Educational Practices and Elements of Motivation in B. F. Skinner’s Walden Two

Year 2015, Volume: 1 Issue: 1, 20 - 27, 28.06.2015

Yonca Koncalıoğlu Savacı , Ayfer Onan

Abstract

Throughout time, literary works have introduced new perspectives and enabled people to learn important lessons about the world around them. What could serve this purpose better than utopia genre? One of the most recognized utopias is B. F. Skinner’s Walden Two. Influenced by behaviorism, Skinner did not only produce a literary work in an attempt to formulate a happy society but he also affected educational theories and practices of his time. Beyond a doubt, education system that is depicted in Walden Two has a number of peculiar aspects including absence of formal schooling and grades, students’ being able to study any subject that is intriguing for them, and learners’ being eager and energetic towards learning all the time. However, in the real life, teachers witness that their students either start courses amotivated or they gradually lose their motivation. There has been quite a lot of significant research on motivation revealing beneficial findings which could guide teachers to promote motivation. It is primarily intended in this study to analyze the education and motivation of learners in Walden Two and compare the findings with what motivates learners in the current EFL classes. The other aim of this study is to find out if and how behavioristic theories are reflected in Walden Two. Therefore, the novel Walden Two and relevant studies on Walden Two, behaviorism and motivation have been referred to in this study. It has been found out that students in Walden Two are intrinsically motivated towards learning due to the fact that they study a subject for the sake of learning it and fun involved in it, they are also depicted as autonomous learners, which are key aspects of intrinsic motivation. On the other hand, making a generalization on whether learners in current classes are intrinsically motivated or not would be irrational because it is possible to come across varied results. While students in Walden Two resemble to the current students who are intrinsically motivated, they differ from those who are, for instance, extrinsically motivated. It has also been argued that features of behaviorism are reflected in the novel.

Keywords

Education, motivation, behaviorism

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