Enjoyment and Not Competence Predicts Academic Persistence for Distance Education Students

Abstract

Dropout rates of distance education students is a serious problem for many distance education institutions as well as their students. A psychological factor that is related to dropout is the academic persistence of students, or their intent to finish their degrees. One factor that could predict academic persistence, which is often used to identify and help at-risk students, is the academic competencies of students. However, another factor that could predict persistence is the intrinsic motivation of students, or whether they enjoy their academic work and find it interesting. In the present study, 350 distance education undergraduates in South Africa completed a survey that measured their persistence, perceived academic competence, and intrinsic motivation. The survey also measured experienced workload, help-seeking attitudes, and general stress. Results show that intrinsic motivation was a significant predictor of persistence while competence was not. Further, help-seeking attitudes and general stress had indirect effects on persistence through intrinsic motivation. The study highlights the need for educators to be aware of the intrinsic motivation of distance education students, and the factors that could impact it, in order to increase the academic persistence of students.

Supplemental Instruction. Volume 3: Organisation and Leadership

“…It also shows that simply knowing that help is available, in the form of a peer or mentor, can in itself enable students to handle the stress they feel when studying . Students who are encouraged to seek help and are shown that help-seeking is a way forward rather than an admission of failure are more intent on completing their studies (Brubacher & Silinda, 2019). Another aspect that is worth considering when it comes to SI online is the importance of interpersonal relationships between students and the impact this can have on attendance (Goldstein et al, 2014).…”

“…Through the bi-annual surveys that Dalarna carries out on its student body to see who they are, why they have chosen Dalarna University, their satisfaction with the courses they take, and other engagements they might have while studying, we know that our average language student conforms with the picture painted by Brubacher and Silinda (2019) as a person who works and has a family and other commitments in addition to their studies (Hofverberg, 2018;Hedlund, 2014). We therefore assumed that an extra scheduled meeting would not be of interest to the students but wanted to investigate if this was the case.…”

“…Facilitating this type of communication, and thus helping students deal with the idea of feeling isolated from peers and instructors, can be one way to prevent online students from dropping out (Lehman & Conceição, 2014). Similarly, distance students who find their studies enjoyable and feel that they have opportunities to seek and get assistance from their institution are more likely to persevere and complete their programmes (Brubacher & Silinda, 2019). Hence, a key factor affecting both students' inclination to complete a course or programme and their feelings of belonging to a university is communication and meetings and, furthermore, a possibility to obtain guidance when needed.…”

Addressing student attrition within higher education online programs through a collaborative community of practice

“…Students who live in rural and remote areas, from low socio-economic backgrounds, living with a disability, Indigenous, mature-aged, and students who are first in their families to enter HE are all strongly represented in online distance courses (Stone, 2016;Stone & O'Shea, 2019). There is a large body of evidence showing that non-traditional students often lack the academic persistence to persevere with their studies and tend to drop out of academic programs prior to completion at a greater rate than their mainstream counterparts (Brubacher & Silinda, 2019;DET, 2017;Simpson, 2013). In Australia, distance education students are around two and a half times more likely to withdraw from higher education than campus-based students (DET, 2017a, 2018), which has been related, at least in part, to the composition of the distance education student cohort (Stone, 2016).…”

Negative Impacts of Pandemic Induced At-Home Remote Learning Can Be Mitigated by Parental Involvement

“…Enjoyment is also closely linked to interest in particular topics (Ainley and Ainley, 2011) and student emotions are important in shaping academic engagement (Linnenbrink-Garcia and Pekrun, 2011). Brubacher and Silinda (2019) found that intrinsic motivation, defined as enjoying academic work and finding it interesting, significantly predicted distance education students' intent to finish their degrees, whereas perceived academic competence did not. How students feel about school thus may be particularly important for success in distance learning contexts, as such formats likely require students to rely on intrinsic motivation to a greater extent than those attending school in-person.…”