New Study Says Freedom & Autonomy More Important Than Money (& Classroom Incentives?) by Larry Ferlazzo

New Study Says Freedom & Autonomy More Important Than Money (& Classroom Incentives?) by Larry Ferlazzo

            The American Psychological Association published a report including data from 63 countries that basically concluded that having freedom and autonomy are even more important to most people than material wealth. Researchers at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand studied this question of which brings more happiness, freedom and autonomy or money? They used three different psychological tests—a general health questionnaire, an anxiety inventory test and a burnout inventory test—to determine the answer to this question. They studied data from 420,599 people from 63 different countries over a 40 year span. They determined that, “money leads to autonomy, but it does not add to well-being or happiness.” (APA)

If this data is true, then maybe students would learn better if they had more say in how they are taught and in what they are taught and are motivated to learn from a place of well-being, rather than rewarded or punished for their learning behavior.

He links to the study and another article he has written on motivating students. He only had one response to this blog. “Caitlin” basically asks how we can give something they don’t have when teachers themselves have less and less autonomy and that hampers creativity and innovation. And I agree with her. It’s hard for teachers to accomplish much more than just getting through what they are required to teach for the standardized tests. If children were allowed to have more say in how they learn; they might actually learn accountability and become excited about what they are learning. With no say about much of anything, some students can become frustrated and give up because they learn a different way than other students or they learn more slowly.

            We need to allow them the freedom to explore their world and take charge of their learning experience, then we might have a chance to develop motivated students eager to learn more.

Citation: Ferlazzo, Larry. “New Study Says Freedom & Autonomy More Important Than Money (& Classroom Incentives?)” Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day . . .16 Jun 2011. Web. 17 Jun 2011.

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2011/06/16/new-study-says-freedom-autonomy-more-important-than-money-classroom-incentives/