
Likert scale from strongly disagree to the relationship between the extrinsic
strongly agree. A total number of items in motivation of teacher and students‟
the questionnaire was 23 which were related academic achievement. Tables show the
to five factors of extrinsic motivation. This details in this regard.
Table 1
Mean and Standard Deviation of Extrinsic Motivation Factors of Secondary School Teachers
Factors of Extrinsic Motivation N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation
Career Change 950 5 20 16.68 2.55
Working Condition 950 6 20 17.43 2.44
Life Fit 950 2 10 8.55 1.48
Influence of other 950 2 10 7.67 1.71
Nature of Teaching Work 950 2 10 8.13 1.74
Status 950 3 15 12.08 2.12
Extrinsic Motivation 950 28 85 70.54 8.91
Table 1 shows the calculations regarding The relationship between Teacher
the mean and standard deviation of factors Motivation and Students’ Academic
of extrinsic motivation, the mean score of Achievement
factor working condition are maximum To address the relationship between the
(M=17.43, SD=2.44) and the minimum extrinsic motivation of teacher and students‟
value of mean (M=7.67, SD=1.71) which is academic achievement person “r” was
for factor influence of others. It was calculated and the hypotheses were tested.
concluded that factor intellectual stimulation Firstly the hypothesis “There is no
existed at a high level in the intrinsic significant relationship between the extrinsic
motivation of teachers as compared to the motivation of male teachers‟ and students‟
other factors. academic achievement at secondary school
level” was tested by applying Pearson

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Correlation and the results are shown in table 2.

Table 2
Relationship between Extrinsic Motivation of Male Secondary School Teachers and Students‟
Academic Achievement (n=586)
Factors of Extrinsic
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Motivation
1-Career Change -
2-Working condition .406** -
3-Life fit -.069** .333** -
4-Influence of Others -.069** .333** .440** -
5-Nature of Teaching Work -.069** .333** .440** .270** -
6-Status -.012** .342** .313** .241** .468** -
7-Extrinsic Motivation .616** .847** .616** .737** .513** .467** -
8- Students‟ Academic .132** .358** .353** .317** .283** .268** .418** -
Achievement
**p<.01

Table 2 shows the relationship between the was concluded that statistically significant
extrinsic motivation of male teachers and positive relationship was present between
students‟ academic achievement. To find the extrinsic motivation of male secondary
out the relationship Pearson coefficient of school teachers and students‟ academic
correlation “r” was calculated. It was found achievement.
that factors of extrinsic motivation, career To address the third hypothesis & Secondly
change ( r = .132, p<.01), working the hypothesis “There is no significant
condition ( r = .358, p<.01 ), life fit ( r = relationship between the extrinsic
.353, p<.01 ), influence of others ( r = .317,
motivation of female teachers and students‟
p<.01 ), nature of teaching work ( r = .283,
p<.01 ), status ( r = .268, p<.01 ) and academic achievement at secondary school
extrinsic motivation (r=.418, p<.01) were level” was tested and the results are
having significant positive relationship with presented in table 3
the academic achievement of the students. It
Table 3
Relationship between Extrinsic Motivation of Female Secondary School Teachers and Students‟
Academic Achievement (n=364)
Factors of Extrinsic
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Motivation
1-Career Change -
2-Working condition .344** -
3-Life fit -.127** .210** -
4-Influence of Others .270** .285** .225** -
5-Nature of Teaching -.174** .329** .472** .322**
-
Work
6-Status -.083** .355** .359** .274** .627** -
7-Extrinsic Motivation .525** .776** .481** .627** .580** .555** -
8- Students‟ Academic .049** .207** .308** .276** .388** .329** .381** -

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Achievement
**p<.01

Table 3 explains the relationship between relationship with the students‟ academic
the extrinsic motivation of female teachers achievement. It was inferred that extrinsic
and students‟ academic achievement. To motivation of female secondary school
find out the relationship Pearson coefficient teachers was having a statistically
of correlation “r” was calculated. It was significant positive relationship with
found that factors of extrinsic motivation, students‟ academic achievement. Finally to
career change ( r = .049, p<.01 ), working test the hypothesis “There is no significant
condition ( r = .207,p<.01 ), life fit (r relationship between the extrinsic
=.308, p<.01), influence of others (r =.276, motivation of teachers‟ and students‟
p<.01 ), nature of teaching work (r=.388, academic achievement at secondary school
p<.01 ) and status (r =.329, p<.01 ) and level” person r was used and the results are
extrinsic motivation (r=.381, p<.01) also presented in table 4.
were having statistically significant positive
Table 4
Relationship between Extrinsic Motivation of Secondary School Teachers and Students‟
Academic Achievement (N=950)
Factors of Extrinsic
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Motivation
1, Career Change -
2-Working condition .382** -
3-Life fit .020 .368** -
4-Influence of Others .353** .461** .317** -
5-Nature of Teaching
-.110** .333** .453** .288** -
Work
6-Status -.038 .347** .330** .252** .528** -
7-Extrinsic Motivation .797** .833** .645** .585** .733** .761** -
8- Students‟ Academic
.096** .309** .337** .303** .329** .291** .419** -
Achievement
**p<.01

Table 4 reflects the relationship between the were having statistically significant positive
extrinsic motivation of male teachers and relationship with the students‟ academic
students‟ academic achievements. To find achievement. Hence, it was concluded that
out the relationship Pearson coefficient of statistically significant positive relationship
correlation “r” was calculated. It was found between the extrinsic motivation of
that factors of extrinsic motivation, career secondary school teachers and students‟
change ( r =.096, p<.01 ) , working academic achievement existed.
condition ( r = .309, p<.01 ), life fit ( r = Conclusions and Discussions
.337, p<.01 ), influence of others ( r=.303, It was concluded that extrinsic
p<.01 ), nature of teaching work ( r = .329, motivation of secondary school teachers was
p<.01 ) , status ( r = .291, p<.01) and having a statistically significant positive
extrinsic motivation (r=.419, p<.01) also relationship with students‟ academic
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achievement. It was concluded that have the potential to motivate a teacher. The
extrinsic motivation of male secondary external locus of control of an individual
school teachers was having a statistically will give rise to the perception that every
significant positive relationship with outcome of the behaviour is related to the
students‟ academic achievement. external environment. On the other hand, the
It was inferred that intrinsic motivation of internal locus of control tends to bring
female secondary school teachers was emphasis to the source of the outcome
having a statistically significant positive within an individual, thus indicating that the
relationship with students‟ academic responsibility of the outcome is attributed to
achievement. the individual‟s actions. Based on this idea,
Discussions the application of intrinsic and extrinsic
The extrinsic sources of teacher motivation motivation can also be undertaken. The
extend beyond the factor of compensation. extrinsic motivation fits in well with the
Nevertheless, external motivators hold a description of external locus of control as
prime position in motivating the teachers. the teacher‟s motivation is controlled by the
Zembylas and Papanastasiou (2004) have external outcomes such as rewards or
conducted a study on the K-12 teachers in penalty. On the contrary, the internal locus
Cyprus. An interesting finding of the study of control can be aligned with the focus of
was that the decision to become a part of the teachers on self-determination, thus
teaching profession was triggered and highlighting the role that personal
significantly influenced by the external satisfaction, prestige, autonomy and
motivators such as compensation, work enjoyment can play in encouraging an
timings, number of public holidays, vacation individual to be a teacher (Suslu, 2006).
etc. Kyriacou and Coulthard (2000) have Duzbay (2001) has identified that the
also claimed that the extensive holidays need to attain independence or
seem to be an appealing factor for the empowerment, professional development
teachers. Malik et al., (2010) has and belongingness serves as the prime
investigated the level of job satisfaction motivators for a significant ratio of teachers.
among university teachers in Pakistan, It has also been found that when teachers
including the discussion on the role played were forced to be a part of professional
by internal and external sources of development process, the level of motivation
motivation in instigating job satisfaction and had greatly declined as a result. In order to
commitment among instructors. It has been maintain the motivation of teachers, as well
concluded that a blend of extrinsic and as facilitate them towards a greater degree of
intrinsic motivation can be used to enhance competence and professionalization; a
the level of motivation and job satisfaction balance needs to be maintained between
of the teachers. teacher needs and professional requirements.
Hildebrandt and Eom (2011) have Therefore, providing suitable career
also highlighted the role that locus of control development opportunities serves the
can play in determining that which elements extrinsic motivation (increased salary,

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increment, promotion) as well as intrinsic in cases where the teachers considered

motivation (sense of accomplishment, the external sources of motivators such as
feeling of satisfaction). bonuses as a tool of controlling the
Moreover, lack of desirable level of behaviour of the instructors; the degree of
extrinsic motivators may discourage the self-satisfaction the teachers derived out of
instructors, who can as a consequence lose their job declined.
interest in their career as a teacher (Biggs & Recommendation
Tang, 2011). Within organizational settings For the purpose of enhancement of
as well, the influence of extrinsic motivators extrinsic motivation level, seminars,
on employee performance has been explored workshops and conferences should be
extensively. Management is found to be arranged on regular basis. Moreover, award
offering a wide range of tangible rewards to ceremonies to honour and recognize the
ensure that the motivation level of employee achievements of teachers may also be
is maintained or enhanced. A few of the proved helpful in this regard. Such sort of
example of extrinsic motivators are salary programs may be beneficent for both in-
increase, bonus, paid vacation, promotion service teachers and prospective teachers
opportunities, job enrichment, career and ultimately devoted motivated and
planning etc. competent teachers may be prepared to play
Muralidharan and Sundararaman their roles in the betterment of system of
(2009) have conducted an important study in education.
India, using the sample of school teachers to Policy makers, planners and
gather data. It has been found that external curriculum developers for teacher training
forms of motivators such as offering a bonus should ponder Policy makers, planners and
to the teachers whose classes have shown curriculum developers for teacher training
good performance had a positive effect on should ponder over the importance of
the level of motivation on those teachers. teacher motivation and give it due to
However, the use of bonus based on student weitage while developing curriculum.
performance has reinforced the tendency to Enticing benefits for teachers, heads and
overlook the intrinsic sources of motivation especially for female teachers working in
for being a teacher. Another integral finding remote rural and fewer privilege areas
of the study was that lack of equity among should be offered for enhancement of
those instructors who performed their duties motivation level. There should be a proper
with due diligence and the ones who didn‟t feedback system after introducing such sort
demonstrate hard-working attitude resulted of schemes and programmes. So that ways
in low motivation. It has been observed that for more researches may be paved.
despite the differences in input, the
instructors received same output, thus it
resulted in de-motivation. In addition to this,
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Shafqat, Ijaz, Iqbal

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