Discuss the Motivation in Theological Education
By Rod Dreher
Rawlings School of Divinity
CLED 720: Biblical & Theological Foundations of Education
Genevieve Hamer
July 4, 2022
Discuss the Motivation in Theological Education
“How can I motivate my students more?” This is a noble ambition, though it is not on the
radar of many professors. They focus on how to express something accurately, perhaps even
clearly. It will be a new idea to many teachers that they may have a responsibility, or at least an
opportunity, to aid a student’s motivation. Some will jump at the opportunity: “Yes, I want to
motivate them more. But how?”
In theological education, as in all education, students will gain the most from our classes
and programs if they are deeply engaged. So, the question of motivation is not minor. But the
quantitative aspect of the question above—motivate them more—is actually not quite right.
Rather, “Are we helping our students be motivated in the best way?”
You have likely heard the catch phrase, “Practice makes perfect.” But what if you are
practicing wrong? A tennis player who practices a badly formed serve more and more will
actually be harder to help shift to a healthy swing. As my father taught me (borrowed from
Vince Lombardi), the truth is that perfect practice makes perfect. The type, the way, the quality
matters profoundly. It is similar in education. If you help your students be motivated more, but
with the wrong kind of motivation, you may actually be shooting them in the feet as they try to
walk the path of growth.
This article on deep motivation nestles into a global movement in higher education that
seeks “transformational education.”1 Transformation is at the heart of education.2 God’s Spirit
transforms, creating life where there is none, shaping dust into beautiful vessels. Yet the Potter
has molded humans so that psycho-social motivation is close to the heart of how he transforms
people. And within human learning, God has not designed all types of motivation to be equal.
1. Basic Types of Motivation: Intrinsic and Extrinsic
There is an important qualitative distinction within motivation: extrinsic vs. intrinsic. (See
Figures 1 and 2 below.) The fundamental division point within education is enjoyment and
satisfaction in a learning-task in and of itself. There are additional crucial factors, as we will see
below, but this is the most basic divide. My working definitions of these two types of
motivation are as follows.3
Intrinsic motivation: A given task is an end in and of itself.
Enjoyment of the task per se is what motivates the student. The motivation to do the task
is intrinsic to the learner-and-task relationship.
Extrinsic motivation: A given task is performed as a means to an end.
The end, rather than enjoyment of the task itself, is what motivates the student to perform
the task. The motivation to do the task is extrinsic to the learner-and-task relationship.
Notice what “intrinsic” and “extrinsic” mean and do not mean within motivation theory. As
I have taught motivation theory, this is the typical first point of confusion. The terms are not
synonymous with “within the person” versus “outside of the person.” The difference between
intrinsic and extrinsic motivations are about the relationship between the task and the actor,
not about the internal psychological experience of the actor himself. That is, something will be
going on inside the actor’s psyche in both types of motivation, so to equate intrinsic motivation
with an internal experience over against extrinsic motivation as something that is merely
outside the actor will start us on a poor trajectory from the very beginning and create problems
later. We will return to this. See Figures 1 and 2 below.
According to proponents of intrinsic motivation in learning, the sense of enjoyment, of
“intrinsic task interest,”4 is the heart of genuine, deep, perpetual learning.5 Without enjoyment
of the learning task, they suggest, the student will not keep at it in a meaningful way, for it will
not have sunk deeply into both aspects of their long-term memory, explicit and implicit.6 Task
enjoyment “enhances the attention, effort, and learning one directs toward that activity.”7 By
contrast, extrinsic motivation means that something other than the learning task motivates the
learner to do it—i.e., something external to the relationship between learner and task. The task
per se is not enjoyable or satisfying. It is the means to a different end.
Most people think of extrinsic motivation as the carrot versus stick technique. An
assignment is given. A reward (an A) or punishment (an F) is promised. A student does the
assignment to get the grade and pass and graduate. The problem with extrinsic motivation,
some say, is that “there is no direct relationship between extrinsic motivation and the desired
behavior except the sought-after reward.”8 Neither the carrot, which is the promised reward
for good work, nor the stick, which is the threatened punishment for bad work, is truly
effective, for they will never “help create the conditions that encourage and inspire others to
motivate themselves and achieve optimal performance.”9 What exactly is the natural
relationship between, for example, exegeting Exodus 12 or 1 Corinthians 7 and an A grade? Is
there anything about being motivated by an A and away from a C or F that, in itself, actually
equips the student to exegete better? Granting grades of quality after the fact is one thing;
using those as motivations to perform the task itself is quite another.
On the other hand, scholars observe that intrinsically motivated people “learn for its own
sake”10 and do an activity “for inherent satisfaction or pleasure” as if the activity “is reinforcing
in-and-of itself.”11 Because their motivation is naturally and immediately linked to the task
itself, they are thereby “more likely to plumb the depths of understanding.”12
2. Deeply Transformative Intrinsic Motivation
Intrinsic motivation—enjoyment and satisfaction with the learning task per se—is often
connected to maintained satisfaction13 and good quality production.14 High-quality conceptual
understanding, creativity in their thinking, and persistence in the overall task of learning are
each significantly enhanced by intrinsic motivation.15 High intrinsic motivation “promotes
flexibility in one’s way of thinking, active information processing, and tendency to learn in a way
that is conceptual rather than rote.”16 These qualities sound important for the tasks involved in
transformational theological education!
