1.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Need is an internal force or drive to attain or avoid a certain state or object (Schunk et al.,
2014). Abraham Maslow (1954, 1968), the father of the humanistic movement in psychology,
believed that all individuals have innate basic needs, and the efforts that the individuals put
into their attempts to satisfy their needs constitute a source of motivation for behaviours.

1.1. Five Basic Human Needs

According to Maslow (1954, 1968), the human basic needs can be broadly classified into
deficiency needs or growth needs, with the former comprising physiological and biological,
safety, belongingness and love, and esteem needs, and the latter encompassing self-
actualization needs which represent the desire to realize one’s potential and to grow to
become a person that one is capable of becoming. As seen in the hierarchy of needs below,
the needs and their specific descriptors have been graphically depicted as a pyramid.
The deficiency needs represent the needs that disrupt biological/ physiological and
psychological balance and catalyse individuals’ responses to the discomfort experienced
when these needs are unsatisfied (Maslow, 1968). Thus, deficiency needs motivate people
when they are not met, and the drive to fulfil these needs gets stronger the longer they are
denied. Unlike the deficiency needs, the growth needs represent the needs that have an
unlimited capacity for satisfaction and these drive the individuals to seek further fulfilment
(Maslow, 1968). As these needs are assumed to be infinite in their satisfaction, they serve as
a constant source of motivation of human behaviors.

Figure 1: Hierarchy of Basic Human Needs (adapted from Maslow, 1954)

1.2. Expanded Hierarchy of Needs

Of particular relevance to teachers is the later development of the hierarchy of needs. That is,
Maslow (1971; Maslow & Lowery, 1998) subsequently differentiated the growth needs of self-
actualization into cognitive needs (the desire for knowledge, understanding, self-awareness,
and meaning), aesthetic needs (the desire for beauty, balance, order, and symmetry), and
transcendence needs (the desire to help others to grow and fulfil their potential). The
expanded hierarchy of needs is shown in the following figure.

Figure 2: Expanded Hierarchy of Basic Human Needs (adapted from Maslow, 1971)

According to Maslow (1954, 1968), people are first motivated to meet the deficiency needs in
the order that these needs are presented in the hierarchy: biological and physiological needs,
safety needs, belongingness and love needs, and esteem needs. Once the deficiency needs
are satisfied, people are then motivated to attain growth needs in the following order: cognitive
needs, aesthetic needs, self-actualization needs, and transcendence needs.

The operation of the model has important implications for teaching and learning in that
teachers are to pay attention to the fulfilment of their students’ deficiency needs before the
students are more ready to learn. Imagine a student who is hungry or afraid of being bullied
in class. What deficiency needs does this student feel deprived from? Do you think this student
is able to learn effectively?
1.3. Implications for Practice

One of the key objectives of instruction is to attain learning outcomes (i.e., the skills and
knowledge that students will acquire by the end of the instruction). To attain the learning
outcomes, the effectiveness of the student learning process has to be ensured. Maslow’s
hierarchy of basic human needs and its underlying assumption that the satisfaction of the
deficiency needs takes precedence before the individuals attempt to satisfy their growth needs
suggests the crucial importance for teachers to ensure that students’ deficiency needs are met
before students can focus on their learning (i.e., in their attempt to meet their cognitive needs).
In this regard, teachers and schools play a critical role in facilitating the satisfaction of students’
needs, both deficiency and growth.

 Student may come to your class with their deficiency needs unmet (e.g., feeling
hungry, having a family problem). As a teacher, it is important that you address these
needs so that they are more ready to learn.
 Maslow’s hierarchy of needs assumes that all students have the innate desire to learn.
As a teacher, you can help students meet this desire by planning an engaging lesson
and designing interesting classroom activities

To promote the satisfaction of students’ biological and physiological needs:

 Provide breakfast or lunch coupons
 Adjust classroom temperature
 Give students opportunities for bathroom breaks
 Allow students to go for recess
 Provide shoes and uniforms for free or at reduced prices

To promote the satisfaction of students’ safety needs:

 Ensure that lessons are well planned
 Conduct lessons in an orderly fashion
 Manage students’ classroom behaviours
 Plan, discuss and practice emergency procedures
 Set consistent expectations about tasks and behaviours
 Implement classroom routines
 Fair discipline
 Teachers should be accepting, approachable, and warm
 Create a non-judgmental and non-threatening classroom environment
 Provide praise for correct responses instead of punishment for incorrect responses
 Scaffold and guide students when the need arises
 (see also Teaching Area on Setting Expectations and Routines)

To promote the satisfaction of students’ belongingness and love needs:

With regard to interactions with students, teachers need to:
 Be empathetic, considerate, patient, and fair
 Be willing to self-disclose or share personal stories
 Spend time one-on-one with students who need special attention or help (e.g., through
teacher conferencing)
 Provide positive comments and feedback
 Get to know individual students and their backgrounds
 Be humorous
 Be available for students in need
 Listen to students
 Be supportive
 Show that students’ thoughts and opinions are appreciated and respected
 Provide students opportunities to run class errands
 (see also Teaching Areas on Establishing Interaction and Rapport and Building Trust)

With regard to interactions with their peers, teachers can:

 Conduct class meetings and discussions
 Provide opportunities for peer tutoring
 Provide situations requiring mutual trust
 Conduct “show & tell” or sharing session

To promote the satisfaction of students’ esteem needs:

 Develop new knowledge that is built upon prior knowledge such that mastery experience
is likely to take place
 Provide scaffolding towards students’ mastery-focused learning experience
 Emphasise mastery in learning rather than grades and social comparison
 Pace instruction and differentiate instruction to cater individual needs of the students
 Focus on and harness students’ strengths
 Take individual needs & abilities into account when planning and implementing lessons
 Coach students time management skills
 Identify students with learning difficulties and take necessary actions to help
 Teach students learning strategies
 Base teaching strategies and plans on learning outcomes
 Be available and approachable so that students having learning difficulties feel
comfortable coming for help
 Involve all students in class participation and responsibilities
 When necessary to discipline a student, do so as privately as possible
 Unconditional positive regard for all students
 Treat students with respect and appreciate their individual differences

To promote the satisfaction of students’ cognitive needs:

 Provide opportunities and ample time for students to explore areas of curiosity
 Set learning outcomes and classroom activities that are intellectually interesting
 Plan lessons that link areas of learning to real-life situations and across disciplines
 Encourage students to see a phenomenon from different angles
 Adopt a discovery approach to learning whenever possible so that students own their
learning journey
 Provide opportunities for philosophical thoughts and discussions
 Let students participate in thinking programs (e.g., Habits of Mind)
 (see also Teaching Area on Determining Learning Objectives)

To promote the satisfaction of students’ aesthetic needs:

 Get students to decorate their classroom
 Organise classroom materials in a neat and appealing way
 Display students’ artwork in the classroom
 Ensure fresh smelling classroom
 Ensure the classroom is neat and clean
 Hang interesting and colourful paintings
 Bring students to art museums or galleries
 Invite artists to share their work and experience
 Expose students to beautiful natural sceneries
  Train students skills to appreciate different forms of arts (visual, audio, performing)
 Involve students in creative activities and projects

To promote the satisfaction of students’ self-actualization needs:

 Expect students to do their best
 Coach students to set ‘personal best’ goals
 Provide students opportunities to explore their interests
 Get students to express and share their ideas and opinions
 Involve students in self-expressive activities and projects
 Involve students to participate in self-awareness programs

To promote the satisfaction of students’ transcendence needs:

 Involve students in voluntary activities to help others
 Involve students in service learning projects
 Cultivate prosocial values and behaviours
 Design a helping buddy system in learning

2. Self-Determination Theory

Deci and Ryan’s (2000) self-determination theory (SDT) focuses on the sources of individuals’
motivation and behavioural regulation and, more specifically, seeks to understand the extent
to which the individuals’ motivation and associated behaviours are self-determined or self-
regulated (as opposed to other-determined or externally-regulated). In other words, SDT is
concerned with the degree of the individuals’ autonomy in performing a behaviour or
engaging in a task or activity (Deci & Ryan, 2000). As you will see later in this chapter, SDT
assumes that each and every individual has three basic psychological needs: needs for
competence, needs for relatedness, and needs for autonomy. The effort aimed at promoting
individuals’ autonomous motivation, according to SDT, should be targeted at promoting the
satisfaction of these three psychological needs.

2.1. Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

Like the classic distinction of achievement motivation, SDT too distinguishes motivation into
its intrinsic and extrinsic dimensions. Intrinsic motivation takes place when a person finds
performing a behaviour or engaging in a task is satisfying, enjoyable, and pleasurable (Deci &
Ryan, 2000). So, the person engages in an activity for the sake of the positive feelings he or
she experiences when carrying out the activity. Intrinsic motivation occurs for activities that
hold intrinsic interest for an individual, typically because the individual finds the activities as
having an appeal of novelty, a level of challenge commensurate with his or her perceived
competence, or an aesthetic value.

In contrast, extrinsic motivation occurs when a person performs a behaviour or engages in

an activity in order to attain some separable outcomes. So, the person sees the activity as a
means towards another end. In SDT, the types of extrinsic motivation can be differentiated by
the different reasons or goals that give rise to the action (Deci & Ryan, 2000). As such, SDT
proposes four different types of extrinsic motivation, including external, introjected, identified,
and integrated motivation or behavioural regulation (the terms ‘motivation’ and ‘regulation’ are
often interchangeably used in the context of SDT). As can be seen in the “self-determination
motivation continuum” below, the types of motivation in SDT can be arranged in a continuum
ranging from amotivation to intrinsic motivation. The growing body of research has shown that
the more autonomous the types of the students’ motivation are, the more positive and
favourable their learning performances and processes are. That is, these students tend to
display greater enjoyment of school and more positive coping, heightened engagement, better
performance, less dropping out, higher quality learning, and greater psychological wellbeing
(Ciani et al., 2011; La Guardia, 2009; Vansteenkiste et al., 2010). Distinct types of extrinsic
motivation and amotivation will be explained next.

2.2. Types of Extrinsic Motivation

SDT maintains that extrinsic motivation can be distinguished according to the different reasons
or goals that stimulate the action. The four types of behavioural regulation classified into
extrinsic motivation are external, introjected, identified, and integrated motivation.

Figure 3: Self-Determination Motivation Continuum

2.2.1. External Motivation

Students are regulated by external motivation when they study because they want to obtain
rewards and/or to avoid punishments that come from external sources (e.g., parents, teachers,
education system) such as in the forms of stickers, praises, or reduced pocket money.
Externally-motivated students do not have a sense of ownership of their learning and they
would typically say “I have to study”, or “I must complete my homework” when they are
performing the learning activities
2.2.2. Introjected Motivation

Students are regulated by introjected motivation when they study in order to avoid a sense
of guilt or anxiety or to feel proud or relieved. The internal pressure to study associated with
the sense of anxiety, guilt, pride, or relief arises because the students have somewhat
internalised the value of the activity (i.e., the learning behaviour) and made it as part of their
identity as a student. That is, they know that studying is part of their role as a student. Hence,
when the students do not study they would feel guilty as they do not fulfil their duty as a student,
or when they study they would feel proud of themselves (or relieved) because they fulfil their
duty as a student. This type of motivation is still quite controlling for the students, and they
would typically say “I should study”, or “I ought to do my homework” when they are performing
the learning activities.

2.2.3. Identified Motivation

Students are regulated by identified motivation when they are able to identify the personal
importance of the act of studying because they see the activity as useful for them to attain
their value or goal (e.g., the value of good education or the goal to get admitted to the school
of one’s choice). Students regulated by identified motivation have accepted the regulation of
their learning behaviour as their own and have taken the ownership of their behaviours. These
students would typically say “I want to study”, or “I choose to do my homework now”.

2.2.4. Integrated Motivation

Students who are regulated by integrated motivation engage in the act of studying when they
are able to see that the activity is congruent with a diversity of their values, goals, and even
needs (e.g., not only to get admitted to the school of one’s choice, but also to go the medical
school at the university so that one can become a doctor to earn good money, have flexible
working hours, and also to help others). Although integrated motivation is the most
autonomous type of extrinsic motivation, it still cannot be considered as intrinsic motivation
because the activity is done for the instrumental values or purposes rather than for the sake
of the activity itself.

2.3 Amotivation

Amotivated students are students who do not have clear reasons and goals in their studies.
These students lack an intention to act, and typically because they do not see the relevance
of the activity to their personal goals or values, do not believe that they have the capacity to
perform the activity competently, or do not believe that the activity will bring them to a desired
outcome. Unlike unmotivated students who do not have the drive to study and hence they do
not study, amotivated students still perform the act of studying just that they do not have a
clear reason why they study. When we do not have a clear reason or purpose in doing an
activity, we would feel unsure and doubtful and would not give our best effort, and in turn ask
ourselves, “Why am I doing this?” As you can imagine, amotivated students can be easily
distracted and the quality of their engagement in learning is relatively poor.
2.4 Autonomy-Supportive Motivating Style

SDT posits that teachers’ motivating styles can be seen along a continuum that ranges from
highly controlling to highly autonomy supportive (Reeve, 2006; Reeve et al., 2004). Autonomy-
supportive teachers are those who identify and nurture students’ needs by creating classroom
activities that facilitate the fulfilment of the following basic psychological needs:
 Need for competence: the desire to feel competent, have control over desired outcomes,
and understand “how to do”.
 Need for relatedness: the desire to feel socially connected and experience warm and
genuine social relationships with others.
 Need for autonomy: the desire to feel that one has control to choose tasks or activities
aligned with one’s interests and preferences.

Autonomy-supportive motivating style subsumes a set of beliefs and principles about the
nature of student motivation, and it is not a prescribed set of techniques and strategies (see
also Pedagogical Practices: Chapter 5 Empowering Learners, Chapter 7 Considering
Learners' Profiles). A meta-analysis by Su and Reeve (2011) showed the benefits of
autonomy-supportive practices relative to controlling practices. These benefits include
students’ heightened mastery and intrinsic motivation, more positive perceived competence,
willingness to seek challenges, greater engagement, higher levels of persistence, enhanced
wellbeing, and better academic performance. Key ideas of the four beliefs and principles are
synthesized below.

2.4.1. Nurturance of motivational resources

Teachers who adopt a controlling motivating style tend to make salient teacher-constructed
instructions that define what student must or should do, often using external regulators
(rewards, punishments). In contrast, teachers who adopt an autonomy-supportive motivating
style are inclined to nurture students’ inner motivational resources by coordinating activities
with the students’ interests, preferences, sense of challenge, competencies, and choice-
making.

2.4.2. Language Use

Teachers who adopt a controlling motivating style tend to use non-informational and
controlling language that pushes, pressures, or coerces students into compliance (e.g., “You
must improve your comprehension skills!”; “Keep quiet, stop talking, do your work!”), However,
autonomy-supportive teachers use informational and non-controlling language that is
information-rich and competence-affirming to explain why students are doing well or making
progress (e.g., “You can improve your comprehension skills by….; “Do you have something
to share with the class?”; “Do you have any problems with your work?”).

2.4.3. Communication of Values and Rationale of Tasks

Teachers who adopt a controlling motivating style usually leave the realization of the value
and importance of a task to chance, or often make an explicit link to external regulators of
behaviours (i.e., grades, passing the subject, success or failures, money, image, fame).
Conversely, teachers who adopt an autonomy-supportive motivating style make a special
effort to identify and explain the use, value, and importance of a lesson to intrinsic purposes
typically related to community, relationship, personal growth, health, enjoyment and personal
utility (e.g., how does this task relate to my daily life? why is this task worth doing?).

2.4.4. Acknowledgement of and Response to Students’ Negative Affect

Teachers who adopt a controlling motivating style react to students’ negative affect by
countering it and communicating that such an attitude is unacceptable (e.g., “Don’t complain,
just get the work done!”). In contrast, autonomy-supportive teachers tend to show their
understanding of the students’ perspective by their acknowledging and accepting negative
affect as a valid reaction to imposed demands, limits, and assignments. Autonomy-supportive
teachers harness this situation to structure, prioritize, or negotiate such that different goals
can be attained (e.g., “Can you complete this task before the other one?”).

2.5. Implications for Practice

Students’ motivation is expected to be more autonomous when teachers adopt autonomy-

supportive practices. Since autonomy-supportive teachers are those who seek to identify their
students’ unmet psychological needs , and try to create a classroom environment and learning
activities that cater for the fulfilment of these needs, teachers need to know what they can do
to promote their students’ needs satisfaction.

To promote the satisfaction of students’ competence needs:

 Believe that all children have the potential to learn and grow
 Praise students for the improvement and mastery they make
 Give recognition for effort
 Provide informative and instructional feedback
 Set optimally challenging tasks for different students through differentiated instruction
 Encourage peer sharing and teaching
 Encourage students to set goals that allow for success to be measured by improvement
 Offer progress-enabling hints (scaffolding) when students seem stuck

To promote the satisfaction of students’ relatedness needs:

 Create a warm, supportive, and safe learning environment

 Understand students’ feelings and thoughts concerning the task
 Get to know students personally
 Show genuine concern for students’ well-being
 Show respect, trust, and appreciation for students
 Use instructional strategies that allow students to work as a team (e.g., cooperative
learning, project work)
 Listen attentively and carefully
 Communicate a clear acknowledgement of students’ perspectives
 Respond to students’ questions and comments
 (See also Pedagogical Practices: Chapter 1 Establishing Interaction and Rapport, and
Chapter 4 Building Trust)

To promote the satisfaction of students’ autonomy needs:

 Use phrases such as “you can”, “you might”, “if you choose”, and “if we ask you to”, instead
of phrases such as “you should”, “you have to”, “you’d better”, or “you must”
 Provide rationale for activities
 Provide alternatives involving different levels of difficulties
 Prepare a few tasks of varying difficulty and allow students to select activities appropriate
for themselves
 Allow students opportunities to be involved in decision making
 Get students to volunteer to present their work to the whole class
 Get students to assess their own work using a rubric
 Encourage self-directed and independent learning
 Train self-regulatory skills in learning
 (See also Pedagogical Practices Chapter 5 on Empowering Learners)

 People, including students, have a natural desire to be engaged, to grow, and to learn. This
propensity is based on universal psychological needs for competence, relatedness, and
autonomy.
 When teachers support the satisfaction of students’ psychological needs, students are more
likely to be intrinsically motivated in their learning. This in turn yields more effective
performance and greater wellbeing.
 Students’ motivation and desire to learn are associated with the teachers’ motivation and
enthusiasm in teaching.