Study on Students’ Motivation from the Perspective of Self-Determination Theory and the Role of Metacognition, Emotional Intelligence and ICTs

Dear Colleagues,

In the next few years, the way students learn, what they learn, and the skills needed to deal with a changing world will radically change. Developing self-motivation skills will be one of the most important requirements for students to meet the challenges and opportunities that the future will bring with it. To implement the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, education is called upon to meet students’ needs, unlock their internal drive for self-fulfillment, and most important, prepare students to realize that they are the real drivers of change.

Self-determination theory (SDT) is a well-known topic in psychology that recognizes motivations as powerful forces which determine, to a significant extent, who we are and how we behave. According to SDT, autonomy, competence, and relatedness are the three basic psychological needs that must be satisfied to enable individuals to internalize motivations and, thus, increase the free and effortless tendency toward change. Self-determination theory finds a common ground with the theories of metacognition, awareness, executive functions, emotional intelligence, and higher mental abilities. The interplay between these theories may provide innovative theoretical models for implementation in sustainable education.

The use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) will play a crucial role in future education, providing innovative environments and digital experiences which have the potential to satisfy psychological needs; increase motivation; and improve learning, brain training and rewiring, awareness, emotional intelligence, and psychological well-being. SDT may also provide a robust theory and principled methods for incorporating well-being and positive psychology into educational technology design, in accordance with awareness, metacognition, and emotional intelligence.

The purpose of this Special Issue for Sustainability is to make a contribution to the scientific debate on a student's motivation from the perspective of self-determination theory and to define the role of metacognition, emotional intelligence, and ICTs/digital technologies.

 We encourage submissions of research that propose innovative ideas regarding the theory of self-determination through the lens of metacognition, emotional intelligence, and executive functions. In addition, we seek studies that investigate how these theories join hands with various advanced ICT forms and applications to encourage students' intrinsic motivation.

Dr. Athanasios Drigas
Guest Editor

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