WEB-BASED LEARNING AND TRAINING is becoming more important in vocational education and training. Such online learning environments make high demands on motivation for both trainers and learners. What is interesting in this respect is whether theories of motivation can predict the actual motivation of learners in online learning environments. In our study, we focus on three theories of motivation, namely the flow theory of Csikszentmihalyi, the cognitive motivation model of Heckhausen and the self-determination theory of Deci and Ryan. These theories emphasise different conditions that are supposed to generate motivated behaviour and are also required to make learning motivation more likely. Our primary object is to find out if there is a relation between the experience of the above-mentioned conditions and the actual motivation of the learners in an online learning environment. The outcomes of the analyses of data from the evaluation of the web-based professional training ENTER show that the selfdetermination theory predicts learning motivation in online learning environments best. For designing web-based trainings that are able to enhance motivation, we present some recommendations derived from the outcomes. © 2008 Sense Publishers. All rights reserved.
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