Intrinsic Motivation Is Key and How Parents can Nurture it

Each month I will take a different aspect of the FIS Hong Kong strategy, and use it to shape some thoughts around my most recent reading from other educationalists and school leaders from the International School network around the world. My aim will be to provoke some ideas as to how as parents you can proactively engage with your child(ren) to support the school vision and mission at FIS.

Intrinsic motivation is a necessary factor in reaching ambitions

We always say that the students are at the heart of all that goes on at school, and so with that in mind I want to frame some thoughts around the idea of empowering every student to reach their ambitions and fullest academic potential. In particular it is the “reach their ambitions” piece of this aspiration that came to mind as I read Conrad Hughes’s article motivation is the key to life long learning. Conrad is the Director General of the International School of Geneva, and a prolific publisher of educational research on various forums. The phrase “ If you are genuinely motivated to learn something, you will learn it” in particular struck home with me as something that I have witnessed over my 30 years of teaching.

Intrinsic motivation is a necessary factor in reaching ambitions, and I would argue that for any student in a school setting, no matter the age, it is only when they find it that ambitions are reached and fullest academic potential comes through. At FIS we have highly skilled teachers who teach their subjects to the students in their care, but sometimes this is not enough. The best teachers, as we have all experienced, will form such strong bonds with their students that this alone can act as a motivator for students to do well. However this is still very much an extrinsic motivating factor, and not one that can be relied upon.

As parents, what can we do to help our children find their inner motivation?

At FIS we are lucky to have many students who clearly have well developed life goals, and for whom reaching their academic potential at school is already something that drives them on every day to work hard. However, this is not always the case and recent research published by Jonathan Haidt in his book The anxious generation suggests that Gen Z seems to struggle more to find their inner motivations than previous generations of children. So what can we do as parents to help our children find their inner motivation?

When families spend time together and talk with each other about what they are doing and how they are feeling, ideas around the future and what it may look like will come to children naturally. This means both ruling things in and out. Seeing good role models amongst family and friends can also be a great way of children developing their own North star to shoot towards. The most important thing for me is giving your children as many experiences in life as possible, without filling their schedules 24/7, for them to figure out what excites them.

Living out someone else’s dreams and wishes is a hard burden

When I see the development of an intrinsic motivation go wrong is when we, as parents, attempt to dictate to our children what they must do in the future. Living out someone else’s dreams and wishes is a hard burden to place on anyone, and will rarely lead to a happy ending. Dialogue with our children and taking an open minded approach is the key to ensuring that they can develop a reason to be at school, to help them achieve their own ambitions.