EFPM 506 - SPECIAL NEEDS

EDUCATION
STANLEY MAPANDA
MED in PSYCHOLOGY
OBJECTIVES
v Define Motivation

v Describe Herzberg Two factor theory

v Two factor theory in Education

v Conclusion
 DEFINE MOTIVATION

Ø Motivation involves the biological, emotional, social, and

cognitive forces that activate behavior. In everyday usage, the
term "motivation" is frequently used to describe why a person
does something. It is the driving force behind human
actions.(Herzberg, (1971)
Ø Motivation doesn't just refer to the factors that activate
behaviors; it also involves the factors that direct and maintain
these goal-directed actions, though such motives are rarely
directly observable, Huang, et al. (2013)
 Describe Herzberg Two factor theory
Ø He first published his theory in 1959 in a book entitled ‘The
Motivation to Work’ and put forward a two factor content theory
which is often referred to as a two need system.

Ø MOTIVATION THEORY, commonly known as the two factor

theory, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Herzberg and his
associates conducted a research based on the interview of 200
engineers and accountants who looked for 11 different firms in
Pittsburgh area, U.S.A.
Ø The purpose of the research was to find out as to what variables
are perceived to be desirable goals to achieve and conversely,
undesirable conditions to avoid.

Ø During the course of the interviews, these men were asked to

describe a few previous job experiences in which they felt
“exceptionally good” or “exceptionally bad” about jobs. They
were also asked to rate the degree of which their feelings were
influenced-for better or worse- by each experience which they
described.
Ø Based upon the answers received from these 200 people,
Herzberg concluded that there are certain factors that tend to be
consistently related to job satisfaction and on the other hand,
there are some factors, which are consistently related to job
dissatisfaction.

Ø The last of job conditions, he referred to as MAINTENANCE

OR HYGIENE factors and the first job conditions as
MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS. The motivational factors are
intrinsic in nature and the hygiene factors are extrinsic in nature.
 Motivational Factors:

1. Hygiene Factors:
Ø Hygiene factors or the maintenance factors do not
motivate people, they simply prevent dissatisfaction and
maintain status quo. Such factors do not produce positive
results but prevent negative results. If these factors are not
there it will lead to job dissatisfaction. These are not
motivators, as they maintain a zero level of motivation or
in other words, these factors do not provide any
satisfaction but eliminate dissatisfaction.
ACCORDING TO HERZBERG THERE ARE TEN
MAINTENANCE OR HYGIENE FACTORS:
The word hygiene is taken from the
SL.NO. HYGIENE FACTOR medical science, where it means

1. Company/ School policies taking preventions to maintain your

health but not necessarily improve
2. Technical/ Teacher Supervision
it. Similarly, hygiene factors in this
3. Inter-Personal relations with Supervision theory prevent damage to efficiency
4. Inter-Personal relations with classmates but do not encourage growth. As

5. Inter-Personal relations with peers such, these are also called

dissatisfies.
6. salary

7. Job security

8. Personal Life

9. Working Conditions

10. Status
 2. Motivational Factors:
• These factors are intrinsic in nature and are
related to the job. The motivational factors have
a positive effect on job satisfaction and often
result in an increase in total output. Thus, these
factors have a positive influence on morale,
satisfaction, efficiency and productivity.
Herzberg concluded that six factors
motivate the employees:

SL.NO. Motivation factor

1. Achievement

2. Advancement

3. Possibility of Growth

4. Recognition

5. Work itself

6. Responsibility
Ø Any increase in these factors will improve the level of satisfaction,
thus, these factors can be used for motivating the employees/ learners.
Based on his research, Herzberg stated that managers/ teachers have
hitherto been very much concerned with hygiene factors. As a result they
have not been able to obtain the desired behaviour from the employees/
learners. In order to increase the motivation, it is necessary to pay attention
to the motivational factors.

Ø He further concluded that today’s motivational factors are tomorrow’s

hygiene factors. Because once a need is satisfied, it stops influencing
the behaviour. Further, one person’s hygiene may be another person’s
motivator, because motivation is also influenced by the personality
characteristics of individuals.
 Two factor theory in Education
Ø Awareness - For the teacher, need to be aware of motivators
and hygienes as the deal with their students. Examples of
things that motivate students are praise, engaging classwork,
making the curriculum relevant, and autonomy. Younger
children are often more motivated with less effort when
compared to older such as teenagers.
Ø Classroom Management - In terms of hygiene factors, is
perhaps one of the most significant factors. If a teacher
cannot maintain order in a just and reasonable way, even
highly motivated students will quickly turn off to learning,
Liu, and Onwuegbuzie, (2014).
 Two factor theory in Education cont
Ø Rewards - Applying this theory to education specifically in
special needs education, Liu, and Onwuegbuzie, (2014) revealed
that children with Autism should be given small rewards every
time they give appropriate responses.

Ø These ‘reinforcers’ or rewards have to be interesting enough to a

child to serve as motivation and should be based on a child’s
personal interests and preferences and may help in the
development of their social, language and behavioral skills,
 Two factor theory in Education cont
Ø Use of Positive Reinforcement Praising a child for every right action
made or giving him another try when he gave a wrong answer are
positive reinforcements that will encourage more participation from the
child and open a communication line between you.
Ø Encourage activities such as social stories and scripting in which these
will help in the behavioral development of verbal and non-verbal
children, which is very important as early detection can decrease future
social isolation and improve communication skills.
Ø Allow them to choose their own activity, which makes them choose
the activity they want to do and join them at it until they initialize eye
contact with you, Liu, and Onwuegbuzie, (2014).
 Two factor theory in Education cont

Ø Clarity - For older students and college, the marking of

assignments can also become demotivating if the teacher is
not clear in their expectations and communication.
Ø The teacher needs to show an example of expertise and
organization as students have much higher standards for their
teacher than they often have for themselves. Creating
achievable goals for students
 Two factor theory in Education cont
Ø Creating achievable goals for students - It is a common activity for
teachers, but it can also motivate your students with learning disabilities.
According to an article written by Dale S. Brown cited in Ewen, et al
(2016), speaker and author, setting goals is often a struggle for special
needs students.
Ø She wrote it can be hard for them to plan ahead, to start and stop what
they wish to do, and to monitor their behavior. She went on to explain
that, often, goals are imposed on special needs students that are
unrealistic and unattainable. The school system and society set goals for
them such as getting good grades and performing well on standardized
tests that challenge them in their area of disability.
Ø Achievement and recognition - It is also a motivator, by
creating achievable goals makes them have a sense of
fulfilment in practise and spirit as well as responsible of
their work at hand, Young (2000).
Ø Creativity - Special needs students can lose motivation
from the same daily lesson plans week after week, so it can
be beneficial to get creative with your lessons and tailor
them to specific classes. At the same time, it’s important to
keep a structure around the daily schedule.
Ø According to an article from Scholastic, preschool teacher
Robin Barlak cited in Hoy, et al (2012), works with special
needs children and has a consistent schedule every day to
maintain consistency.
Ø Within the segmented lesson times, though, she changes up
the lesson plans. Providing a change of pace could help
freshen things up for the students and keep them excited and
motivated to keep learning at school.
Ø Teachers’ understanding that factors which demotivate can often
be related to matters other than the school itself, Understanding
individual goals, coupled with wider skills and abilities, can lead
to greater opportunities. Individuals are seen as valuable by
teachers and to school and can acquire new skills useful in the
future.
Ø Improving skills, opportunities and increasing student
knowledge will, in the longer term, increase the value of an
students’ human assets and skills, most importantly, it can lead
to greater commitment, understanding and performance, Young
(2000) explained.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Herzberg’s theory can be another way of viewing
classroom management. Teachers often deal with the same
problems as managers, just with individuals who are not adults.
As such, some of Herzberg’s ideas may be useful, but some may
not be, but looking for additional insights into managing students
is never a bad idea.
REFERENCE LIST
Ewen, R.B., Smith, P., Hulin, C.L., and Locke, (2016) E.A. An empirical test of the
Herzberg two-factor theory. Journal of Applied Psychology, 50, 544-550.
Herzberg, F. (1971) Work and the nature of man, The World Publishing Company, New York
Hoy, W. K., Tarter, C. J., & Kottkamp, R. B. (2012). Open School/Healthy Schools:
Measuring Organizational Climate, Sage, London, UK.
Huang, X., & Van De Vliert, E. (2013). Where Intrinsic Job Satisfaction Fails to Work:
National Moderators of Intrinsic Motivation. Journal of Organizational
Behavior, 24, (159–179). doi:10. 1002/job. 186.
Lester, P. E. (2010). Development and Factor Analysis of the Teacher Job Satisfaction
Liu, S., Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2014). Teachers’ Motivation for Entering The Teaching
Profession and Their Job Satisfaction: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of
China and Other Countries Learning Environ Res, 17, (75–94)
Young, D. J. (2000). Teacher Morale in Western Australia: A Multilevel Model.
Learning Environments Research, 3, (159–177). doi:10.
1023/A:1026574424714.