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Journal of Contemporary Research in Education

Abstract

While words of encouragement from teachers may seem innocuous on the surface, the practice may have hidden costs (Kohn, 1993). Although effective in the short-run, the use of extrinsic motivators, such as praise, has been shown to have an undermining effect on long-term motivation to learn (Deci & Ryan, 2000). Mindful of the fact that academic intrinsic motivation decreases from ages 9-18 (Gottfried & Gottfried, 1996, 2006), the present study sought to gain insight into the phenomenon of classroom praise from the perspective of 105 elementary teachers, revealing their explanation and justification for this practice. Although research has documented the effects of praise in the school setting (Deci & Ryan, 2000; Kohn, 1993; Reeve, 2006), there have been few accounts of how and why teachers administer praise. The realities of the elementary classroom, including student discipline, standardized curriculum, and high-stakes testing, provide context for understanding the implementation of systems of incentives. While the open-ended descriptions of motivational techniques are insightful in their own right, the teachers’ explanations and justification for these approaches represent a philosophy of education, one that both reflects and shapes our culture.

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