Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation: Mythic Aspects in the Tertiary Sector

Abstract

Questions of what motivates students and how they are motivated are major concerns in educational research. This chapter will focus on motivation in tertiary education, pinpointing what can be recognized as myths. It will first provide an explanation of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation as they apply to the tertiary sector. It will then grapple with intersecting myths that relate to both educators and students: one is that it is a myth to assume that all educators clearly understand the concept of motivation; another is that it is a myth to assume that students comprehend the idea of motivation or are sufficiently motivated to complete their course of study; finally, it is a myth to assume that motivation can be addressed in the same way in both face-to-face and computer-mediated study environments. It is only by understanding these myths and by interrogating the research relating to them that positive action can be taken to address them. The study that follows is led by reading, reviewing and critiquing a range of theoretical perspectives on education, rather than empirical study, but the scrutiny of the current condition of the research literature in this chapter is of value not only from the point of view of teaching practice but also in terms of new agendas for research that are emerging. In particular, while this paper is led by theory, it is acutely and reflexively aware of prevailing circumstances in higher education in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the world, where budgets have been tightened, higher education resources and staffing diminished, ratios of faculty to student have blown out, and where generally the circumstances in which students now study can be uncongenial, economically driven and where there may be little to motivate them.