Can Educational Technology Foster Effective Motivation to Learn

The International Academy of Education (IAE) is a not-for-profit scientific association that promotes educational research, its dissemination, and the implementation of its implications. Founded in 1986, the Academy is dedicated to strengthening the contributions of research, solving critical educational problems throughout the world, and providing better communication among policy makers, researchers and practitioners. The general aim of the IAE is to foster scholarly excellence in all fields of education. Towards this end, the Academy provides timely syntheses of research-based evidence of international importance. The Academy also provides critiques of research, its evidentiary basis, and its application to policy. The current members of the Board of Directors of the Academy are: Preface This booklet explains principles that encourage children to learn and has been prepared for inclusion in the Educational Practices Series developed by the International Academy of Education and is distributed by the International Bureau of Education and the Academy. As part of its mission, the Academy provides timely syntheses of research on educational topics of international importance. This booklet is the tenth in the series on educational practices that improve learning. It opens a new door, however, since it focuses on behaviour rather than academic learning. The author of this booklet, Monique Boekaerts, began her career as a teacher but decided to take up the study of psychology to understand better what went on in the minds of her students. She is a full professor at Leiden University in the Netherlands and has published over 120 papers and book chapters on motivation and self-regulation. She set up collaborative innovation programmes with the school-management and teachers of large vocational schools. Together with Teaching and School Management Consultants (TSM) she coaches the change processes that are currently taking place in vocational education. Professor Boekaerts has served as president of the European Association for Research in Learning and Instruction. The officers of the International Academy of Education are aware that this booklet is based on research carried out primarily in economically advanced countries. The booklet, however, focuses on aspects of learning and behaviour that that may be found in most cultures in varying degrees. The principles presented here are likely to be generally applicable and useful throughout the world. Even so, the principles should be assessed with reference to local conditions, and adapted accordingly. In any educational setting, nation or culture, suggestions or guidelines for practice require sensitive and sensible application, and …