Parents’ Perception of Using Tangible Reward Systems at Compulsory Schools in China

Abstract

With the establishment of the two-child and three-child policies in China, parents pay more attention to kids' education. Many countries support using tangible reward systems in educational institutions, and this situation is prevalent in Chinese schools, especially for young-age students. In this experiment, the author collected perceptions about using tangible reward systems in compulsory schools from Chinese parents who have at least one child currently studying in a compulsory school in China. The author summarized parents' thoughts about the expected advantages and disadvantages of using tangible rewards from other studies. A majority of parents supported using tangible reward systems at school. They somewhat or strongly agree with those advantages, such as improving children's self-esteem, collective sense of honor, and independent learning ability. Most of them did not think this kind of system could bring a significantly negative impact on children, such as undermining students' intrinsic motivation. However, a large number of parents agreed that tangible rewards could make students more working for external rewards. In conclusion, most participants still believe in the benefits of tangible reward systems and will also feel happy when their children obtain those rewards from school.