Determined to Succeed: Motivation Towards Doctoral Degree Completion.

Higher Education;Doctoral Education;Motivation;Persistence;Retention;Doctoral Degree Completion;Education;Social Sciences;Higher Education

Cardona, Julio J.King, Patricia M. ;

University of Michigan

关键词: Higher Education;    Doctoral Education;    Motivation;    Persistence;    Retention;    Doctoral Degree Completion;    Education;    Social Sciences;    Higher Education;   

Others  :  https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/99774/jraya_1.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

瑞士|英语

来源: The Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship

【 摘 要 】

High rates of student attrition (upwards to 40-50% in certain academic disciplines) continue to hinder doctoral education.In response to this issue, this study investigated doctoral student motivation by identifying intrinsic and extrinsic factors that affect students’ motivation towards doctoral degree completion.The analytic sample was comprised of 36 doctoral students in four Social Science academic disciplines at one institution.The data were analyzed using a multiple case study method, and the psychological theory of self-determination was utilized to understand the role of motivation in students’ progress towards degree completion. The participants in this study reported various motivational factors relevant to self-determination theory (intrinsic, extrinsic, and autonomous motivation, and psychological need for competence, relatedness, and autonomy).Students explained that intrinsic, extrinsic, and autonomous motivation was important in developing and sustaining their motivation towards degree completion.Students who received support for the needs of autonomy, relatedness, and competency seem to develop motivation to reprioritize their values and articulate their needs and approach personal growth and change with a self-motivated mindset.The study illustrated how students’ personal and academic needs, the academic environment, and career and academic support influenced their motivation to complete the doctoral degree.For some students, their motivation was challenged by the nature of doctoral work, particularly the unstructured process of completing a dissertation.Other students found increasingly difficult challenges in their motivation towards degree completion that included lack of funding, support, and potential employment after graduation.Additionally, students had a variety of positive and negative experiences within their respective doctoral programs that shaped their motivation towards degree completion.Factors that varied across the four disciplines included: academic and personal support, financial factors, student engagement, and doctoral cohort support each of which affected students’ motivation.Implications for practice include recommendations for an infrastructure of departmental and institutional support to assist doctoral students with their academic and personal needs, as well as the development of dissertation support groups utilizing cognitive restructuring and stress management training.Implications for research include a call for studies to examine the complementary, or synergistic, roles of intrinsic motivation for growth and adaptation of doctoral students.