A systematic review was conducted to highlight the current trends in contemporary motivation theory in the context of education. It compares and contrasts motivation theories, such as need for achievement, attribution theory, achievement goal theory and theories of self-regulated learning. The review focuses on theoretical developments that have stemmed from correcting earlier theoretical misconstructions. More importantly, this review draws particular consideration to the transition stages that the theory of motivation went through. It shows how theories are criticized on both conceptual and empirical grounds and how new theoretical perspective emerges to guide the research. Furthermore, it identifies how certain variables play an important role in most cognitive theories of achievement motivation. In addition, this review discusses the research that examined the different theoretical perspectives of motivation and also provides different directions for new research. Moreover, the relationship between the different constructs of motivational theories and the students' academic achievement is discussed.