Rethinking Rewards: Why Reggio Emilia Encourages Intrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic motivation – the internal drive to do something because it’s interesting and appealing – is something that’s undergone much study regarding education and childcare philosophy.

Reward-based incentives, such as gold stars and other prizes, have long been accepted as playing a positive role in encouraging children to learn. However, current practices should always be subjected to ongoing research and testing to ensure that they are, indeed, optimal. In the case of external rewards in the educational landscape - and, in particular, in the early learning field, multiple peer-reviewed studies* are showing that perhaps it’s time for a rethink.

Fostering a Love of Learning

The formative years are a time when children build the foundations on which their future self will become. One area which the Reggio Emilia approach has always championed is child-directed learning.

This means that children are encouraged to explore their natural curiosities, following a path that leads to further discovery. This inquisitiveness and the urge to find out more isn’t something that’s stimulated by getting a sticker, prize or an external reward – the child does it simply because it’s interesting or fun. In other words, the urge to learn comes from the appeal of the activity itself.

Encouraging such behaviour is vital and helps children develop a positive mindset toward discovery. Such foundations are what will drive the future child (and adult) into learning for the love of learning – a characteristic that’s massively beneficial for great mental health and future success.

Reggio Emilia: An Approach That Was Way Before It’s Time…

Reggio Emilia education was introduced just after WW2, with the concept of child-led learning that believes every child is capable and an active learner. By encouraging this through what was, back then, a trail-blazing approach, children not only had the opportunity to learn through what interested them, but also to benefit from the internal joy and natural drive this method promoted.

Fast forward to today and the approach is globally recognised as one of the foremost methods of early childhood education. While the method has, naturally, undergone a few tweaks over time, the underlying concept remains the same: foster a love of learning at an early age through natural curiosity and opportunity, and this will be carried and built on throughout the person’s whole life.

So, where does this leave reward-based educational methods? While gold stars and the like might not be completely outdated, there’s firm proof that – especially with younger children – while tangible rewards might encourage learning in the here and now, they don’t promote the joy of discovery over the long term.

Research shows that external reward-based learning can have negative effects, such as:

A feeling of being ‘persuaded’ to do something

Yes, a reward might encourage a child to carry out a certain task, but they are doing it solely for the prize. This can actively reduce the desire for further discovery because it reduces autonomy. While a small child won’t think of it in those terms, what they will take away is the feeling of being pushed or controlled into carrying out the requested task.

Reducing interest

Doing something for the sole reason of getting a sticker (or whatever) can lead to an automatic cut-off point. The goal has been achieved, and the likelihood of wanting to continue to discover more drops dramatically.

Tangible rewards create a carrot-and-stick association

They can foster the concept of rewards being a way of persuading a person to do what they wouldn’t otherwise do – a very common real-world situation. While this can be effective in the short term, studies have shown that this negatively impacts intrinsic motivation, the very asset that the Reggio Emilia approach facilitates.

One very interesting aspect that’s particularly relevant in the sphere of early childhood education is that of verbal rewards. While praise is incredibly valuable, care must be taken as to how this is approached. It seems that it can help promote intrinsic motivation – especially in older students – but in the younger child who is still navigating the minefield of cognitive development and understanding their own worth, praise can, in itself be considered controlling.

Therefore, care should be taken as to how praise is given. In other words, it’s justified praise, as opposed to verbally rewarding the child to make them continue or act in a certain way. Better, perhaps, to consider positive guidance that encourages the child to further pursue their interest, such as a comment like, “Wow, that’s interesting. How did you manage that?”, rather than simple, “Well done” or “That’s good”.

All of this is certainly food for thought – and is tantamount to the training and dedication that the best early childhood educators devote to their careers. At Treasured Tots, we don’t just provide the best age-appropriate educational landscape for our children, but we pay as much attention to the continual investment in our wonderful staff.

Continual professional development is something that all our educators are passionate about. From Kindy onwards, we’re proud to follow the wonderful Reggio Emilia approach, something that we’d be delighted to discuss with parents and caregivers at any time.

Discover more about us and book a tour today to see our wonderful team in action.

*. https://wjarr.com/sites/default/files/WJARR-2024-0457.pdf

2*  https://tipsforteachers.substack.com/p/research-bite-2-extrinsic-rewards