Intrinsic Motivation

A reason for low levels of effort among teachers may be poor intrinsic motivation:  teachers may feel burned out, unappreciated by the community, or discouraged because of their poor working conditions, lack of support, or low levels of autonomy within the classroom (Benabou & Tirole 2003; Pink 2009). While the empirical literature on this is thin, there is rigorous evidence from the health sector in India, Pakistan, and Zambia that higher intrinsic motivation can leads to substantial increases in effort (Ashraf et al 2014; Callen et al 2015; Lee 2017). Effort might also differ depending on the goals and beliefs of the teachers. Several studies have shown that teacher expectations can determine which students learn more than others (IES 2014; Rosenthal & Jacobson 1966), presumably in part through the teachers’ level of motivation and effort in working with those students. If teachers believe and expect that some students will succeed while others will not (in some cases, due to the students’ gender, caste, ethnicity, race, or other presumed characteristic), then teachers are more likely to concentrate their efforts on presumed higher-potential students while leaving others behind.