Final_Submitted_-_5370_words_31st_Aug_10

Farhana Zaveri ZAV09076869
With reference to the research literature, discuss how educators might improve
student motivation.
Introduction
‘Nirantar - resource centre for gender and Education’ an NGO in India leads a number
of initiatives to educate and impart information to women from marginalized
communities; one of them is journalism, which is considered to be an upper caste
man’s domain. This essay will focus on how teachers/educators can motivate these
women in their occupation by studying this project named ‘Khabar Lahariya’ (KL)
now termed as ‘Pahal’. This shall be examined with the perspectives of Self-
Determination Theory (SDT) of motivation and the Expectancy value theory (EVT)
of motivation.
My inspiration to study this topic stems from the fact that I was working for an NGO
in India that works towards enhancing the quality of lives of the people of a
community. To further hone my skills to cater to a larger audience I am currently
pursuing my MA in Education Gender and International Development that allows me
to understand and equips me with the tools to address the challenges faced by
marginalized populations across the globe. My rationale in this essay is to speculate
whether KL recruited these disempowered women on the basis of their motivational
level? Are all or most women actually motivated? What are some of the plausible
ways through which educators can ensure their motivation? I consider this crucial;
however the literature available seems to overwhelm the reader with the strengths and
achievements of the initiative. It does not provide any account on issues of
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motivation; the challenges faced to enrol and sustain rural marginalized
disempowered women, into a so-called male-oriented stream in a male-dominated
society; the process of selection; problems related to drop outs and aspirations of
these women.
Encyclopaedias reveal that motivation is defined as ‘a moving cause’ which is derived
from a Latin term ‘motivus’ (Ahl, 2006). Ahl (2006) believes that motivation arises
either out of energy and direction or is instigated by goals or based in needs. One
common factor that is present among all these is that motivation resides primarily
within the person, thus research needs to focus on individuals. Lieb (1991) asserts that
it is important to understand and analyze the characteristics and traits of adult learners
and examine the factors that motivate or hinder learning.
A glimpse into ‘Nirantar - resource centre for gender and Education’
The inception of ‘Nirantar - resource centre for gender and Education’ took place in
1993. Over the years, Nirantar has strived to bring about innovative initiatives to
promote literacy. Nirantar’s vision is that every human being, regardless of sex, caste,
creed, class, etc. should have access to information free from any biases and be
equipped with the tools to critically analyze that information. It believes that
information is power, and literacy, a right which serves as a medium to enhance the
quality of lives of the people. Therefore, it caters to the underprivileged and
marginalized adults who usually have no access to information and education
(www.nirantar.net). This vision of Nirantar complements with the ideas of those who
champion adult learning as they consider it beneficial and thus encourage education
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and learning (in any form – formal or informal) for all masses. There is plethora of
information available on this topic; however it is outside the scope of this essay.
Knowles, M. (1973); McGiveny, C. (1996); Sabates, R. and Feinstein, L. (2007);
UNESCO (1997) as well as Adults and Lifelong Learning, LSC (2009) are a few
examples in this domain. To avail further information on Nirantar please refer
(www.nirantar.net).
KL
The vision of KL is to promote local women into leadership in the KL team now
known as ‘Pahal Society’. KL ‘News Waves’ – is a rural weekly newspaper written,
edited, illustrated, marketed and produced by women mostly from the marginalised
and Muslim communities particularly in Banda and Chitrakoot districts of Uttar
Pradesh in northern India. This began in 2002 in May at Chitrakoot and later in Banda
in October 2006. Currently, together it makes a print run of approximately 5,000
copies and a readership of around 25,000 in 400+ villages.
KL is an eight page newspaper, written in Bundeli, a local language. This paper seeks
to provide a combination of entertainment, knowledge, political news, functioning of
panchayats, bureaucracy, education and health contextualized for the Bundelkhandis,
who mostly possess low literacy levels. This initiative has enabled KL to receive
prestigious awards at the national and international levels; further information on KL
is available at (www.nirantar.net).
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The Status of Women in India
In articles 141
and 152
from the constitution of India, the government promises equal
rights to all its citizens regardless of their sex, caste, creed, etc. Besides, it even seeks
to encourage on paper, activities and initiatives that enable better quality living for
marginalized groups; however, there are very few evidences of such successful and
sustainable implementations (Social Action Forum for Manav Adhikar, year not
mentioned).
George, (2001) brings to light that in India there are approximately 350 million lower
castes across the country of which only 150 million are employed. The caste system is
deeply entrenched especially in many parts of the rural society. Lower castes are
ostracized and they are denied the basic facilities. The poor and lower caste women,
barely educated and skilled face even more atrocities due to their gender status
(George, 2001).
Bhardwaj (2000) highlights that in Uttar Pradesh (UP), agriculture being the most
important sector, owning a fertile and cultivable land is considered to bring good
fortune. However, the land acts passed in 1950 deny the inheritance of land to any
female members of the family. This is because girls leave their parental house, thus
1
Article 14. Equality before law.—The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the
equal protection of the laws within the territory of India (www.aptel.gov.in).
2
Article 15. Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.—(1)
The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place
of birth or any of them.
(3) Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women and
children.
(4) Nothing in this article… shall prevent the State from making any special provision for the
advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled
Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (www.aptel.gov.in).
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they are compelled to refrain from property issues. In order to keep the land intact,
devoid of any external interference; ownership of the land becomes a male
prerogative.
Velkoff (1998) claims, that India has one of the lowest female literacy rates among its
other South Asian counterparts. The literacy rate of women in UP is abysmally low as
42.98% and that of males being 70.23%. The study reveals that a boy’s persona is
considered to be sanctified over that of girl’s and therefore boys are usually more
privileged than girls in almost all domains (Social Action Forum for Manav Adhikar,
year not mentioned).
Velkoff (1998) postulates that due to low levels of education and a subordinate role in
the society Indian women in several rural areas lack awareness in many domains.
Studies reveal that the fertility rate is also very high and only about 48% use any
contraceptives. In poorer and rural areas like UP this figure drops to approximately
30%. It is shocking to learn that Bihar and UP alone constitute around 63 million
illiterate women and lowest life expectancy levels (United Nations, 2003).
SDT – an overview
Ryan and Deci (2000) highlight that motivation refers to an act which involves
inspiration, interest, etc. to perform or undertake certain acts. A person who lacks
these is considered amotivated; as Chitrakar (2009) reveals that often girls in rural
India don’t consider education a necessity. They are not motivated to learn with the
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fear that going against the norms of being a wage earner, earning a meagre salary and
getting married will disable them to gain acceptance and societal status.
Ryan and Deci (2000) even state that motivation levels in various people vary in
quantity i.e. some may be more motivated for a particular task than others; and kind
i.e. some maybe motivated because of their personal gratification or fulfilment
(intrinsic) while others would be to seek approval, recognition or reward from others
(extrinsic). Niemiec and Ryan (2009) consider SDT to be a macro-level theory of
development, emotion and motivation in humans. SDT encourages harnessing an
individual’s interest that can help him/her learn effectively; it also encourages
external factors that give rise to enhanced learning.
Vansteenkiste, Lens and Deci (2006) maintain that the primary concern of SDT
researchers has been to examine the quality of motivation among students to learn.
This can be gauged by the level of motivation s/he demonstrates towards a particular
task. This motivation could be guided either by intrinsic or extrinsic factors. Ryan and
Deci (2000) point out that intrinsic motivation being from within results in quality
learning, innovation and creativity. Niemiec and Ryan (2009) put forth that learning
cannot effectively take place just by intrinsic motivation; therefore external motives
need to be introduced in order to achieve enhanced learning as all forms of extrinsic
motivation are not impoverished (Ryan and Deci, 2000). For instance, lower caste
women are catered through KL, not all have an intrinsic urge or personal interest to
pursue journalism but the extrinsic motivation of gaining status in society, seeking
monetary benefits, etc. might lead some of them to perform well and produce good
results.
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Ryan and Deci (2000) posit that often an educator might apply extrinsic motivation,
however if the student may not find it controlling but rewarding it may even turn into
intrinsic motivation. This transition is termed as ‘orientation shift’. This reveals that
intrinsic motivation can arise over time through extrinsic motivation. For instance, all
women associated with KL may not be motivated to pursue journalism; however,
some might get inspired by the extrinsic motivation of achieving status, monetary
gains, growth and development, etc. and these aspects might induce keen interest in
those women, wherein they feel intrinsically motivated. Vansteenkiste et al, (2006)
bring to light that identification is a process of identifying with a particular act and
being able to consider it as ones own. This induces value in a person for that act.
Albeit this being extrinsic, leads to internalized motivation.
Niemiec and Ryan (2009) reveal that sometimes educators introduce external motives
either in the form of rewards or punishments to facilitate learning. This experience of
joy, happiness, love and interest to seek knowledge turns into boredom, anxiety and
fear (Niemiec and Ryan, 2009). Thus Niemiec and Ryan (2009) argue that often
learning takes place through external control rather than catering to the interests of the
student. However, studies reveal that incentives do not always obstruct intrinsic
motivation and thus they should not be completely eradicated (Deci, Koestner and
Ryan, 2001).
Niemiec and Ryan (2009) maintain that extrinsic motivation takes place in four
distinct ways like:
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1. External regulation: being least autonomous it spells out that people behave in a
manner either to seek some external benefit or avoid punishment. Thus when the
incentive or punishment is removed the behaviour tends to become almost absent.
2. Introjected regulation: refers to fulfilling self expectations, boasting ego or
avoiding feelings like guilt and/or shame. Thus, external regulation and introjected
regulation are considered to have least autonomy.
3. Identified regulation: involves a little more autonomy as a person might perform
that task or emulate a particular behaviour in order to procure future benefits.
4. Integrated regulation: proclaims that a person is most autonomous; compared to
any other kind of extrinsic motivation. In this case a person accomplishes a task so
that s/he can realize the values, ethics and morals upon which s/he bases her/his life.
Niemiec and Ryan (2009) claim that SDT highlights the role autonomy, competence
and relatedness play that either leads to motivation or demotivation. In order to
sustain intrinsic motivation two elements; autonomy and competence are a pre-
requisite. Besides, even relatedness is crucial to ensure enhanced learning (Niemiec
and Ryan, 2009).
Chirkov (2009) brings to light that in SDT autonomy is considered to be an inherited
fundamental propensity in human beings demonstrating traits like self-organization
and self-rule. Studies reveal that autonomous motivation within adult learning leads to
moral, psychological and cognitive development as well as adaptive learning
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attitudes, personal well-being and academic success (Chirkov, 2009). Niemiec and
Ryan (2009) maintain that individuals who were provided with autonomy support
came up with more creative and innovative paintings compared to those who were
restricted and controlled. Intrinsic motivation is best achieved through autonomy
support (Niemiec and Ryan, 2009).
Niemiec and Ryan (2009) define competence as a feeling of confidence and trust
within oneself regarding the accomplishment of a task. Thus, if competence is present
but autonomy lacking, intrinsic motivation fails to occur. Niemiec and Ryan (2009)
highlight several ways like introducing challenging tasks which enable one to expand
their capabilities that in turn enable competence among students. Also, constructive
feedback could be outlined detailing the strengths, which enable them to gain mastery
over those aspects as well as the areas of improvements which help them understand
and reflect on it.
Niemiec and Ryan (2009) refer to relatedness as a feeling of belongingness. If the
relationship between the teacher and student is that of relatedness, i.e. if the teacher
facilitates positive growth and development among students, they tend to perform
better compared to a scenario otherwise. Internalization, being vital to socialization,
has been theorized by SDT so that the psychological needs of autonomy, competence
and relatedness can be energized (Vansteenkiste et al, 2006).
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EVT – an overview
Wigfield, Tonks and Eccles (2004) maintain that John Atkinson formally developed
the expectancy value theory to illustrate various achievement related behaviours like
persistence, longing for success and choosing from achievement tasks. He puts forth
that incentive values, expectancies for success and achievement motives determine
achievement behaviours. Atkinson refers to expectancies for success – as one’s
expected probability to achieve success. It was then that the modern expectancy value
theory further developed by Eccles, 1987, 1993; Feather, 1982, 1998; Pekrun, 2000;
Wigfield, 1994; Wigfield and Eccles, 1992, 2000, 2002, etc. became related to
Atkinson’s theory. However they differ in many ways. First, in the modern theory,
both components – expectancy and value are elaborated and then connected to the
wider array of socio-cultural and psychological determinants. Second, these models
are not sheer laboratory tests (Eccles and Wigfield, 2002).
EVT asserts that individuals carry out a particular task or behave in a particular
manner so as to have certain expectancies from it and even because they attach at
least some level of value to it. If one has to make a choice from multiple behaviours
they will choose those combinations which will ensure maximum success and value
(Scholl, 1981). Wigfield, Tonks and Eccles (2004) highlight that whilst deciding
subjects for the final semester a high school student looks into what s/he is interested
in or values. Besides, s/he even studies her/his past grades to gauge in which area s/he
scored the highest. If we examine this decision making process, it reveals that her/his
choice was guided by her/his interests and the expectation of success (Eccles and
Wigfield, 2002).
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Scholl (1981) highlights, that one would continue to perform a particular behaviour if
s/he values it and if it meets her/his expectations. If one or more of these conditions
are not met then s/he might discontinue the behaviour. For instance, a woman might
get associated with KL to avail a good salary, social status, growth and development;
however, in due course if Nirantar fails to provide her with one or more of these
conditions, or she may stop valuing any one or more of these rewards, then she might
discontinue.
Eccles (2009) defines Subjective Task Value (STV) as an essential component of the
achievement related choices of the EVT. STV are quiet related to collective/social and
personal identities as well as the process of identity formation which underlies the
onset of these identities. Eccles (2009) assumes that STV can be understood as the
quality of a particular task which either increases or decreases its probability of
selection by an individual. Minimum four components have been said to influence
this quality. Eccles (2009); Wigfield, Battle, Keller, and Eccles (2002); Wigfield et al,
(2004) and Eccles (2005) throw light on each of them.
Intrinsic interest: is when an activity is enjoyed by an individual to an extent that
s/he seeks gratification and pleasure whilst being engaged in it.
Attainment value: refers to the personal importance an individual attaches to a task.
These are linked to identity, as these tasks reflect peculiar characteristics of a person
and can be central in influencing his/her career and future plans. For eg. if a person
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places high value on helping others then occupations that allow him/her to help will
be more valuable to him/her, than those who restrict this behaviour.
Utility: is termed as a goal that is less personal but accomplished to attain something.
However, it is not attainment value.
Cost: refers to the alternatives bygone for selecting one or few out of many.
Consequences of success, fear of failure and anxiety are some of the influences of
cost. Time and energy lost on a particular task are also determinants of cost. If one
loses time and energy on task A when s/he values task B, then the subjective cost of
accomplishing task A increases.
Eccles (2009) highlights, that social experiences; perception of oneself and individual
experiences give initial information based on which individuals start forming their
perceptions of “Me” and “We” and the values that people most important to them
attach to. Eccles (2009) puts forth a study conducted, to identify the task orientation
between thing-oriented and person-oriented tasks, among both genders it was revealed
that those inclined towards the former chose math and science whereas those who saw
themselves as nurturers, caretakers, helpful, etc. chose the latter. Not surprisingly
more girls than boys chose the latter. However, in making this choice, Eccles (2005)
believes that a lot of personal, social and psychological constructs come into being.
For instance, is it enjoyable? Will it meet the desired goal? Has it been influenced by
parents, peers, siblings, etc.? This is significant as Eccles (2009) postulates that the
salience of these choices more or less depend on the self-system coupled with the
social structures who inform individuals of their strengths and weaknesses; induce
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stereotypes which usually shape an individual’s self concept and ability potential
leading her/him to believe that competence is a pre-requisite for some tasks and not
for others regardless of whether s/he is actually interested in the task. Wigfield et al,
(2002) reveal that studies conclude that in reality these differences in actual aptitude
are not really present, and even if they do occur, they are in very small numbers.
Eccles (2009) states that confidence in one’s potential to achieve success;
expectations for success and personal efficacy have been well-known by achievement
and decision theorists as significant mediators of behavioural choice (Eccles, 2005).
Eccles, Barber, Jozefowicz, Malenchuk and Vida (1999) point out that many studies
like American Association of University Women (AAUW; 1990), Carol Gilligan
(1990) as well as Mary Pipher (1994) have reported girls having low self confidence,
negative self-evaluation, inability to put forth their opinions and needs as well as
undergoing depression. This further impacts their educational and occupational
aspirations; especially in the technical fields, as they believe that these careers belong
to the man’s domain. Studies reveal that equally high achieving girls and boys tend to
have varying level of self-esteem particularly in the adolescence period.
Implications – SDT perspective
India being a male-dominated society, most decisions are taken by men alone. It
would be interesting to learn, that which gender constitutes the top leadership in
Nirantar and which leadership styles do they adopt? Chirkov (2009) points out that
many cultures have a top-down approach wherein culture permeates the authority to
apply control on his/her subordinates; scholars further add that such dynamics may
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hinder an individual’s autonomy, thereby not allowing them to make choices, express
their feelings, opinions and thoughts which may hamper their learning, motivation as
well as optimal development. Nirantar claims that when women face difficult
situations it is Nirantar who protects them. In one case a woman interviewed certain
people in a village and got hold of a story describing acts of an upper caste corrupt
school master. She was in the process of publishing it, when he came at the press
centre, threatened the women and asked for evidence. To keep the villager’s name
intact the woman did not disclose; Nirantar officials took control over the issue
thereby protecting the woman and restricted the KL team to publish this story
(Nirantar, 2005 -2009). In such cases the agency doesn’t seem to be with the women.
How can one be intrinsically motivated and learn well if s/he is not allowed to take
decisions? In order to learn and gain competence; along with protection, women
should even be given the tools to respond to situations independently.
Ryan and Deci (2000) proclaim that the school and home climates can act as a
catalyst or forestall the intrinsic motivation by supporting the autonomy and
competence needs; if thwarted intrinsic motivation fails to occur. In most rural areas
in India, Tewari (2004) highlights that women are usually marginalized and given a
low status and confined to domestic chores. This further restricts them to gain access
to education, move around, make decisions, stand up for their rights, etc. In such
cases educators themselves must believe in the notion of social justice and encourage
the women to raise their voice, pursue what they consider gratifying and provide
autonomy support to enhance their skills. It is even essential to understand what kind
of training sessions do the educators undergo? Does the training take into account the
socio-cultural scenario? Does it equip the trainers to deal with varied constituencies of
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age, background and context? Are trainers able to motivate them through various
extrinsic motives in a manner that they find it rewarding and maybe in due course get
intrinsically motivated for it? Are trainers equipped with multiple andragogy to
induce interest and motivation among learners? Are trainers themselves intrinsically
motivated to pass on high levels of motivation to these women? Ryan and Deci (2000)
believe that educators need to study the training environment and also know the
background of all their participants so that they understand their motivation levels and
how to cater to them to enhance effective learning and motivation.
Little (2003) puts forth several motivational contrasts which include; some students
are motivated by challenging activities while others by easy tasks; some students
needs are satiated with curiosity while that of others with the approval of the teacher;
some students feel empowered when able to perform a task independently while some
with the teacher’s guidance. This would enable them to be intrinsically or at least
internalized extrinsically motivated. There was once a phase in KL where women got
disempowered and gave up publishing about politics during the Lok Sabha3
elections,
as they felt politics was not a domain for poor rural marginalised women. So Nirantar
worked towards addressing that issue by conducting a course on politics, followed by
planning and producing ‘election specials’ in conjunction with the team. These helped
in empowering the team as well as became popular among the readers. This equipped
women with the tools to understand and articulate their thoughts as they could
comment and give their opinions in the public sphere. This reveals that with
facilitation and autonomy support, motivation gets inbuilt and performance is visible.
Niemiec and Ryan (2009) propose that some of the ways to bring about autonomy and
3
Lok Sabha is composed of representatives of the people chosen by direct election on the basis of the
adult suffrage (www.loksabha.nic.in).
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competence among students is when teachers begin minimizing any fearful aspects
that serve as hindrances to their motivation levels; understand their needs’ provide
challenging tasks and build a rapport with them.
KL reaches the grass root levels as these masses usually lack information on violence,
bureaucratic negligence, as well as official apathy which the articles in the paper
highlight. Sometimes readers demand more information on some of the published
stories that KL almost always provides. Examples like, a stone quarrying report near
Bharatkup pointed out the ill-effects it has on the environment and the nexus among
the administrators and contractors; with this, the farmers from that area started raising
questions. Another report on citizens of Sukhrampur village; wherein most of them
suffer from tuberculosis, resulted into health officers being questioned for their
negligence, followed by treatment to the villagers. Besides, the report on police
brutality towards a Kol (a marginalized community) woman; resulted into a NGO
taking it up and charging the police for the same (www.nirantar.net). In this manner
women are not only empowered by learning about and publishing these stories; but
they create awareness among the ignorant populations and empower them to take
action collectively and change what is undesirable and unacceptable. This even
empowers women and helps them attain autonomy.
Implications – EVT perspective
Wigfield et al, (2004) proclaim that cultures differ extensively in their approach with
regard to choice. Western cultures tend to permit individuals to make their own
choices whereas various other cultures place more restrictions on individual choice. In
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Eastern cultures usually the larger benefit of the communities is attached high
importance. As George (2001) asserts that women in many rural areas in India are
barely consulted or permitted to work as they are disregarded to have potential. At the
most they are recruited for menial tasks at meagre wages only if the family is in need
of monetary gains; they do not seek employment with their own choice. Will
Nirantar’s aim of enrolling several women in this activity bring a transition in the
perception of stereotypical gender roles and empower them? It needs to be coupled
with creating awareness among men regarding the potential of women and fostering
values like respect, dignity, etc. for women. This would reap better results for women
as men would also feel empowered and involved (George, 2001).
Eccles (2001) brings to light that often women lower their expectations of so-called
male-oriented tasks as they fear failure which might lead to a bad image. Therefore, in
order to avoid the stigma they stick to the stereotypical roles set by the society. For
instance in Nirantar women from lower caste pursue journalism being cognizant of
the fact that the society and they themselves consider it an upper caste man’s cup of
tea. This belief and anxiety of low ability would undermine her performance and lead
to lower performance. If the association of careers, is free from gender-bias then
women can perform as equal with men. What steps does KL take to build and sustain
the motivation levels of marginalized, lower caste rural women, who are aware of
these gender stereotypical roles but have still entered into a so-called male stream in a
male-dominated society?
Wigfield and Eccles (2000) highlight, that motivation can influence persistence,
choice and performance. The EVT argues that these aspects inform how well a person
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can accomplish a particular task and how much s/he values it. It would be interesting
to learn the orientation process of KL and to what extent do women expect success? If
at all they do not expect success from this domain do they drop out? Do these women
really value the work they perform or they pursue in order to gain status in the society
as Wigfield et al, (2004) highlight that societal pressure often compels one into
activities that one may not really want to pursue. It would be worthy to learn that if
women attach value to this profession what is it which enables the women to sustain
it, despite the monotony in the job? What motivating drivers are introduced to enable
them to demonstrate unleashing creativity and expect increasing levels of success?
Wigfield et al, (2002) believe that when the self-concept of an individual is positive,
s/he is very likely to outperform in that particular area. Have there been any
psychological, behavioural tests or counselling sessions in order to gauge the self-
concept, self-esteem, confidence and motivational levels of these women? It is crucial
to learn if gender biases persist in the KL system?
It is also important to learn that at what level of motivation - to achieve intrinsic
value, attainment value or utility have these women enrolled themselves into this
domain? What cost do women pay i.e. what other options do they leave in order to
enter into this stream? This is well illustrated by the instances of KL. A great impact
was experienced by women who worked for it. For eg. Shanti, a senior member from
the team, from the Kol scheduled tribe never had access to education in her life. She
began learning in her mid-thirties. This has led to a profound impact on her by making
her confident, pursuing a job, being articulative, seeking information, having agency
and better quality of life (www.nirantar.net). This reveals that albeit most of these
women were never educated and were even unaware of such activities, let alone their
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motivation for it; but presently there seems a transition. They pursue journalism either
to achieve utility and attainment from these activities or some might have even
cultivated an intrinsic value for it. However it is important to gauge whether most
women undergo this experience. What are some of the other areas that women in that
district attach value to and expect success from? Have any initiatives been taken in
that light?
Eccles (2005) proposes that the four regulations by Deci and Ryan in SDT have
similarities with the values of EVT. The attainment value shares some similarity with
integrated regulation. For instance, a woman in KL may perceive attainment value
and undergo introjected regulation at the very same time, if she considers this
profession to bring her fame, status, etc. which she longs to attain; besides it would
even boast her ego. In most circumstances a woman in KL can only have keen interest
and intrinsic motivation towards journalism if it complements with her values, morals
and ethics upon which she bases her life. This reveals that intergrated regulation is
quiet close to intrinsic/interest value.
Eccles (2005) pronounces that utility shares links with identified regulation, for
instance, if Nirantar pays well, takes care of externalities like medical, maternity
leaves, etc. that benefit the women and her family at large then she finds utility in that
profession and may continue to serve there in order to avail those benefits. Utility
even has some similarities with external regulation and introjected regulation as often
the behaviour is performed for some external benefit or to fulfil one’s expectations.
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Conclusion
In sum, can be argued that the choice of the profession is a contested domain as there
are no evidences revealing whether women purse journalism as a choice or as the only
option available? Are they given a choice to pick or switch even among the initiatives
that Nirantar leads? It can be argued whether was this initiative was set up to cater to
a group of disempowered women, ignoring their motivation levels for such a task.
There seems to be no evidence/s revealing women’s intrinsic motivation/urge to take
this up as an occupation/career. Niemiec and Ryan (2009) bring to light that students
can be given more choices and freedom to choose their area and method of study.
Also, educators could make students realize the objective of studying a particular
subject so that the student would be able to understand and value it; which seems to
be absent in KL.
The EVT posits that values and expectancy for success shape people’s behaviour but
in KL how many women really value journalism and expect success from it? It is
important for Nirantar to learn what is it, that people value, and if the vision is to
empower women, then they can strive to help women attain what they value so that
they can identify with it. Besides journalism, women can be made cognizant of other
occupations too – this will even help Nirantar realize one of its aims of imparting
information which will make them aware of the existing multiple arenas. Nirantar
highlights positive instances illustrating the increasing confidence and self-esteem
through journalism but does it provide the motivation, performance and progress of
majority women? Eradicating gender biases from the system; having an environment
of social justice, empathy and autonomy that boosts self-confidence and self-worth
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through self-help sessions and workshops would serve as a medium to enable women
see potential in themselves.
It is quiet evident that both theories have many similarities and are closely related in
aspects of encouraging motivation, states of autonomy, having choices, being
interested and intrinsically motivated and what can be done by educators to constantly
motivate their students to carry out and enjoy their activities so that they perform well
and achieve desired levels of success.
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