Literature Review
Literature Review 1
Introduction
Motivation has long been a topic of discussion for businesses, educators, and parents.
The issues of intrinsic verses extrinsic motivation have been researched to attempt and identify
which style of motivation has a greater impact on achievement. This paper seeks to present a
method of study to research programs and tools to use in the classroom to help in the motivation
and achievement of special education students.
Abstract
The study of incentives and their effect on individuals have long been a topic of interest
for the educational world. Teachers work diligently in attempting to incorporate activities and
programs into the curriculum as a means of motivating students to achieve on greater levels.
The literature included in this review provides an understanding for tools and strategies to use in
classrooms to encourage student motivation. The present literature supports what is used to
motivate students in regular education classrooms as well as motivate students that receive
special education services. Studies pertaining to the use of incentives and their effect on adults,
college students, and high school students’ achievement and motivation are included in the
review; however, few studies were found to revolve around the effect of incentives on
motivating middle school age special education students.
Literature Review 2
Thesis statement: This research seeks to determine if using incentives as a motivational strategy
can have a positive impact on special education students' achievement and motivation.
Literature Review
Intrinsic verses Extrinsic Motivation
In order to answer this question, motivation must clearly be defined and understood.
Motivation is a, “Self-relevant psychological construct (Gurland & Glowacky, September
2011).” The role of motivation is to, “Turn a behavior on or off (Piotrowski, 2010).” The
impact that motivation can have on student achievement is important to know about special
education students because children at approximately the third grade level have a, “Shift in their
motivation around school work (Gurland & Glowacky, September 2011).” Therefore, this
research is essential in understanding the best ways in motivating students in the special
education classroom.
Incentives are, “Goal objects that people desire to attain or avoid (Radhakrishnan, Lam, &
Ho, 2009).” Incentives have also been referred to as rewards (Piotrowski, 2010). These rewards
are the expected outcomes for individuals after completing a certain behavior.
Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations are two different types of motivations seen in
individuals. “Children display individual differences in the types of motivations by which they
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regulate their behavior around various tasks (Gurland & Glowacky, September 2011).” Intrinsic
motivation is seen as an inward desire, or self-determination, to complete a certain behavior.
Outside factors have no correlation with affecting someone that is intrinsically motivated. In
contrast, extrinsic motivation is the desire to complete a certain behavior because of either guilt
if the behavior were not completed or receiving a reward in the end.
In order to successfully measure achievement, the concept of achievement must first be
defined. Achievement is typically perceived as, “The knowledge acquired and skills developed
in school subjects generally indicated by marks obtained in tests and examinations (Ambedkar,
2012).” In other words, it is the measure of how proficient someone is on a given skill.
Providing Choices in the Special Education Classroom
Varied techniques and strategies have been studied to determine their effectiveness in
motivating special education students. One study found that using a differentiated reading
program in inclusion classrooms helps motivate students to read. The study also found that
when collaboration is successfully done with teachers then students will make great strides in
reading achievement (Servilio, 2009). Also, students were more motivated to read when they
were provided choices in the reading materials. The study involved a classroom of eighteen
regular education students and six students receiving special education services. When provided
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with choices in reading and a strong differentiation program, “83.4% of student’s reading scores
improved,” and students were more motivated to read.
Motivational Utterances in the Special Education Classroom
Another study showed the importance of using motivational utterances in special
education small group settings (Nyborg, 2011). The study found that utterances can be divided
into two types of motivation: improving pupils’ expectancy of success and increase pupils’ task
values. The motivational utterances to improve pupils’ expectancy were divided into six
categories: “subject-affirmative praise, subject-oriented behavioral praise, subject-detailed
praise, existing knowledge, pupil emphasis, and challenging utterances (Nyborg, 2011).” The
utterances used to increase students’ task values were divided into seven categories: “pupil
involvement, choice, justification, enthusiasm, downplaying the degree of difficulty, utility
value, and reward.” It was observed that if these motivational utterances were used in small
group special education settings that it would help in the motivation and self-esteem of students.
Also, the categories were designed as a means of, “Raising awareness and serving as inspiration
for other teachers.” While this study was intended to categorize the motivational utterances used
by teachers, the study provided evidence of the importance of using inspiring words and phrases
in motivating special education students.
Hocus Focus in the Special Education Classroom
Literature Review 5
To determine the effectiveness of Hocus Focus on student motivation, a study was
completed using a sampling of nine teachers and seventy-six students (Spencer, 2012). The
students ranged in ages from twelve to twenty-one, and they had all been identified as having
either, “Autism, Emotional Behavior Disorder, Learning Disability, ADHD, Intellectual
Disability, or Communication Disorders (Spencer, 2012, p. 91)” “Hocus Focus is an activitybased, student-centered educational curriculum that integrates the art of magic into eleven weeks
of lesson plans with the flexibility for teacher adaptation based on the abilities of the students
and available classroom time (Spencer, 2012, p. 90).” After the implementation of this teaching
strategy, most participants achieved success and made improvements. “Students who
demonstrated the most significant improvements with little or no adaptations of the Hocus Focus
curriculum were those with ADHD, Emotional Behavior Disorder, and Learning Disability
(Spencer, 2012, p. 92).” It was found that students improved in “On-task behaviors, planning
and sequencing, socializing and meaninful conversation, and fine motor skills/dexterity.” The
use of magic tricks in special education classrooms also had positive impacts on student
motivation.
Progress Monitoring in the Special Education Classroom
Another study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of progress monitoring on
motivating students that are hard of hearing or deaf (Luckner & Bowen, 2010). This study found
a sampling of highly-qualified teachers that were currently in the process of using progress
monitoring on their hard of hearing or deaf students. The teachers were asked to continue using
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progress monitoring on their students for a particular amount of time and keep a record of their
findings, materials used, and observations. The researchers interviewed the teachers at the
completion of the implementation process and found the use of progress monitoring to have a
positive effect on students that are hard of hearing or deaf. They found that it helped motivate
the students. Also, the teachers found that progress monitoring helps them, “Evaluate the
effectiveness of their instruction,” as well as give, “precise, accurate, immediate knowledge
about their students’ progress (Luckner & Bowen, 2010, p. 400).” Many teachers said that
progress monitoring is time consuming; however, the teachers found that, “The amount of time
needed to complete the monitoring probes is far outweighed by the benefits to the student
(Luckner & Bowen, 2010, p. 402).”
Writing Motivation in the Special Education Classroom
One study was designed to evaluate writing motivation in language impaired (LI)
students in comparison to typical development (TD) students by using the following contol
variables: “Spelling ability, gender, and grade (Brouwer, 2012, p. 195).” Two hundred and
thirty-nine TD students and thirty-three students with LI participated in the study (Brouwer,
2012). All of the participants ranged in age from eight to ten, and they were from eleven states
in Midwest of the United States. The majority of the schools were in either rural towns or cities
ranging in populations of 10,000 to 50,000 individuals. The classrooms teachers decided
whether the students should participate in whole or small group settings. Once the size of the
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groups was chosen by the classroom teachers, the researcher then conducted a qualitative
analysis by presenting a series of questions to the students. As the researcher would read aloud
the questions, the students recorded their responses on a scaled form that the researchers
provided. The surveys took approximately thirty minutes for the students to complete. The
researchers found that students with LI reported lower levels of intrinsic motivation to write.
The study also showed that LI students had a lower perceived level of writing competence.
The Effect of Incentives on Motivation and Achievement
Research has been done revolving around the idea of incentives effecting college age
students as well as adults. In a study to determine the effectiveness of pay incentives on teachers
in India, it was discovered that financial incentives did have an effect on teacher attendance
(Duflo & Hanna, 2012). While the results did show a positive impact in the attendance of
teachers, it did not show any significant differences in teacher’s class activities and curriculum
design and implementation. Student achievement was in no way measured in this study.
Financial incentives were also used in a study to determine their effectiveness in student
achievement and motivation in college freshmen in the Netherlands (Oosterbeek, Leuven, &
Klaauw, 2010). In this research, the study group would be awarded with financial rewards by
passing and completing all first-year requirements in their first year at the university. The
resolution of the study determined that financial rewards did in fact have, “Positive effects on
high-achieving students (Oosterbeek, Leuven, & Klaauw, 2010).” However, the financial
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rewards had a, “Negative impact on achievement of low-ability students.” Therefore, this study
hints at a possibility of incentives having a differentiated effect on students depending on their
typical achievement status.
Another study was completed on university students. This study group consisted of
university students taking an organizational psychology course. The study was performed to
determine the effectiveness of incentives on completing homework. It found that these students
were more likely to complete homework when greater incentives were present in contrast to
lower or no incentives being offered. This signified a correlation with incentives having a
positive effect on motivation. Not only did the study determine incentives positively impacting
completion of homework, but it also found that, “Student’s academic performance was higher
when they had a greater incentive to do their homework (Radhakrishnan, Lam, & Ho, 2009).” It
would be interesting to see if this same end result would be deduced in middle school students.
Grade incentives in combination with academic support services had a positive effect on
some low-income university students in Canada (Angrist, Lang, & Oreopoulos, 2009). The
grade incentives were given as an encouragement for low-income students to not drop-out of
school. The study did show academic improvement in women; however, the offered grade
incentives and academic services did not have an effect on men. Therefore, this study suggests
that there could be a difference in the effect of incentives on individuals depending on their
gender. Another study relating to incentives and their effect on college students was conducted
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at the University of Calabria, a school in southern Italy (De Paola, Scoppa, & Nistico, 2012).
The study group was divided into three groups, and the financial incentives were given to the top
thirty performing students in each group. The results showed that the financial incentives did
increase student performance in high-ability students; however, they had little to no effect on
low-ability students. These results suggest that the effect of incentives could also be varied
depending on typical achievement ability.
In an effort to determine the effectiveness that incentives can have on Israeli seniors, two
researchers performed a study that offered financial rewards for students that passed the Bagrut
(Angrist & Lavy, 2009). The Bagrut is the university prerequisite test in Israel; this test could be
compared to the equivalent of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) in the United States. The
study determined that offering incentives to students led to a greater passing rate in female
students; however, it did not have an effect on male students. Therefore, the results show that
the effect of incentives could potentially vary depending on a student’s gender. Another study
performed measured the effect that incentives can have on student achievement and motivation
in adolescents (Kremer, Miguel, & Thornton, 2009). This study consisted of, “Two neighboring
districts in Kenya.” While approximately 85% of all children attend primary school (grades one
through eight) in this country, a much smaller percentage continues on to secondary school . In
order to continue on to secondary school, these students must pass extensive end of the year
exams beginning in the fourth grade. Students must pay for these exams and pass them with a
Literature Review 10
minimum score in order to continue on to secondary school. The majority of students that
continue into the ninth grade are expected to pay for their education unless they receive a
scholarship. This study provided an incentive to Kenyan girl students that scored well on the
end of the year exams. Students that passed the exam would receive their secondary school fees
paid as well as a grant. The results pointed to a positive effect on offering incentives. The end
of the year exam scores increased substantially, and the results did not show any evidence
supporting the idea that incentives weakens intrinsic motivation.
While much research has been done relating to incentives and their effect on adults,
college students, and high school students’ achievement and motivation, few studies were found
to revolve around middle school age children. One study that was found relating to this subject
was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the Accelerated Reading (AR) program on
student achievement and motivation (Huang, 2011). The AR program is a reading incentives
program that was created by the Renaissance Learning group to help encourage students to read
more on appropriate reading levels as well as be rewarded for success in reading achievement.
“AR is also a tool for teachers to use to measure student learning in reading achievement, to
increase the amount of time spent reading, and to invite and motivate students to read books
(Huang, 2011).” While the study determined that it neither, “Improved reading scores nor
promoted intrinsic reading motivation,” it did however show progress in middle school students
reading.
Literature Review 11
Conclusion
Teachers have long pondered the question of how to better motivate students and increase
student motivation. Offering incentives, or rewards, have long been a tool that educators have
used to help in the increase of motivation and achievement. Multiple studies have been
conducted to research this question; however, very little has been researched to determine the
effect that incentives can have on special education students. While much research has been
done on varied motivational tools in the classroom to motivate special education students, very
little to no research has been done to determine the effects of incentives on middle school aged
special education students. Because this information is lacking, it is essential that research be
done to provide evidence for this research question. This research will provide useful tools for
the help and motivation of special education students in the middle school setting. Also,
teachers spend countless hours helping to motivate students, often through incentives. This
research will provide evidence of whether teachers should spend so much time and money on
providing incentives in the classroom.
Literature Review 12
Ambedkar, V. (2012). Achievement Motivation and Achievement in English of Higher
Secondary Students. Golden Research Thoughts, 1-5.
Angrist, J., Lang, D., & Oreopoulos. (2009). Incentives and Services for College Achievement:
Evidence From a Randomized Trial. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics,
136-163.
Brouwer, K. L. (2012). Writing Motivation of Students with Language Impairments. Child
Language Teaching and Therapy, 189-210.
De Paola, M., Scoppa, V., & Nistico, R. (2012). Monetary Incentives and Student Achievement
in a Depressed Labor Market: Results from a Randomized Experiement. Journal of
Human Capital, 56-85.
Duflo, E., & Hanna, R. (2012). Incentives Work: Getting Teachers to Come to School. The
American Economic Review, 1241-1278.
Gurland, S. T., & Glowacky, V. C. (September 2011). Children's Theories of Motivation.
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 1-19.
Huang, S. (2011). A Mixed Method Study of the Effectiveness of the Accelerated Reader
Program on Middle School Students' Reading Achievement Motivation. Reading
Horizons, 229-246.
Kremer, M., Miguel, E., & Thornton, R. (2009). Incentives to Learn. The Review of Economics
and Statistics, 437-456.
Luckner, J. L., & Bowen, S. K. (2010). Teachers' Use and Perceptions of Progress Monitoring.
American Annals of the Deaf, 397-406.
Nyborg, G. (2011). Teachers use of motivational utterances in special education in Norwegain
compulsory schooling. A contribution aimed at fostering an inclusive educationf or pupils
with learning difficulties. International Journal of Special Education, 248-259.
Oosterbeek, H., Leuven, E., & Klaauw, B. v. (2010). The effect of financial rewards on students'
Literature Review 13
achievement: evidence from a randomized experiment. Journal of the European
Economin Association, 1243-1265.
Piotrowski, N. A. (2010). Incentive Motivation. Salem Health: Psychology and Mental Health,
989-993.
Radhakrishnan, P., Lam, D., & Ho, G. (2009). Giving University Students Incentives to Do
Homework Improves Their Performance. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 219-225.
Servilio, K. L. (2009). You get to choose! Motivating students to read through differentiated
instruction. Teaching Exceptional Children Plus .
Spencer, K. (2012). Hocus Focus: Evaluating the Academic and Functional Benefits of
Integrating Magic Tricks in the Classroom. The Journal of International Association of
Special Education, 87-99.