Masculinity, motivation and academic success: a paradox

Abstract

The research looks at the relationship between social class, notions of masculinity, intelligence and achievement in 16-year-old boys in co-educational comprehensive schools in England and Wales. The obvious link between educational qualifications and occupational success, central to the middle-class ideal of masculinity, along with the strong relationships between social class and academic achievement, has led to the assumption that for males extrinsic motivation (the desire for recognition, highstatus employment and high earning power) is the key to academic success. The results of the research reported here challenge that assumption by showing that intrinsic motivation is a much stronger predictor of achievement than extrinsic motivation, which failed to discriminate between successful and unsuccessful boys. The research also showed that boys who gave the strongest support to the maintenance of the traditional sex roles in society and who themselves intended to follow that role were the least successful boys in the sample.