Do Incentives Change Behavior? A Qualitative Evaluation of a Token Reward System in an After-School Learning Center

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Abstract

How much can incentives help motivate student behavior in afterschool learning environments? This study looked at one afterschool educational program that utilized a token reward system to help students achieve three goals: punctuality, homework completion, and pro-social behaviors. A qualitative evaluation of this incentive system unearthed signs of a need for an intervention in terms of students complying with the program’s goals but that the incentive system was not an effective solution. Results suggest that some educators may hold inflated beliefs in the effectiveness of incentive systems such that the capacity of an incentive is outmatched by the expectations. Moreover, most of the students in a given environment may not need rewards to do what is asked of them.

Author

• Erik Dutilly, University of Colorado - Boulder