Influences of Heutagogical Activities and Students’ Psychological Needs on Self-Determined Learning of Postgraduate Students

Self-determined learning skills are essential for postgraduate students, enabling independent engagement in complex research tasks and the development of critical skills needed to navigate the challenges of Industry 5.0 and the rapidly evolving educational landscape. However, the factors influencing the development of these skills remain underexplored at the postgraduate level. This study investigates the influence of heutagogical activities namely exploration, creation, connection, collaboration, sharing, and reflection, as well as the fulfillment of basic psychological needs on self-determined learning. A quantitative correlational approach was employed with a sample of 626 postgraduate students, comprising both master’s and PhD students, from a research university in Malaysia. The samples were selected from four academic disciplines: sciences, engineering, medical, dental, and health sciences, and arts. The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) showed that 57.2% ( R 2 = .572) of the variance in self-determined learning could be explained by heutagogical activities and students’ psychological needs. Heutagogical activities had a significant direct effect on self-determined learning (β = .594, t = 13.436, p < .01), while students’ psychological needs also contributed, albeit with a weaker effect (β = .202, t = 4.681, p < .01). Additionally, psychological needs were found to mediate the relationship between the two variables. These findings highlight that postgraduate students are more likely to engage in self-determined learning when participating in heutagogical activities and when their psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are met. The paper concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications, limitations and directions for future research.