MOTIVATION

Introduction

Motivation is a concept used as an explanation or rationale for the way person or an organism
behave. The same concept is used to refer to something that is innate within an individual. It
is an energiser or a driving force, a desire on an urge that causes an individual to engage in a
certain behaviour. Such inner force is referred to as drivers or attempts on the part of the
individual to satisfy his needs and to establish and maintain a state of equilibrium. Human
behaviour is purposeful in the sense that it has cause and effect. In short human behaviour is
motivated either externally or internally.
Motivation is also used to refer to external stimuli, either positive or aversive, used to make
an individual perform a certain behaviour. For example, motivation may be used to make a
learner complete an assignment, listen to direction or take part in a physical activity and
eventually perform the desired activity on his own.
The concern of teachers is to find ways and means of making learners attend and respond to
learning tasks so that learning itself becomes a source of motivation.

TRAIT OR TEMPORARY STATE

Motivation can be viewed in two different ways, namely as a trait and as a temporary state
(Davis 1983). As a trait motivation is not only stable, but also permanent in every person.
People have different interests, values achievements and stimulations which have an impact
on their education, careers, hobbies and entertainments.
Motivation can also be viewed as a situational and temporary state. This means that the extent
to which motivation is or is not stimulated depends on the nature of the environment-whether
it is exciting or dull. For example, whether a lesson is perceived as interesting or dull and
boring will depend on how the teacher presents it. This means that a teacher has considerable
influence in situations of temporary motivation. He can influence the motivation of pupils
through the material he uses for teaching and the methods he adopts in communicating his
information, as well as the topics he teaches. Motivation as a trait also has a role to play in
that a teacher can influence his pupil’s attitudes toward learning and other aspects of life,
raise their educational and occupational aspirations, build on their self-concepts, etc.

ENERGY VS DIRECTION

Motivation can also be viewed in terms of energy and direction. The degree to which a
motive exerts pressure on a person lies on a continuum ranging from low to medium to high.
For example, one may be moderately ambitious will influence the intensity with which he
pursues his objective. For example, if a student is moderately ambitious he will study just
enough to pass, but not to the extent that he has to forgo some of his leisure time activities
such as socialising and participating in sport, whereas a student who is very ambitious may
concentrate all his efforts and energy on his studies in order to achieve excellent results even
if this means that he has no time for any other activities.

INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION

The behaviour of a person may be either extrinsically or intrinsically motivated. It may be

asked why are you studying educational psychology? If you are doing so simply because you
are interested in the subject and want to learn as much as you can, then you are intrinsically
motivated. However, if you are studying educational psychology only because you have to do
so to fulfil your diploma or degree requirements, or for some other external reason, then your
motivation is extrinsic. At school pupils are exposed to external motivation initially, in the
form of marks for their performance, smiles in recognition of desirable behaviour, and praise
for satisfactory academy performance. The ultimate objective, however, is desirable
behaviour purely because of the pleasure and satisfaction they derive therefrom. Intrinsic
motivation is superior and preferable to extrinsic motivation.

TRADITIONAL THEORIES

Learning theory
This theory argues that the formation of behaviour is greatly influenced by rewards and
punishments, as that the two ways of controlling behaviour serve as motivators. Rewarding
and punishing are associated with human drives, which may be drives, which may be
categorised as primary or secondary drives. Primary drives are biological in nature, and
secondary drives are acquired or learned. Some primary drives are the need for sex, hunger,
thirst and avoidance of pain; and some secondary drives are money, good marks certificates,
prizes and praise. Primary drives find satisfaction in primary reinforcements such as sexual
gratification, physical comfort, food and water, secondary reinforcements for academic
achievements include teachers praise, peer recognition and good marks.

PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY

According to Freud, the motivation underlying human behaviour is a function of man’s state
of unconscious displayed by the id, which is the libido or sex urge reflected in aggressive
drives. However, both the sex urge and aggressive behaviour are controlled by the ego and
superego and for sublimated and manifested in a form considered to be socially acceptable,
for example creative activities or excelling in various school activities. Thus, according to
Freud’s concepts of motivation people are loaded with sexual energy and aggressive which
can be channelled into educationally productive activities instead of the instinctive behaviour
that is social unacceptable.

NEED THEORY

Murray (1938) advocates that our needs serve as the source of motivation. Behaviour
develops as a result of interaction between needs and the environment. The environment can
either facilitate or be barrier to the satisfaction of a need. For example, a teacher environment
may facilitate a pupil’s need to do well at school, and not facilitate bullying or stealing, which
he considers to be undesirable behaviour. Another example is pupil who has the need to
further his education but is unable to fulfil this because of a lack of funds, as is the case with
many African children across the continent. Some of the needs identified by this theory are
achievement, abasement, affiliation, acquisition, defensiveness, dominance, blame,
avoidance, aggression, exhibition, recognition, superiority, play, exposition, self-respect and
orderliness.

CONTEMPORARY THEORIES

Competence motivation
There is an inherent tendency among children and people in general to wish to perform
competently or gain mastery over their environment or a certain body of skills or knowledge.
Children wish to display competence in activities such as crawling, language development,
walking and manipulating objects. It can be argued that such behaviour cannot be explained
in terms of primary drivers. The child knows what it wants to do, and wants to it itself
regardless of mistakes, failures, or the fact that mommy or Miss Jones could do it ten times
faster (Davis 252). Teachers must provide students with opportunities to do things for
themselves in fulfilment of their inherent competence motivation. Parents and teachers tend
to assume that children are inexperienced and therefore rather helpless and feel that it is their
duty to do most things for them. There are many things’ children can do or learn to do on
their own, given the time and opportunity. Even if the child cannot perform a certain
behaviour, he should be given the opportunity to observe how it is done and where possible,
to perform it with someone who can do it. For example, if one of the author’s children cannot
open a bottle because the lid is too tight, he loosens the lid and then leaves the child to
complete the task of opening the bottle, thus providing the child with some sense of
achievement and contribution to the successful completion of the task. The same should
apply with regard to helping pupils with their assignment. Assistance should be provided
where needed, but pupils should be left to do most of the work on their own.

REWARDS

Rewards are powerful source of motivation for most people, irrespective of age or social
status. Some of the rewards given in school to promote learning are gold stars, sweets, prizes,
high marks and certificates. Whatever reinforcement (extrinsic) pupils are given should lead
them to, discover that the task in which they are engaged can become a source of
reinforcement (intrinsic) in itself, so that external or extrinsic reinforcement becomes less
important. Rewards for learning should be so engineered that after serving their introductory
roles, they lead pupils to independent learning activities (Strom &Bernard 1982:274).

MATURITY

Chronology and cognitive maturity must be taken into account when motivating learners
(Strom& Bernard 1982). Unless children attained the necessary cognitive maturity, it is likely
that social pressure or tangible rewards will enable them to learn how to read or to do simple
arithmetic. According to Maslow’s theory, young children are more pensive to physical and
safety reward, whereas older children are more responsive to peer pressure and the
expectations of parents and teacher. Reinforcement as a form of motivation has differential
effects on learning. For example, young children are known to improve their performance
when given tangible rewards, whereas older ones respond positively when given praise or
some other symbolic reward (Bowd etal1982. For learning to occur in response to motivation,
the following should be borne in mind:
 The reward given should be related to the learners age and cultural background
 Knowledge of results is vital if the task is relatively hard.
 Feedback enhances subsequent performance if the learner is told how he or she can
improve his or her performance

TEACHERS ATTITUDE AND PERSONALITY

A teacher’s attitude and personality play a role in motivation in the classroom. Teachers who
have a positive attitude toward their subjects and pupils are more motivating than those have
a less positive attitude and personality. Teacher personality characteristics which are
motivating and which a teacher should bear in mind as he interacts with pupils are democratic
attitudes, wide interest, pleasant personal appearance, pleasant manners, fairness impartiality,
sense of humour, flexibility, patience interest in pupils’ wellbeing, consistent behaviour,
efficiency kindness and use of recognition and praise. The teacher can also motivate his
pupils by showing interest and enthusiasm for the subject matter he is presenting (Klausmeier
1958). This will make the pupils sit up and pay attention. As far as possible, the subject
matter should be related to the pupils’ concerns, needs and life experience, and where
feasible, practical activities based on the lesson and involving as many pupils as possible
should be organised. Another way motivating pupils is by telling them why what they are
studying is important, even if it is because there will be a test on the material covered later
on! Other factors that a teacher can use to motivate pupils are curiosity, threats of failure, the
desire to know, change of voice mastery of subject matter good presentation jokes visual aids
and flied trips.

HIERARCHY OF NEEDS

Maslow advanced a theory of human needs referred to as a hierarchy of needs. In his theory
he pointed out that some needs, particularly physiological needs, are basic to others. It
follows that such needs must be satisfied before higher needs can be felt and fulfilled, hence
the use of the term ‘hierarchy’. According to Maslow’s view of motivation, physiological
needs are the strongest the most demanding of satisfaction. It is reasonable to expect
therefore, that drive reduction will be aimed primarily at these lowest of needs.

Fig 20.1 motivation based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Self-actualisation
Self-esteem
Belonging and love
Safety needs
Physiological needs: foods, water, sleep, sex, oxygen, etc

If the needs at the physiological level have been fulfilled, the person concerned will be faced
with the next level of needs-the safety needs such as the needs to avoid or escape danger and
the need to be secure and protected. This is followed by the need to love and be loved and to
belong; to have friends and family and to be part of a group. There is also what is called the
need for self-esteem-the need to have the respect, confidence and admiration of others and to
gain self-confidence and self-respect. Once all these needs have been fulfilled the person will
be motivated towards self-actualization-towards knowing and understanding, and towards
finding (deriving) satisfaction from being sensitive to the beauty of human beings, their
accomplishments, and the natural environment. The first four needs are called deficiency
needs, and their fulfilment is greatly dependent on other people. The rest are referred to as
being needs and their satisfaction is dependent on the individual himself. The second group
of needs echoes Rousseau’s (1962) theory. He said that man is naturally good and happy. In
view of this people ought to learn through their experience with nature, learn to depend on
things existing within their environment, and learn to depend on themselves and to be
independent of other people.
HIERARCHY OF NEEDS IN A SCHOOL SETTINGS

Physiological needs
Where there is reason to believe that pupils are not receiving adequate nutrition at home,
provision should be made for a meal at school. This should be done particularly where, due to
long distances, children cannot go home for lunch. If this not possible, pupils’ parents should
be encouraged to see that their children bring with them a snack for lunch. The temperature in
every classroom and the library should be correct there should be air circulation, and the
lighting should be adequate. Children with physical disabilities such as poor eyesight or
impaired hearing should be brought to the attention of medical personnel and parents.
Children should be encouraged to dress appropriately for the weather conditions, and if a
child needs to go to the toilet before recess, he should not be denied permission to so,
although he should be encouraged to go during recess.

PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS

Safety needs
The fulfilment of children’s safety needs is important to their sense of security. Generally
children are fearful of being bullied by their peers or by older students, being chastised
harshly by teachers, or being subjected to humiliation and severe discipline by teachers. The
school should see to it that children are protected against these security- threatening factors. It
is also necessary that teachers establish good pupil-teacher relationship.

Love and belonging

A teacher should make his pupils feel that they are members of his class and that he is proud
to have them in his class. He should learn their names and use them frequently, and if a pupil
is absent, he should let it be known that he or she is missed by telling friends and welcoming
him or her on his return. If the pupil is sick for a while the teacher should visit him or her or
send a get well soon note to his or her home. Teachers should also try to include as many
pupils as possible when asking question in class.

Esteem needs
Teachers should help their pupils to develop positive self-concept by treating them as persons
of worth with human dignity. They should assign pupils work that matches their intellectual
ability, because when they do it activities should be praised, and those fail should be given
assistance. Slow learners should be given individual assistance and helped to feel that they
can achieve something if they apply themselves.

Self-Actualisation
The objective of teachers is to enable their pupils to develop their potential fully and find
fulfilment in life. If a pupil is cut out to be a teacher, he should be encouraged to be best
teacher he can, irrespective of whether it is at primary school or university level, and if a
pupil wants to become an agriculturist, he should be encouraged to pursue his vocation. Long
before pupil finish school and start working, they should be encouraged to do best they can,
whether they are working on a school assignment or helping their parents at home. They
should be made aware that life can be meaningful, exciting and enjoyable, and that they have
a great contribution to make.