ECONOMICS OF LEARNING: REWARD SYSTEMS

Abstract

Attaining educational goals and enhancing academic performances are the aims of every learner and dream of every teacher. Every educational program envisions certain aims and objectives which it sets out to fulfill. Motivated learners are one of the prerequisites for obtaining educational success. Some learners are intrinsically motivated and require little driving force from outside, it is not the case for many. Most of the learners need to be motivated with the help of external reinforcements or rewards. Rewards can be in the form of tangible prizes or sometimes even small words of praise. In this article, the author tries to explore the role of rewards and reinforcement in motivating learners. This is a qualitative review based on information collected from online resources such as webpages and journal articles. The study tries to highlight how rewards can reinforce and motivate learners to engage in educational tasks. At the same time, the author also cautions against the negative impact rewards can have. The article is significant as it tries to make a comparison between rewards used as incentives and rewards used as reinforcers in education systems.