Education Commons^™

Motivation, Learning, And The Workplace: A Study Of Community College Student Affairs Professionals And Continued Professional Learning, Joseph M. Ginese

Theses and Dissertations

Continued professional learning is a consistent focus of attention for the field of student affairs within higher education. Yet, very little research has been conducted on the factors that influence the motivation of student affairs professionals to pursue continued professional learning, especially professionals within community colleges. This study utilized a quantitative research design to examine the physical and psychological factors of the work environment that can influence a community college student affairs professional’s motivation to pursue continued professional learning. Through the theoretical lens of Lewin’s Field Theory and Eccles’ Expectancy-Value Theory, I designed a 58-item survey (N = 41) …

A Qualitative Phenomenological Study Of Former Maine Adult Education Students Who Successfully Earned A High School Credential, Kayla Sikora

Doctor of Education Program Dissertations

Students who unenroll from traditional high school often seek a nontraditional pathway to earn a high school credential. Maine adult education programming provides a nontraditional pathway to a high school credential for high school non-completers. This qualitative phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of former students who obtained their high school credential through a Maine adult education program. Through one-on-one semi-structured interviews, eight participants shared their lived experiences working with Maine adult education programming to obtain their high school credential. Two themes emerged in this study: The significance of self-motivation and the importance of support. The significance of self-motivation was …

Career Choice Motivation For Commercial Pilots, Brett Watts

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Career choice motivation research studies the factors involved during a person’s decision-making process regarding which career to pursue (Skatova & Ferguson, 2014). These factors are often studied in individuals who have not yet entered the workforce, such as students. Although there is a significant amount of research on career choice motivations for doctors, dentists, and other related fields, research on career choice motivations for pilots is sparse. As air traffic is expected to grow at approximately 4.7% per year for the next 20 years (Federal Aviation Administration, 2022), a key factor in the aviation industry’s growth is the availability of …

Examination Of Formal Instructional Design Processes At Traditional Institutions Of Higher Education In The United States Post-Pandemic Onset, Heather L. D. Tobin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to identify the motivational elements of formal online instructional design processes that are being implemented at traditional institutions of higher education (IHEs) in the United States (U.S.). For this study, I conducted a comprehensive literature review identifying emerging issues of practice for instructional design partnerships between the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic during the spring of 2022 and the spring of 2023. This study was developed through the lens of Keller’s (2010) attention, relevance, confidence, satisfaction, and volition (ARCS-V) model of motivation. An understanding of the elements of current processes that present as benefits …

University Faculty Perceptions Of Mandatory Online Training As Related To Training Self-Efficacy, Motivation, And Utility, Tori Austin

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Organizations spend millions of dollars training employees in ways to improve their skills –recently through mandatory professional development delivered virtually or through online asynchronous platforms. This research investigated how social exchange theory and self-efficacy theory inform faculty participants’ motivation to transfer such knowledge and skills from mandatory online trainings into their workplace practices. Faculty who had attended mandatory online training were asked to complete a 25-item survey about their motivation to transfer information from the training into their workplace practice as well as their perceived utility of training and their training self-efficacy. This study examined the extent to which motivation …

An Autoethnograpy Of A Baby Boomer In Higher Education: Challenges And Catalysts For Change, Deborra Finlan

Theses & Dissertations

Higher education as a baby boomer brings mental, physical, and economic adjustments, concerns, and insecurities. Additionally, life delivers unexpected challenges and barriers which can cause hardships requiring various types of motivation. Fortunately, there are also catalysts which can contribute toward successes. Literature from four major elements were the focus in this study: motivation, adult learning, challenges, barriers, and catalysts. Theorists and theories included Vroom’s expectancy theory of motivation with the added factor of cost, and Ryan and Deci’s theory on self-determination; Mezirow’s transformative learning and Knowles’s self-directed learning; Cross’s theory on educational barriers—situational, dispositional, and institutional; and Cobb’s social support …

Motivating Poetry In The Adult Esl Classroom, Lenore Marin Myers

Master's Projects and Capstones

Current research into motivation in second language acquisition, including Dörnyei (2005, 2009, 2015), offers compelling evidence that adult language learners who develop and habitually strengthen a vision of their future, linguistically capable selves using concrete, sensory imagery are more likely to sustain the necessary motivation to achieve their personal language-learning goals. My thesis proposes that poetry writing can be an effective medium for language learners to build facility in developing concrete, sensory imagery (tactile, visual, kinesthetic, olfactory, and auditory), including creating a motivating vision of their future, linguistically capable selves. Because poetry can directly support and build learner motivation, it …

How Bad Do You Want It?: The Personal Motivation Of Joining A Sorority, Garry Butler

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

College campuses provide students with endless opportunities to become members of various student organizations that provide leadership, accountability, a sense of belonging, personal growth, and development. Many colleges have provided students with the opportunities to join social Greek fraternity and sorority organizations. The foundation of social fraternity and sorority organizations are built on principles such as sisterhood, brotherhood, scholarship, service, philanthropy, and leadership. Many traditional college-age women who desire to become members of a social sorority organization all participate in a formal recruitment process. There are various motivations that traditional college-age women have for joining social sororities on college campuses …

Self-Efficacy, Motivation, And Academic Success: Learners With Adhd In Online Universities, Kareta Lewin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research on traditional or brick and mortar universities suggests that there is an association between self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation (IM), extrinsic motivation (EM), and academic success in higher education. What is not yet clear is whether self-efficacy and motivation (IM and EM) are associated with academic success in online universities. The purpose of this study was to examine whether there is an association between self-efficacy, motivation (IM and EM), and academic success for learners with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who attend online universities. The possible role of self-efficacy in mediating the relationship between IM and EM and academic success was …

The Strength Of Self: An Examination Of Self-Directed Learning And Self-Regulated Learning Among Master’S Students, Holley Marie Linkous

Doctoral Dissertations

There is a lack of understanding of the difference between self-directed learning and self-regulated learning. Though both theories have been found to be important learning processes for achieving learning goals, there is little evidence to identify how the two directly compare. Self-directed learning and self-regulated learning can both be defined as learning processes as well as a collection of characteristics of an individual (Brockett & Hiemstra, 1991; Efklides, 2011). There are metacognitive components to these learning processes (Saks & Leijen, 2014; Zimmerman & Moylan, 2009). It can benefit scholars to know how these two concepts within a structured, complex, high-demand, …

Using Sitcoms In Esl/Efl: A Handbook For Using Friends In The Classroom, Elif Konus

Master's Projects and Capstones

English learning has become the most significant objective throughout the world for learners of English as a second language (ESL) and foreign language (EFL). Unfortunately, most learners do not have a chance to learn the language in English-speaking countries. In most ESL and EFL classrooms, teachers have solely adapted their teaching method through textbooks even though there are numerous teaching techniques to support learners’ language process. Considering the fact that we live in an age of constant change of technology in which students’ attention spans have been shortened, students might lack engagement and motivation in learning English through solely textbook-adapted …

Udl And Motivation: Student Perceptions Of The Impact Of Universal Design For Learning On Motivation Of First-Year Community College Students In Rural East Tennessee, Jennifer Mayes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify the perceptions of how Universal Design for Learning (UDL) impacts motivation in first-year community college students in rural East Tennessee. This study investigated the effects of UDL on motivation of first-year community college students in East Tennessee. This involved multiple sections of courses participating in a UDL pilot training program with the college’s Instructional Design department. Two of the courses were part of the UDL pilot, and two of the courses were teaching the Standard approved Master Curriculum. The study had a total of 109 participants, and 9 research questions were …

Identifying Factors That Influence The Continuing Education Choices Of Municipal Police Officers, Sean O'Connor

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study was conducted in an attempt to identify factors that influence the continuing education choices of municipal police officers. By examining factors such as tuition reimbursement, educational incentive pay, CEO education level, higher education standards for promotion and hiring, rank, and length of service, policy recommendations can be made to positively impact education levels among municipal police officers. In phase one of analysis, levels of organizational education were presented along with each variable’s presence in each department. Aggregate data is provided to give the reader an overview of higher education incentives and attainment within the County. In phase two, …

Course Design…Online: Helping Students Perform In The Digital Age, Joseph W. Harris

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The current study sought to test the relationship between course design, as described by the rubric produced by Quality Matters, and online university student performance. Due to the link between student motivation and active learning behaviors, and thus performance, it was predicted that the better-designed courses would facilitate student motivation. It was also predicted that goal orientation would moderate this relationship. While a significant relationship was observed between student motivation and course performance, no relationship was observed between course quality, as measured by the QM Rubric, and motivation, or performance. Only slight evidence was found for a moderating effect of …

A Strategic Approach To Leading And Managing Low Teacher Morale In An Adult Newcomer Education School Setting, Lenny Dinanath

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

The purpose of this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) is to produce a comprehensive and actionable plan to the problem of low teacher morale at Crest Wood Adult Education School (CWAES) which is a small, but rapidly expanding adult newcomer education school located in Ontario. Teachers’ morale and motivation increases when good working conditions exist and when they are offered opportunities to develop their professionalism and skills (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2005). A professional learning community (PLC) is central to the facilitating such learning opportunities which can be leveraged to improve students’ success and achievements. Leadership approach and style …

Investigating Elearning Continuance Through Expectation Disconfirmation Theory, Susana Reyes Lee

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study set out to investigate the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) eLearning participation and completion phenomenon of learners and to explore motivation of CPD eLearning intentions and completions. This study focused on why learners choose CPD eLearning and why they continue in CPD eLearning. Based on the Expectations Disconfirmation theory (EDT) and the DeLone and McLean Information Systems Success Model (1992), a survey was developed and then sent to a cross-section of registered CPD eLearners from the first responder community. After the data was collected 217 responses were analyzed with SPSS correlational techniques and through PROCESS which is a modeling …

The Experiential Journey Of Teacher-Scholars: “If You’Re Not A Teacher, You Just Don’T Get It”, Ashleigh L. Pelafigue

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The Center of Graduate Schools (2015) published a report detailing applications, enrollment, and trends in graduate schools across the nation showing that approximately one third of all first-time graduate school applicants in master’s degree programs utilizing the GRE assessment identify their career path in either business or teacher education. The purpose of this study was to examine the lived experiences of classroom teachers who concurrently pursued graduate studies to earn a master’s degree in education and to understand how adult learning provided opportunities for personal growth and the attainment of professional goals. Individual interviews and two focus groups were conducted …

The Effect Of Motivation On Student Persistence In Online Higher Education: A Phenomenological Study Of How Adult Learners Experience Motivation In A Web-Based Distance Learning Environment, Kevin Lucey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of motivation in the persistence of adults enrolled in online higher education. Since the 1990’s, online courses and programs have proliferated across higher education, with adults (ages 25 and over) currently making up the largest portion of online enrollments. Online courses, however, suffer from a higher rate of student attrition than their hybrid and face-to-face counterparts. Although it is difficult to attribute the high rate of attrition in online education to any one factor, research has identified a lack of motivation as a primary cause of student dropout. Likewise, studies …

Motivating And Enabling Factors For Military Service Members Earning A Post-Secondary Degree, Rossie Dean Johnson

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate what motivated and enabled military service members to earn a post-secondary degree. This problem was investigated to better inform institutions of higher education regarding how to recruit and retain military-affiliated members and how to provide career-enhancing information to service members at institutions of higher education.

Education for military service members was a process that facilitated the growth, learning, and maturity of individuals in an effort to achieve their goals while simultaneously achieving the collective goals of the organization. This study sought to identify the enabling and motivating factors that empowered service members …

A Phenomenological Study On The Motivating Factors Influencing Participation In Tennessee’S Governor’S Academy For School Leadership, Amy B. Horton Mrs.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Educational administration is such a demanding field, so it is important to understand why an aspiring principal would self-select to commit to an optional yearlong, intensive professional development activity with very little compensation and no promotion. Motivation may prove to be a key component of the recruitment and sustainability of professional development activities. By discovering the factors affecting both personal and professional motivation of beginning administrators to participate in a professional development led by the collaboration among the Tennessee Department of Education, Vanderbilt University, and Governor Bill Haslam, the researcher hopes to gain an understanding that may apply to future …

Rural Adults In Education: Why Don't They Come? A Curriculum Addressing Dispositional Barriers To Participation, Erica A. Silver

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Rural adults participate in education at lower rates than their urban counterparts. If rural communities and their residents are to compete and stay viable in a global economy that demands life-long learning, it is imperative to increase adult motivation to engage in education. Non- participation by rural adults will be examined through an investigation of the concept of rural, rural education, participants and non-participants, and barriers to and motivations for participation. Lastly, Wlodkowski’s (2008) Motivational Framework for Culturally Responsive Teaching will be explored as a framework to present a learning-to-learn curriculum addressing local barriers to rural adult non-participation and promoting …

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 …

Community College Student Motivation And Persistence To Goals, Kai Alina Savi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Community colleges in the United States serve a vital educational role in job training, preparation for transfer to a four-year institution, granting academic degrees and certificates as well as offering opportunities for personal growth and development. Persistence has traditionally been measured by degree completion or by transfer rates. However, students who enter community college with other goals may successfully meet their goal while not reaching traditional persistence milestones. To date, much of the research on persistence has either focused on traditional students at four-year institutions, or on demographic risk factors among community college students. Little has been done to evaluate …