Skår i (arbejds-) glæden? Intrinsisk motivation og elevplaner i folkeskolen

Resumé

According to Motivation Crowding theory, the effect of extrinsic motivation factors (such as command and financial incentives) on intrinsic motivation depends on the perception of the regulation. If employees see an extrinsic intervention as supportive, intrinsic motivation is expected to increase, while it is expected to decrease if it is seen as controlling. Combining a survey of 257 teachers with 10 semi-structured interviews, we test this expectation for a specific type of command, namely the requirement that Danish public teachers make student plans. Does the teachers’ perception of student plans affect their intrinsic motivation? We find that teachers who see student plans as supportive have significantly higher intrinsic motivation than teachers who see them as controlling. This implies that public managers and political decision makers should take the employees’ perception of a regulation into consideration when designing and implementing new regulation in the public sector.