Education Commons^™

Motivation, Persistence, And Achievement In Community College Asynchronous Online Courses, Rachel Michelle Desmarais

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Community college students enrolled in asynchronous online courses were examined for the correlational effects of motivation factors upon achievement and persistence in major and non-major courses. A modified version of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) (Pintrich, Smith, Garcia, & McKeachie, 1991) was employed to obtain measurements on motivation and self-regulatory factors. Demographic factors and first generation student status were used to determine any interaction effects.

A series of binary logistic regressions demonstrated significant, positive correlations between self-efficacy and modified MSLQ task value on persistence for these students. A series of ordinal logistic regressions demonstrated significant, positive correlations between …

Motivational And Persistence Factors For Military Spouses Earning A College Degree, Lisa A. Keenan

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Projections estimated that nontraditional student enrollment in post-secondary education would increase by 19% as compared to traditional student enrollments of 10% from 2006 through 2017. Adult students were less likely to complete a college degree compared to traditional students, and drop-outs cost taxpayers billions of dollars in lost taxes. Military spouses were a sub-group of nontraditional students with unique challenges and stressors due to their military lifestyle. Limited research-based literature existed on military spouses enrolled in post-secondary education. Financial incentives such as My Career Advancement Account (MyCAA) and the transferability of the Post-9/11 GI Bill enabled military spouses to participate …

Factors That Female Higher Education Faculty In Select Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics (Stem) Fields Perceive As Being Influential To Their Success And Persistence In Their Chosen Professions, Phyllis Bernice Opare

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine factors female higher education faculty in select science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields perceived as influential to their success and persistence in their chosen professions. Females are underrepresented in STEM professions including academia, despite the fact that female educational attainment in all fields have increased significantly.

Four research questions were used to guide this study and they are: 1) What personal factors affect females' ability to successfully persist in STEM faculty positions? 2) What social factors affect females' ability to successfully persist in STEM faculty positions? 3) What academic/institutional factors affect …

Pre-College Career Guidance And Persistence At A Small Private University In Tennessee, Raymond D. Carson

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

This mixed methods study was designed to determine the type and quality of pre-college career guidance experiences of college freshmen and the impact of those experiences on student performance and retention. This study was limited to first time freshmen at a small private university in Tennessee. The population was 46% male and 54% female from 6 different ethnic groups. Students came from 5 different secondary school settings including Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) academies, home school environments, public high schools, other Christian schools, and individuals who had obtained a general education diploma (GED).

Qualitative data were collected through a phone survey to …