Do rewards work for students?

Following my previous post about rewards in the classroom for students with a PDA profile, I had a few people ask/challenge:

“But do rewards actually work for anyone?”

It’s such a good question.

I'm not sure that the answer is a simple yes or no.

In the broader literature, not specific to neurodivergence, there’s some excellent research and insight suggesting that rewards are far less effective than we currently believe — and that they can have unintended negative impacts.

The question opens up a much bigger conversation, particularly in classroom settings.

What are rewards actually doing?
And are they addressing the real issue?

I wanted to explore this more deeply, so I went to do some further research and came across a TEDx talk by Betsy Blackard on motivation in children.

What stood out to me straight away was this:

💎 Kids are already highly motivated, intrinsically

This can feel surprising when we’re looking at behaviour that seems like avoidance, refusal, or disengagement.

But when we take a step back and consider the ‘problem’ we’re actually working with, it starts to make more sense.

One of the main reasons rewards don’t work for some students is that motivation isn’t actually the problem.

Many students already want to do well.

But something is getting in the way of them being able to.

When we look a little closer, a few things often start to become clear.

It’s not always about motivation — it’s about capacity

For some students — particularly those with highly sensitive or demand-avoidant nervous systems — the challenge isn’t willingness.

It’s capacity.

When something feels overwhelming, uncertain, or like too much pressure, the body can move into protection.

That might look like:

• avoidance
• shutdown
• distraction
• escalation

From the outside, it can look like a lack of motivation.But from the inside, it often feels like:

“I can’t do this right now.”

Rewards can unintentionally increase pressure

This is the part that can feel counterintuitive.

A reward system says:

“If you do this, you’ll get that”

But for some students, that creates:

• more expectation
• more pressure to perform
• more to sustain over time

And sometimes even a fear of getting it wrong.

For students who are already working hard to stay regulated, that added pressure can be enough to tip things over.

In some cases, even praise can feel like:

“Now I have to do that again.”

Rewards don’t address what’s underneath

Rewards focus on behaviour — what we can see; the tip of the iceberg.

But they don’t necessarily tell us anything about:

• why the behaviour is happening
• what the student is experiencing
• or what might be getting in the way

So if a student is already dealing with:

• overwhelm
• sensory differences (seeking or avoiding input)
• anxiety
• demand sensitivity
• executive functioning challenges

No amount of external motivation will resolve that. There’s also another layer to this that’s important to consider.

Over time, reward-based systems can shift how a student relates to learning itself.

Instead of learning being driven by curiosity or interest, it can become tied to:

• approval
• outcomes
• external validation

This is something Alfie Kohn has written extensively on, he wrote that the question educators need to ask is not how motivated their students are, but how their students are motivated.

His work suggests that when we rely heavily on rewards and praise, we can unintentionally move children from being intrinsically motivated learners to becoming dependent on external feedback to feel successful or “good enough”.

And when learning becomes about:

• getting it right
• getting the reward
• meeting expectations

It can shift the focus away from:

• the process
• the experience
• the natural joy of learning

Over time, this can shape a student’s sense of self.

Instead of:

“I am capable”
it can become:
“I am valued when I achieve”

For some students, this can contribute to:

• anxiety
• perfectionism
• fear of making mistakes
• disconnection from what they enjoy

There is a growing body of research, including Self-Determination Theory, that highlights the importance of:

• autonomy
• competence
• connection

as key drivers of motivation and wellbeing.

When these needs aren’t supported, and external motivation becomes the focus, we can see not just disengagement — but longer-term impacts on wellbeing.

Niemec and Ryan (2009) reviewed a significant amount of research and wrote about autonomy-supportive environments improving engagement, whilst controlling environments (including heavy reward systems) can reduce motivation.

A different question

So instead of asking:

“How do we motivate this student?”

It can be more helpful to ask:

“What’s getting in the way of them being able to engage?”

Because when we begin to understand what’s underneath the behaviour, we can respond in a way that actually supports the student — not just the outcome we’re trying to achieve.

In summary

• Many students are already motivated
• Behaviour that looks like lack of motivation often has a different explanation
• Rewards can increase pressure rather than reduce it
• Over time, they can shift how students relate to learning and themselves
• Real change comes from understanding what’s underneath

🌿 Additional resource

If you’d like to explore this idea further, I’d recommend this highly engaging and insightful TEDx talk by Betsy Blackard on motivation in children, along with clicking the links referenced throughout the article, as there's an abundance of reading and research on this topic.

Want to explore some more?

This is the kind of work I support teachers and teams with — making sense of what’s actually happening, and finding approaches that work in real classrooms. You may like to explore my resources or get in touch to discuss individual and team sessions to deepen understanding and create plans for supporting students.