This experimental study explores the role of food as an extrinsic motivational tool in education, focusing on the association between chocolate rewards and academic performance in peri-urban and rural public secondary schools in Oye-Ekiti, Nigeria. A total of 120 students (aged 13–16 years) from three purposefully selected schools were randomly assigned within schools to either a control group (n = 60) or an experimental group (n = 60) receiving chocolate rewards. A pre-test/post-test control group design with a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial structure was adopted. After adjusting for pretest scores in an ANCOVA, the experimental group showed significantly higher post-test performance than the control group, F (1, 111) = 66. 49, p <. 001, η²ₚ = 0. 375 (large effect). No significant main effect of gender or treatment × gender interaction was observed. A significant treatment × school location interaction emerged, F (1, 111) = 4. 15, p =. 044, η²ₚ = 0. 036, with larger gains in peri-urban schools. Sensitivity analysis using linear mixed models to address clustering (students nested within three schools) confirmed negligible between-school variance after fixed location effects, yielding consistent results. Extrinsic motivation increased significantly pre-to-post in the experimental group (t (59) = − 8. 49, p <. 001, Cohen’s d = − 1. 10; large effect, interpreted cautiously). These findings suggest short-term associations between chocolate rewards and improved academic performance and extrinsic motivation in this Nigerian sample. Clustering effects were minimal, but results remain exploratory and context-specific, indicating potential for complementary use of low-cost incentives alongside broader educational reforms.
Osuh et al. (2026) studied this question.