Motivation Matters

At school, my son had a keen interest in management studies and would often talk to me about the intricacies of managing a business. Some of the things he brought up never stayed with me; accounting fundamentals and the different types of inventories did not really interest me. However, the area of motivation was thought-provoking. 
Theories of motivation formed a common ground between my son and me. It was something under the wide umbrella of psychology that connected the fields of education and management. As it turns out, being able to subtly manipulate the behaviour of individuals that you are responsible for - be it as a teacher or a manager - is quite a handy skill to have. 

Herzberg’s dual-factor theory particularly piqued my curiosity. Herzberg theorises that there exist two groups of factors within a workplace: factors related to job satisfaction and a separate set of factors that, in their absence, can lead to dissatisfaction. To simplify, some factors in the workplace can motivate workers to perform better, whilst others contribute to a worker feeling content with their job but do not encourage workers to increase their level of performance. 

My understanding of Herzberg’s theory may be more simplistic than that of a management veteran, but it seemed to me like the factors that lead to job satisfaction were mostly intrinsic, whilst the other set of factors were extrinsic. This idea of ‘motivational’ factors being closely linked to intrinsic satisfaction would actually go quite a way towards understanding the differences I observed in Australian and Nepali students. 
In Australia, I noticed that students in primary school classrooms seemed to be a lot happier, and in many ways, a lot more engaged than students in the same setting in Nepal. The smaller, more activity-based teaching-learning dynamic probably contributed to this, but applying Herzberg’s ideas to the context of the classroom gave me new insight.

Students in Australia are introduced to autonomy from very early grades, and are progressively given more freedom when it comes to choosing the ways in which they learn the topics taught in the classroom. Effort is always rewarded, and it is this effort that Australian schools prioritise when it comes to recognition -- not raw results alone. Australian schools were, and are, adept at tapping into students’ intrinsic satisfaction to motivate them and thus boost morale. The same cannot be said for the vast majority of schools in Nepal. 

Schools in Nepal, even today, are usually designed as factories. You put the students in, and a mechanical one-fits-all teaching-learning environment exists all the way through from primary to Master’s level, the output is considered to be students’ performance on exams. Autonomy is out of the question; students are spoon fed and encouraged to score more in examination. Just like a factory, the only thing counted to be results. Efforts, creativity, and the ability to take on challenges using new approaches all take a back seat. The focus is mostly on extrinsic factors.

When trying to bridge the gap between our education system and those of more established countries, then, it seems imperative for us to also consider reforming the ways in which we train our educational professionals to motivate students. Before chasing results, we must ensure that students enjoy the process of learning in the first place. Prolific results will inevitably follow if we are able to maintain a high level of motivation in our classrooms.

(Published in an English Daily The Rising Nepal on Friday, March 23, 2018 ) 

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