Educational reward systems are examined within the context of in a paper consisting of five pages. Three sources are cited in the bibliography.
Name of Research Paper File: AM2_PPedRwrd.rtf
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
As a society Americans have come
to demand some form of reward for even the most basic of human accomplishments. A number of factors have led to this mindset, not the least of which is
our educational system. The predominant societal expectation of reward for action can be directly tied, in fact, to the educational system which we have allowed to evolve in our
country. This system thrives on the belief that rewards function to motivate student learning. Some noted educators, however, contest this belief. Alfie Kohn is one such educator.
Kohn (1999) contends that the use of rewards-systems leads to extrinsic motivation, behavior in which the reward is obtained by any means possible, even if that means is counterproductive
in either the educational sense or in the ethical sense. The obvious consequence is a decrease in intrinsic motivation such as interest and a concern for quality.
Kohn provides a full investigation of the relationship between behavior and reward, and even between competition and reward. He has been joined by a
number of other theorist, each of whom present their own social cognitive theories. Several of these theorists work has occurred more in the workplace, however, than in the classroom.
Never-the-less, their observations are relevant to motivation, a key concept in the workplace as well as in the classroom. Albert Bandura, W. Edwards Deming, and Douglas McGregor, for
example, are particularly illuminating in providing understanding of the fundamental processes which allow people to develop a sense of personal control and self-efficacy which motivates them to accomplish specific tasks.