Numerous theories are studied extensively in coursework; however, some lack realism as revealed during a field study at a nearby elementary. An interview with educators at the elementary school revealed they enjoyed witnessing the diversity of growth among students since they observed children in the process of learning and inventing fun things. To experience these ‘joys of teaching,’ the teachers cited the need for motivation. However, some educators stated that despite the importance of motivation, they were inadequately motivated because of work-related and personal reasons. These findings reveal a disconnect between the teaching philosophy as explained by pedagogical scholars, such as Ormrod et al. (2019), on motivation and the causal attributions. Ormrod et al. (2019), in chapter 11 of Educational Psychology, successfully define the role of teacher’s attribution and expectation in self-motivation. However, they fail to acknowledge the role of interpersonal causal attribution and student behavior on their motivation.
In most instances, teacher motivation turns them to educate wholeheartedly and willingly. A challenge to the reason could influence the teacher’s failure to meet their personal and student expectations. Ormrod et al. (2019) contend that motivation is primarily influenced by their interests in their career, control, and discipline, especially in the learning environment. In this view, the authors promote the idea that an educator can motivate their students in any environment and still achieve self-actualization. However, the elementary school educators’ interview revealed that intrinsic and extrinsic motivators could also act as demotivators. For instance, while teachers enjoyed seeing students learn and grow, the student’s failure to achieve educational goals set by the school administration was frustrating to some. Part of the teachers experienced organizational problems and was demotivated by the constrained school budget. Other educators noted that events outside the school influenced their motivation to work. The interview reveals the disconnect between theory and real-life experiences due to the lack of information on managing motivation effectively.
The psychological theory on motivation, as suggested by Ormrod et al. (2019), ignores the fact that students actively study the environment and develop individual worldviews, which influence their behavior. In this regard, it would be challenging for a teacher to remain motivated continuously and predict motivation throughout the class and career. With this argument, Ormrod et al. (2019) assumed that teachers could influence their own and their student’s interests, which is a disputable idea. They ignored the fact that social cognition such as expectancy-value and achievement continuously change during a class or over the duration of one’s career as does self-motivation mastery. It is also likely that learners do not passively acquire information from the environment and, therefore, require intense attention. These arguments, along with the educational demands for teaching, reveal the disconnect between theory and practice and oppose the philosophy of education.
Indeed, learning in a classroom environment involves complex processes unknown to many new teachers. Despite having theoretical knowledge of the classroom demands, real-life experience, as explained by the interviewees, requires intensive cognition regarding the teacher’s and students’ outcomes. The interview revealed that the school demands for performance, despite the student’s varying cognitive abilities, were directly attributed to the teacher’s teaching quality and lack of effort. The teachers also explained that they often fail to accomplish their academic goals and influence student behavior, thus experiencing maladaptive emotions, occupational stress, and work discontent. In the text by Ormrod et al. (2019), the authors fail to highlight the negative influences of failure to achieve set educational goals that, in most instances, vary between schools. The text also fails to acknowledge the role of emotional wellbeing and intrinsic motivation in achieving instructional success, and the causal attribution for emotions, failure, and persistence to educational success personally and as established by the employer.
Teacher motivation manifests in the context of the teaching environment and is related to the educator’s basic psychological needs. As Ormrod et al. (2019) explain, factors such as social environment, competence and relatedness have a bearing on a teacher’s development of a sense of belonging, and interaction with peers. Indeed, teachers who demonstrate autonomy and support for others are also responsive to students’ feelings and are explicative. Agreeing with Ormrod et al. (2019), enhancing teachers’ ability to take charge and deliver educational objectives set by the school requires them to be motivated. However, it is essential to acknowledge that some teachers, as revealed during the interview, are controlling and supportive. These differences influenced their interpersonal behavior when the school administration pressured them to achieve their academic objectives. The text by Ormrod et al. (2019) lacks an in-depth analysis of these issues, especially on stressors by students who may be disruptive and controlling and thus result in the teacher’s demotivation. In this sense, the authors must elucidate the effects of mismanaged expectations on motivation.
Interviewing educators at a nearby elementary school revealed some differences between academic theories on motivation, as explained by Ormrod et al. (2019), and real-life teaching experiences. While the authors cited above acknowledge the role of interest in one’s career, they overlook the effect of intrinsic and extrinsic influences on motivation. They also fail to effectively discuss how to continually motivate oneself, the impact of students’ stressors on a teacher’s encouragement and prepare future teachers to control and support others. Consequently, although motivation issues are detailed and clarified, they lack the sense of realism discovered during the study.
Reference
Ormrod, J., Anderman, E., & Anderman, L. (2019). Educational psychology: Developing learners (10th ed.). Pearson Education.