How did remote learning during COVID-19 affect student motivation?
Emergency online learning decreased students' self-driven motivation and feelings of social connection, though overall energy levels remained surprisingly stable for experienced students.
Source
University Students' Basic Psychological Needs, Motivation, and Vitality Before and During COVID-19: A Self-Determination Theory Approach
What they did
Researchers compared survey responses from separate cohorts of university students in Austria and Germany. The pre-pandemic cohort consisted of 1,139 students, and the remote-learning cohort consisted of 1,835 students who completed surveys during the 2020 lockdown. Both cohorts reported on their motivational styles, their feelings of competence, autonomy, and relatedness, and their overall energy levels.
What they found
Students during remote learning reported significantly lower interest-driven motivation and a huge drop in social connection compared to students before the pandemic. Specifically, the sense of connection with peers saw a very large drop, with an effect size of 2.11. Unexpectedly, overall energy levels were slightly higher during remote learning, but this was not true for newly enrolled students, who struggled far more.
The limits
What it doesn't show
To begin with, because the researchers compared different cohorts of students rather than tracking the same individuals over time, they cannot prove that the pandemic itself directly caused these psychological shifts. Additionally, the sample consisted largely of students majoring in education, the social sciences, or humanities, meaning these findings might not apply to other fields like engineering or natural sciences. Finally, the study only captured the initial months of forced remote learning, so it does not show how students' motivation or well-being might have changed as they adapted to online courses over a longer period.
Key terms
- Intrinsic Motivation
- A type of motivation where a person performs an activity simply for the enjoyment and satisfaction inherent in the activity itself.
- Extrinsic Motivation
- A drive to perform an activity to obtain external rewards, praise, or avoid negative consequences rather than for its inherent enjoyment.
- Basic Psychological Needs
- The three innate requirements—autonomy, competence, and relatedness—essential for ongoing psychological growth, integrity, and well-being.
- Subjective Vitality
- A state of feeling alive, alert, and having positive energy, which serves as an indicator of physical and mental well-being.
- Needs Frustration
- The active blocking or thwarting of one's basic psychological needs, which often leads to poor motivation and psychological distress.
- Self-Determination Theory
- A broad framework of human motivation that focuses on how social and cultural factors facilitate or undermine people's sense of choice, competence, and connection.
Flashcards
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Quiz yourself
Which theoretical framework did the researchers utilize to study university students' motivation, psychological needs, and vitality during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Common questions
Why did students' energy levels (vitality) actually increase slightly during the lockdown?
The researchers suggest that some students might have experienced positive effects from having more free time, flexible schedules, or fewer commuting demands. Additionally, some may have engaged in "cocooning" with close family or partners, which helped maintain their overall psychological energy.
Why did newly enrolled students struggle more with online learning?
Newer students faced the double challenge of transitioning to university life while simultaneously coping with pandemic restrictions. Unlike older students, they had not yet built stable routines or peer networks, making the lack of in-person contact and support much harder to handle.
How does need satisfaction differ from need frustration in this study?
Need satisfaction refers to actively feeling free, capable, and connected, which boosts positive motivation. Need frustration is not just the absence of satisfaction, but the active feeling of being forced, incompetent, or socially rejected, which strongly predicts negative outcomes like anxiety.
Did the type of online class (live vs. pre-recorded) make a difference?
While this specific study didn't test this directly in its own sample, the authors note that prior research indicates synchronous classes (like live discussions) generally support students' needs better than asynchronous (pre-recorded) formats.
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