Global Crises and Distance Learning Through a Self-Determination Theory Lens

As we navigate through the 21st century, new challenges have emerged that test the adaptability and resilience of our society as a whole and the educational system in particular. In our opinion, the COVID-19 pandemic signifies an archetypal crisis for this current period that accentuates several ongoing trends. First, researchers have long argued that global pandemics and the connected health crises are becoming more frequent in an increasingly connected world through globalized trade and personal long-distance mobility (for an in-depth analysis, see Antràs et al., 2023). Second, the COVID-19 pandemic has to be seen as only one of a number of crises that have recently ignited existential threats on a global scale. Notable examples of this development are the global financial crisis of 2007/08 that impacted living conditions in many countries over large time spans (Reinhart & Rogoff, 2009), the recurrence of war, increasing tensions and nuclear threat in the Middle East and Europe (Baciu et al., 2024), and the ongoing global climate crisis accompanied by a growing number of regional disasters (Ebi et al., 2021). Third, the measures used to combat the COVID-19 pandemic merely elevated and accelerated another ongoing trend, namely the ever-expanding importance of digital devices and information technology for humanity in general and education in specific, a shift that continues to shape learning environments today (Amankwah-Amoah et al., 2021; Iivari et al., 2020). For instance, digital tools employed during the pandemic were redeployed during the Ukraine war in 2022 (Khaniukov et al., 2022). Further, as humanity becomes increasingly aware of the potential prospects of artificial intelligence, educational systems around the globe are now experimenting with new ways to harness this technology and expand digital learning spaces (e.g., Chen et al., 2023). Taken together, we argue that the COVID-19 pandemic should not be interpreted as a singularity. Instead, it should be interpreted as one crisis among many that posed an existential global threat while simultaneously signifying and accelerating ongoing trends in the digitalization of education and all other areas of life. As such, we argue that educational research into learning, motivation, and well-being during the pandemic conveys important insights for future crises and the impact of digital technology. In this article, we use the lens of Self-Determination Theory to decipher some of these. Doing so, we emphasize how social isolation, distance learning, and existential threat impacted the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness in educational institutions. Adding to this, we also reflect on the consequences of effects on these needs for motivation, well-being, and learning. The main aim of these reflections is to provide an outlook on what can be learned for future crises and the overarching trend toward an expanding use of distance learning and educational technology.