Scope of Social Cognitive Theory and Research Designs in Student Motivation over the Past Twenty Years in Saudi Arabia: A Synthetic Literature Review

A substantial body of research has raised concern over students’ lack of motivation in educational settings in the Middle East in general and more particularly in Saudi Arabia. This review utilized synthetic techniques to gather a methodical collection of existing research and emphasized two research questions: to what extent has Saudi students’ learning-related motivation been investigated? What factors affect learners’ motivation? To answer the questions, the included articles were classified based on fields of study, research methodologies, designs, and sample sizes. The included articles were then divided into categories dealing with motivation-related variables such learners’ self-efficacy beliefs, self-regulation, motivation, group work, and technologies. The findings suggest that despite the limited number of investigations, most motivation-related studies were conducted in the area of English as a second language and not in subjects such as sciences and technologies. Based on the types of data collection, generalizations of the findings from the published articles are deemed questionable. Furthermore, predictors of learners’ motivations were revealed, and limitations were discussed regarding the scope of research publications, methods, designs, and data collections. Directions for further investigations are presented