Self-Determination Theory and Online Learning in University: Advancements, Future Direction and Research Gaps

Abstract

Self-Determination Theory (SDT) has been studied to comprehend human motivation, particularly in education. Numerous studies have been conducted at universities regarding online learning as a technology to mitigate the effects of COVID-19. On the basis of these expansions, however, there is a knowledge gap regarding what constitutes advancement, future direction, and research gaps regarding SDT in university online learning. This new systematic literature review analyzed 49 articles using PRISMA to bridge the knowledge gap. Currently, SDT research in online learning at university does not extensively integrate other theories and models, but there is a trend toward acceptance models and cognitive theories. Future research should incorporate additional SDT factors such as intrinsic motivation, external regulation, identified regulation, and amotivation in addition to autonomy, competence, and relatedness. As most research samples students, a research gap involving lecturers and mixed groups is suggested. The future is anticipated to be dominated by quantitative research, leaving qualitative and mixed methods as points of exploration. This review sheds light on the advancements, future direction, and research gaps regarding SDT in university-level online learning. It could serve as a basis for future research in SDT within the context of online education.

Factor Structure of Student Science-Learning Motivation: Evidence from TIMSS U.S. Data

“…From the perspective of SEVT and SDT, learning motivation comes from internal drives and external stimuli; therefore, the four-factor structural model more accurately captures students' intrinsic and extrinsic aspects of science learning compared to the three-factor structural model. The results also echoed the need for theory integration (Rosli et al, 2022) [57]. Prior TIMSS motivation studies have also separated the intrinsic value and utility value when examining the relationship between students' motivation and science achievement (e.g., Lay and Chandrasegaran, 2016;Liou et al, 2020;and Wang and Liou, 2017) [11,17,58] and found that the strength of the two task values were different in predicting the outcomes.…”

Students’ Online Learning Adoption during an Emergency Situation: Integrating the Self-Determination and Perceived Risk Theories

“…In the online learning context, the theory suggests that students who feel autonomous in their learning process, connected to others in their online learning community, and competent in their online learning skills are more likely to be motivated and engaged in their online learning experience [20,21]. SDT is suitable for the present study for several reasons.…”

“…First, SDT provides a theoretical framework for understanding students' motivations for adopting online learning during a crisis situation, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, by highlighting the role of personal autonomy and competence in promoting engagement and well-being. Second, SDT has been widely tested and validated in various educational settings and has been found to be a strong predictor of students' engagement and academic performance [21].…”

Measuring autonomy support in special needs teachers from a self-determination theory perspective: validation of the Italian version of the learning climate questionnaire

“…Moreover, by meeting students’ basic psychological needs in the classroom, teacher can create an enjoyable setting to intrinsically motivate students to participate in learning activities, providing positive experience that empower foreign language learning ( Dincer et al, 2019 ). The SDT’s constructs are also applied to the digital technologies’ research field in education ( Chen and Zhao, 2022 ; Rosli et al, 2022 ).…”