Abstract

According to researches, motivation that initiates and sustains behavior is one of the most
significant components of learning in any environment. Accordingly, level of intrinsic motivation
triggers and sustains the interest of the open and distance education students when it comes to
learning on their own in e‐learning environments. Despite a comprehensive literature regarding
the motivation of those learning in traditional learning environments, the number of studies
addressing the motivation of open and distance education students in e‐learning environments
is not sufficient. In this context, this study aims at determining the level of intrinsic motivation
of open and distance education students. Thus, data were collected from 1,639 distance
education students in 22 programmes, through Intrinsic Motivation in e‐Learning Questionnaire
developed and validated to that end. Analyses carried out indicate that the level of intrinsic
motivation of open and distance education students is high in e‐learning environments, but
there is not a statistically significant difference by gender, programmed structure
(graduate/undergraduate),instruction type (distance–blended), and academic disciplines

According to Litt and Moore (2013), the factors that prevent or reduce the motivation of
students in open and distance learning environments and thus delay their learning are listed as
follows:
(a) technology,
(b) content, lack of communication and interaction,
(c) issues in daily life,
(d) strictness of the instructor, and
(e) lack of personalization/diversification in learning