The course aims to familiarize students with recent psychological research on motivation and its potential applications in early childhood education. Specifically, current issues in the field of Psychology of Motivation will be presented concerning:
• The developing ability of young children to self-regulate their behavior and actively engage in the learning process.
• The relationship between self-regulation and motivation during early development.
• The importance of motivation and metacognitive processes for learning and academic achievement starting from the preschool age.
• The conditions that promote self-regulated learning in school and family settings.
• Methods for evaluating children’s motivation, metacognitive skills, and self-regulation during the learning process.