Interventions for the Development of Intrinsic Motivation in University Online Education: Systematic Review—Enhancing the 4th Sustainable Development Goal

Abstract

Background: The development of quality education, as stated by the United Nations in the 4th Sustainable Development Goal of the 2030 Agenda, is a very relevant aspect to work on, and specifically, motivation can play an important role. Consequently, the development of intrinsic motivation (IM) in university education and searches for possible interventions have increased exponentially in the last decade. However, no reviews have been published analyzing the interventions and the results obtained. Therefore, the purpose of this review was to systematically analyze the development of IM in online education through the different intervention programs carried out in university teaching. Methods: A systematic review of PubMed, Web of Sciences and Scopus was performed according to PRISMA guidelines. Results: Of the 255 studies initially identified, 17 were thoroughly reviewed, and all interventions and outcomes were extracted and analyzed. Most of the interventions achieved better outcomes after implementation. Five types of possible courses of action to promote IM have been identified. Conclusions: It is worth highlighting the unanimity found regarding the importance of proposing specific approaches based on the development of IM in university online teaching since it promotes satisfaction regarding studying and greater involvement of students.

1. Introduction

The 4th Sustainable Development Goal of the 2030 Agenda [1] highlights the importance of guaranteeing inclusive, egalitarian, high-quality education and encouraging opportunities for lifelong learning for everyone. Quality education is an integral part of sustainable development as it is a key enabler. Consequently, there is a great deal of research on the importance of motivation development in quality education [2,3,4,5]. Much of the scientific community that has worked on motivational interventions have used as its basis self-determination theory [6], which postulates a taxonomy comprising demotivation, extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation (IM). Demotivation is a lack of motivation characterized by being unregulated, impersonal, and associated with a sense of incompetence, a lack of value and perceived contingency [7]. Other research [8,9,10] defines extrinsic motivation as the determination to carry out a specific task or action for some outside motive, where the motivation is connected to students’ perceptions of the worth or significance of their academic work. So extrinsic motivation refers to behavior performed to achieve some specific outcome, external incentives, or rewards. Several studies define IM as the intention to carry out a particular task or action with the understanding that doing so will bring about satisfaction [8,11]. Thus, considered the pinnacle of behavioral self-regulation and individual liberty, IM entails engaging in action out of pure interest and enjoyment [12,13]. In addition, IM has a substantial correlation with achievement, quality education, well-being and student achievement [14]. Most research agrees in differentiating IM from extrinsic motivation in analysing results, obviating demotivation [15,16].

The primary focus of self-determination theory is on internal motivational factors based on the support of the basic psychological needs for growth [6,7,9,17]: autonomy (the desire for autonomy and a sense of responsibility for one’s actions), competence (in which individuals feel effective and capable); and relatedness (in which individuals feel meaningfully connected to or cared for by other individuals and groups). Specifically, based on self-determination theory, there has recently been an increase in studies in education that have aimed to develop IM through specific interventions or programs [4,18,19,20,21]. Some have chosen to synchronize their study materials at any place or time and using any device, which can enhance academic achievement and deepen the teacher-student bond through information sharing [20]; others have taken into account technological, organizational and environmental impacts in their intervention [18]; another intervention seeks the development of competencies through agile methodologies and didactic materials that were created to promote interest in learning, improve attention, and boost IM, enhancing autonomous, active, and self-directed learning [19]. Other lecturers have explored the topic through blogs preparing integrative, innovative, computer-based interactive case studies as learning materials through informal game experiences since they reflect the collaborative skills necessary in educational or professional communities [4,21].

In addition, there is an increasing amount of research in online education highlighting the importance of IM for optimal academic performance. Several recent studies measure IM as a predictive variable for success in online programs [4]. Several of them take into account variables such as a positive attitude towards self, towards others, openness to learning, behavioral autonomy, and educational engagement [4,6,22]; other studies have analyzed in detail the benefit of IM for performance in methodologies such as the flipped classroom [23,24,25]; the correlation between students’ IM and creativity in online education as well as online learning engagement; creativity and perceived teacher emotional support has also been explored, obtaining positive results [6,13,26,27].

Finally, as a consequence, numerous studies can be found that work on interventions for the development of IM in university education and specifically in online education [28,29,30,31].

As can be seen, this is a subject that is highly valued by the scientific community, so it is helpful to be able to bring together the information that is currently available on different interventions that promote IM since, according to the most recent studies, the success of online education depends quite considerably on the students’ own IM. The need for compilation and analysis was the starting point for the present study, which aimed to systematically analyze the development of IM in online education through the different intervention programs carried out at the university level. Thus, it will be possible to obtain current results on the types of intervention being implemented and to draw valuable conclusions for future studies. In particular, this study will be relevant for researchers or university lecturers who seek to achieve an education that allows the development of the full potential of the student’s abilities and satisfaction, as well as academic performance.

2. Materials and Methods

The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) standards were followed for conducting this systematic review [32,33] (Supplementary Table S1). The PRISMA-supported standards guarantee that the publications included have undergone a thorough review process. The four PRISMA-recommended phases are depicted in a flow diagram in Figure 1, along with the inclusion and exclusion criteria for each study in each phase.

Figure 1. Flow diagram of the study.

2.1. Design

A systematic search was conducted to identify articles published before 4 April 2023 from PubMed, Web of Sciences, and Scopus databases. The search was performed on title, abstract and keywords, and the search approach included words relating to (1) population, (2) intervention, (3) words related to outcomes. The three groups of keywords were combined using AND, and the terms in each group were linked using OR: population—“university”, “higher education”, “high education”; intervention—“online learning”, “online teaching”, “online education”, “e-learning”, “distance learning” and outcomes—“intrinsic motivation”.

2.2. Screening Strategy and Selection of Scientific Articles

Once the search was completed, duplicate records were eliminated. Then, based on the inclusion/exclusion criteria, the remaining records were reviewed to verify that they met the criteria, which can be seen below in Table 1.

Table 1. Inclusion/exclusion criteria.

Item	Inclusion Criteria	Exclusion Criteria
Population	University students	Non-university students
Intervention	Undergraduate or graduate online intervention to foster intrinsic motivation (IM).	Interventions that are not aimed at fostering IM and are not online.
Outcomes	Programs that have reported the development of IM.	Programs that have not reported the development of IM.
Study design	Only full-text studies that are original and written in either English or Spanish.	Written in a language other than English or Spanish. Reviews, letters to the editor, trial registrations, protocol proposals, editorials, book chapters, and conference abstracts are examples of non-original article genres.

2.3. Data Selection

The information gleaned from the original publications were the country, sample, area, intervention, measurement methods, results, and conclusions.

2.4. Methodological Assessment

An adapted version of the STROBE evaluation criteria [34] was used in the methodological evaluation procedure to find appropriate papers for inclusion. Ten specific criteria were used to evaluate each article (see Table 2). Each item was scored using a numerical description (1 = completed, 0 = not completed). According to O’Reilly et al. [33], each study’s rating was qualitatively evaluated in accordance with the following law: studies with scores below seven are deemed to be at high risk of bias, while those with scores above seven are thought to be at low risk.

Table 2. The methodological quality of the articles.

Reference	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Q
Alamri et al. (2020) [34]	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	10
Beege et al. (2022) [28]	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	9
Berestova et al. (2022) [35]	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	10
Drees et al. (2020) [36]	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	10
Elford et al. (2022) [37]	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	10
Eom (2021) [29]	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	9
Fidan & Gencel (2022) [38]	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	10
Jeno et al. (2017) [39]	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	9
Kilinc & Buyuk (2022) [30]	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	10
Kyewski & Krämer (2018) [40]	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	10
Magadán-Díaz & Rivas-García (2022) [41]	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	9
Mirhosseini & Batooli (2021) [42]	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	10
Reddy et al. (2013) [43]	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	10
Simons et al. (2020) [44]	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	10
Snezhko et al. (2022) [45]	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	10
Zang et al. (2022) [31]	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	10
Zhou & Zhang (2023) [15]	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	10

3. Results

3.1. Identification and Selection of Studies

75 of the 255 records initially retrieved from the databases were duplicates or triplicates. As a result, 180 articles in total were downloaded. Forty-eight studies were disregarded in accordance with criterion 5 (Study) after the titles, abstracts, and full texts of the remaining publications were examined in accordance with the same criteria. Out of the 132 articles that were left, 15 were eliminated for failing to meet Criterion 1 (Population), 99 were eliminated based on Criterion 2 (Intervention), and one was eliminated based on Criterion 3 (Outcomes). Finally, for the qualitative analysis, 17 studies were included (Figure 1).

3.2. Methodological Quality

Table 2 shows that the overall methodological quality of the articles is very high according to the assessment of each item provided by STROBE evaluation criteria [34]. In addition, a timeline of literature in IM is presented, where the trend of scientific interest in this area can be appreciated and where most of the research is from the last two years (Supplementary Figure S1).

3.3. Article Analysis

The results of the analysis of the articles are shown below, where the most important information regarding the country, sample, area, intervention, methods of measurement, results and conclusions can be observed.

As shown in Table 3, the samples of the studies are broad and representative, and geographically it can be seen that they cover very diverse locations, so the subject of this study is of interest regardless of cultures or teaching methods.

Table 3. Country, Sample, Area, Intervention, Measurement Methods, Results and Conclusions.

Study	Country	Sample Size	Area	Intervention	Methods of Measurement	Results	Conclusions
Alamri et al. (2020) [34]	United States	8	Design and Technology.	It is committed to the use of personalized learning activities.	Interviews and reflections from students.	The study’s findings demonstrated the possibility of personalized learning strategies to encourage students’ intrinsic motivation (IM).	Students perceived the personalized learning interventions as interesting and successful in addressing their educational needs and preferences.
Beege et al. (2022) [28]	Germany	107	Technology andEducation.	It encourages communication and a professional appearance from the instructor.	Situational Motivation Scale.	Professional congruence between appearance and communication significantly fostered para-social processes, IM and reduced extraneous cognitive load.	The possible advantages of qualified lecturers should be considered by instructional designers.
Berestova et al. (2022) [35]	Russia	123	Medicine.	Collaborative platform with videos of lectures and other materials.	Academic Motivation Scale (AMS).	The IM towards knowledge is higher in the E-Learning group. However, the IM towards achievement values were not statistically significant.	It is crucial that the teacher actively responds to the pupils’ work and report whether the tasks have been completed.
Drees et al. (2020) [36]	Germany	213	Medicine.	Interactive elements such as quizzes and an educational design allow controlling the learning speed according to personal characteristics.	Ad hoc questionnaire to the students.	The usability and motivational components of the interactive software were evaluated substantially higher than those of the conventional learning program.	The educational design and interactive aspects helped to increase the fundamental factors for IM. As an added service, the program might be useful to enhance the curriculum.
Elford et al. (2022) [37]	United Kingdom	78	Chemistry.	The intervention is based on Augmented Reality supported Educational Escape Activity.	Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI).	The introduction of Augmented Reality did not result in any significant differences.	The design of the Educational Escape Activity provides a method for delivering this kind of educational activity that allows for virtual participation and is scalable to huge student cohorts.
Eom (2021) [29]	United States	323	Not reported.	The intervention encourages high use of mobile technology in the course.	Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ).	The students’ extrinsic motivation and IM are favourably impacted by using mobile devices for learning.	Distance learners’ cognitive learning process and perceived learning results are positively impacted by their use of mobile devices.
Fidan & Gencel (2022) [38]	Turkey	144	Education.	The intervention supports the Instructional Videos with Chatbot and peer feedback mechanisms.	Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI).	The findings revealed that the chatbot-based and peer feedback groups’ learning performance and IM scores were superior to those of the traditional learning group.	Significant differences between the experimental groups assisted by feedback systems and the control group were reported in the areas of interest/enjoyment, perceived competitiveness, pressure/tension, and value/usefulness.
Jeno et al. (2017) [39]	Norway	71	Biology.	Create a mobile application that facilitates learning.	Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI).	Compared to the textbook control group, the ArtsApp students had higher IM, perceived competence, and success with medium to large effect sizes.	Results are in line with Self Determination Theory: which emphasizes that students perform better when they act with motivation, autonomy, and internal locus of causality, probably because these actions meet their psychological needs.
Kilinc & Buyuk (2022) [30]	Turkey	250	Sociology.	Conduct discussion forums of less than 150 students.	Five-item Likert-type scale (enjoyment, preference, desire, satisfaction, and determination.	Online group discussions that do notshow mass features positively affected the learners’ IM, social presence, and perceived learning levels.	To manage online learning processes effectively, the groups must be less than 150 learners not to show “mass features”.
Kyewski & Krämer (2018) [40]	Germany	20	Communication.	It is based on badges implementation.	Academic self-regulation questionnaire (SRQ-A).	As opposed to popular belief, badges have less of an effect on performance and motivation. Regardless of circumstance, students’ IM declined over time.	Contrary to expectations, students gave higher ratings to badges that they could only see for themselves than to those that could be seen by others.
Magadán-Díaz & Rivas-García (2022) [41]	Spain	106	Management and Entrepreneurship of Cultural Projects.	It uses quizzes to create an engaging and fun online platform.	Semi-structured interviews and a 4-item Likert-type scale.	The perception of postgraduate students concerning using quizzes in the virtual classroom is positive.	Quizzes have a positive impact on the motivation, commitment, and dynamization of the virtual classroom.
Mirhosseini & Batooli (2021) [42]	Iran	37	Medical Sciences.	It uses gamification as an inclusive technique to enhance experiences and increase engagement.	Situational Motivation Scale (SIMS).	Gamification is a technique that uses game aspects to enhance learning outcomes and boost motivation and engagement in online learning settings.	An online tutorial’s effectiveness can be increased by integrating particular aspects, such as gaming components and motivating techniques, with its structural, content, and pedagogical components.
Reddy et al. (2013) [43]	United States	4608	Psychology.	The intervention consists of an online platform called U-Pace, which uses challenging quizzes.	Behavioral indicator.	“Disadvantaged” (low-income backgrounds or students from racial/ethnic minority backgrounds). The rate of material mastery and IM improved among U-Pace students.	Academic success has been achieved for all students, as performance measures demonstrate improvements in student motivation and content mastery rate, study and time management skills, sense of control over learning, and achievement.
Simons et al. (2020) [44]	United Kingdom	51	Health and Social Care.	Special importance is given to teacher support and flexibility in terms of study deadlines.	Semi-structured interviews.	Support and flexibility serve as accelerators for improving IM.	To help pupils become resilient, tutors might emphasize the advantages of assistance and flexibility.
Snezhko et al. (2022) [45]	Russia	185	Medicine.	Seminar taught through mobile.	Interviews.	The extrinsic motivation of students prevails over IM.	It is essential to develop applications tailored to the requirements of a particular university and field of study. Teachers are encouraged to engage pupils in games and implement an incentive system.
Zang et al. (2022) [31]	China	63	Chinese learning.	They use varied and interesting materials and activities encouraging students’ cooperation and communication.	Academic Motivation Scale (AMS).	The participants exhibited high levels of IM to-ward and involvement in their learning, and they had favorable judgments of the online Chinese learning environment.	Teachers could design their teaching content and class activities to better fit the online learning environment (e.g., multimedia applications and videos or activities encouraging students’ cooperation and communication).
Zhou & Zhang (2023) [15]	United States	238	Engineering.	Experiment through discussions that can be voluntary, mandatory, or enrolled students was introduced or not to any topic-based discussions.	Situational Motivation Scale (SIMS).	The motivation and academic achievement of students may not be enhanced by online learning activities. Extrinsic motivation may be more important than intrinsic drive, and older pupils may be more self-motivated.	To increase the effectiveness of learning activities in the course delivery, the learning activities must be customized to the unique coursework. Continuous changes and updates are also required.

As for interventions aimed at fostering IM, the studies use different strategies, all based on new technologies and the opportunities they offer. Since they are in themselves online programs, so digital tool is present. Thus, some use interactive elements such as quizzes (some of them with badges), multimedia applications and videos, collaborative platforms, mobile applications, gamification, and augmented reality-supported educational escape activity [29,31,35,36,37,39,40,41,42,43,45]; other interventions are based on encouraging discussion forums or peer feedback mechanisms, or use Chatbot [15,30,38]; other studies have explored more thoroughly the role of the teacher who is committed to giving special importance to teacher support and flexibility, and emphasize the importance of communication and a professional appearance on the part of the instructor [28,44]; other research gives importance to the use of personalized learning activities [34].

With respect to the results of the studies, it can be seen how most of them find that IM has been fostered after the interventions. Studies have concluded that interventions that have been based on encouraging mobile use [29,39,45], cooperation and communication [28,30,31] using online forums, personalized learning [34], integrating certain educational tools [35,38,42] such as quizzes [36,41,43] and in which the teacher supports the students [44] in a meaningful way, have been valuable in fostering IM. On the other hand, strategies such as educational escape rooms based on augmented reality or badges do not seem helpful in encouraging IM [37,40]. Likewise, mandatory or voluntary participation in online discussion forums does not promote the development of IM [15].

4. Discussion

This review’s objective was to carefully examine the growth of IM in online education through the different intervention programs carried out in university teaching. In general terms, it can be stated that the published interventions succeed in promoting IM by following numerous strategies.

Research [39] highlights the importance of using cell phones or tablets to increase students’ IM. The generalized use of these devices and their flexibility makes them constantly accessible from anywhere, and they are very operational. The ease of access and use of the course through cell phones and tablets can be promoted by enhancing the user-friendliness of the applications, with files in different formats, “mobile friendly resources”, or useful apps. These findings are congruent with self-determination theory, which is based on basic psychological needs, specifically, in this case, autonomy and competence, since they favor the need for choice and students feel effective and capable [9].

Other authors highlight the importance of integrating certain tools combining an online course’s pedagogical features and structural substance. Thus, we can find multimedia applications and videos [31,35], quizzes [36,41,43] and teaching videos with chatbot and peer feedback mechanisms [38]. In addition, gamification can be a very appropriate element to enhance experiences and increase student interest. Specifically, quizzes contain various types of questions. They are a useful tool for reviewing and remembering essential ideas and concepts in an engaging and fun way, thus promoting learner curiosity and attention. In addition, they help to improve participation by encouraging students’ competitiveness, inspired by the desire to rank among the top players in the game. The quizzes can be repeated as many times as the student wishes, thus allowing control of the pace of learning. These tools are, therefore, very interesting support for IM in online teaching.

In contrast, using an educational platform with videos and other materials does not always increase intrinsic achievement motivation [35]. It is very important that they should be very well designed, with a correct selection of educational materials and that the videos are made at a high technical level. Once again, it can be observed that the self-determination theory and, in particular, the aspects of autonomy and competence can justify the success of these proposals since the students have freedom in the tasks and can test their capacity [7].

Other strategies consider it essential to encourage cooperation and communication activities among online students. The research considers that these interactions not only promote learning [34], but also foster friendship among students, which is beneficial for reducing student anxiety and stress [31]. Thus, we consider that a correct design of group discussion techniques is essential to encourage student interactions and make them productive. To this end, one study [30] shows that discussions in the course online forum should have less than 150 students to be effective since this avoids “mass features”. Therefore, a basis can be found in self-determination theory that supports the importance of the basic psychological need for relatedness where students feel connected to each other [17].

Other lines of research advocate giving a more relevant role to the teacher’s work from different perspectives. The support of tutors in a focused and proactive way are aspects that favor student motivation [44]; understood as the way in which the teacher supports and can offer more personal teaching or in which the students feel that they go hand in hand with the teacher and feel cared for, which can be supported by the self-determination theory, and, in particular, by the need for relatedness where students feel cared for by other individuals, and in this case by the teacher [6]. In addition, the teacher should offer a professional appearance and communication [28]. In this regard, a professional appearance is based on dress styles, such as wearing a suit and using certain colors. Professional communication is equivalent to the linguistics used, such as, for example, connecting words and a speech without hesitant pauses. In addition, the way in which the communicators emphasize the speech or address the students, involving them in what the communicators are transmitting, are factors that can favor listening.

Other strategies that can help to increase IM may refer to personalized learning since we live in a plural society, where the student profile can be very varied and very diverse casuistry can be found. Thus, the pace of learning and the teaching approach will be determined based on the needs of each student. Along these lines, [34] learning objectives, teaching instructional approaches, teaching content and sequence, and learning activities can be personalized. In this way, learners can choose from certain pre-established learning paths to complete the course. In this case, as supported by the self-determination theory, competence is favored since the student can focus and feel more effective in his work [7].

Finally, it should be noted that other interventions aimed at promoting intrinsic motivation have not found significant differences (for example, interventions based on augmented reality supported educational escape activity [37], but others have been useful in promoting other aspects, such as extrinsic motivation [15,45]. Finally, a badges study has shown that IM has decreased [40].

In general terms, it is worth mentioning that interventions designed to promote IM must comply with the following aspects:

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Easily accessible technologically, friendly from any device.

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Very well designed from a curricular point of view, using various educational supports such as quizzes, videos and attractive presentations and discussion forums where students can interact with each other.

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Adapted to the contents favoring effective learning and personalizing education.

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Teachers must know the students well to consider their needs or preferences to support the learning process professionally.

5. Conclusions and Future Directions

5.1. Conclusions

It is worth highlighting the unanimity found regarding the importance of proposing specific approaches based on the development of IM in university online teaching since it promotes satisfaction towards studying and greater involvement on the part of students. Specifically, there is an increasing presence in universities of online training programs for different university degrees, so this teaching modality is booming and has a future that will have more and more presence.

Moreover, it is worth underlining the role of integrating new technologies in the classroom since they allow the teacher to make the most of the resources available. Thus, the most varied interventions have been found, all to promote the IM of online university students, in which they have been able to advance through multiple strategies. The use of cell phones or tablets and their accessibility has been highlighted, as well as the incorporation of multimedia applications or quizzes. It has also been seen that it is essential to encourage cooperation and communication among students through discussion forums or with the teacher, who can play a key role in flexibility and professionalism, as well as the personalization of teaching in a society as plural as it is today, with such varied student profiles.

It is essential to implement suitable interventions that promote IM to achieve quality education. In this way, the intervention can contribute to the development of the 4th Sustainable Development Goal of the 2030 Agenda. This goal emphasizes the significance of delivering inclusive and equitable quality education and encouraging opportunities for lifelong learning for everyone [1].

The present study could be limited by the fact that although the most relevant databases have been included, it is possible that some other articles could be found in other databases.

5.2. Future Directions

This systematic review can be the starting point for future studies since the scientific community has shown that the development of IM within the university context is a highly relevant topic that is still in full development and has a long way to go. In addition, the interest shown in such diverse geographical locations provides clear evidence that it is a theme that can be applied regardless of culture or methodologies. Finally, the work of fostering IM in online students and the interventions can be varied, making it a perfect field for creating and innovating following the guidelines outlined in this review and achieving a much more engaging future education with new tools thanks to technological advances that enhance the development of the student’s full potential and quality education as stated by the United Nations in the 4th Sustainable Development Goal.