Students in schools practicing conventional/rote methods of teaching/learning seem to lack attention and engagement. Educators are inculcating holistic educational philosophies for the betterment of the students and their future. Heutagogy, a form of self-determined learning, is a holistic, learner-centered approach to learning and teaching in formal and non-formal environments. With its learner-centered approach, heutagogy shifts the focus from the teacher back to the learner and learning. Learners are highly autonomous and self-determined in a heutagogical approach to teaching and learning. The emphasis is placed on developing learner capacity and capability to produce well-prepared learners for the complexities of today’s learning system. This revolutionary idea in education is to keep up with the benefits of globalization. The principles of heutagogy have been integrated into school and higher education and found to have enhanced the learning experience.

This study investigates the impact of key elements of self-determined learning, such as Learner Agency, Collaborative Learning, and Learning Flexibility, on Learners’ Motivation and Flow experience during the learning process. Learner Agency is the ability of an individual to exert control over their learning actions. Collaborative Learning is a situation where two or more individuals learn or attempt to learn something together. Learning Flexibility enables the learners to learn when, how, and what they want. Curiosity is the driving force behind the learners’ motivation to learn. So, the study also investigates the moderating role of Epistemic Curiosity – “the desire to know” on learners’ motivation. Children are competent heutagogical learners from an early age and are self-motivated, reflective, and creative. So, school students studying in Grades 9-12 are the target sample for the study. A cross-sectional study design is followed for this study, and the data is collected among school students via a survey across 2 phases. The findings reveal that there has been a positive association between learner agency, collaborative learning, learning flexibility, and learners’ motivation; a significant positive association between learners’ motivation and flow experience. The moderating role of epistemic curiosity on motivation is found to be insignificant. So, the study concludes that the elements of self-determined learning, such as Learner Agency, Collaborative Learning, and Learning Flexibility, play a significant role in motivating students and enhancing their learning experience.