Date

12-2016

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Chair

Eric G. Lovik

Keywords

Extrinsic, Intrinsic, Motivation, Non-traditional, Self-determination, Undergraduate

Disciplines

Curriculum and Instruction | Curriculum and Social Inquiry | Education | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Educational Methods | Educational Psychology | Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education

Abstract

This research dissertation was developed for the purpose of advancing the literature in the realm of student motivation. Previous research in the field has placed little emphasis on the adult, non-traditional student population. Adult, non-traditional students represents an important part of the higher education climate in the United States and the unique motivators of this population needs further examination in order to more closely align academic programs and services with motives and goals. The research questions seek to answer if a significant difference exists between the intrinsic and extrinsic motivational levels of business majors compared to education majors in the adult, non-traditional student population. This research study will employ a causal-comparative design using a Likert instrument to explore the motivational levels of non-traditional undergraduate students. The two research questions for this study include: Is there a difference in the intrinsic motivational levels of non-traditional undergraduate business majors when compared to the intrinsic motivational levels of non-traditional undergraduate; is there a difference in the extrinsic motivational levels of non-traditional undergraduate business majors when compared to the extrinsic motivational levels of non-traditional undergraduate education majors? The methods employed include the use of the previously validated instrument, the Academic Motivation Scale, which has been used in similar studies focused on different populations for the purpose of identifying motivational levels in students. The sample size for the study included 110 subjects and a simple, independent samples t test was deployed during the analysis. The results of the study demonstrate significant differences between non-traditional b

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