<p> Millions of adults have registered for massive open online courses, known as MOOCs, yet little research exists on how effective MOOCs are at meeting the needs of these learners. Critics of MOOCs highlight that their completion rates can average fewer than 5% of those registered. Such low completion rates raise questions about the effectiveness of MOOCs and whether adults enrolling in them have the skills and abilities needed for success. MOOCs have the potential to be powerful change agents for universities and students, but it has previously been unknown whether these online courses serve more than just the most persistent, self-directed learners. This study explored the relationship between self-directed learning readiness and MOOC completion percents among adults taking a single Coursera MOOC. By examining self-directed learning &ndash; the ability to take responsibility for one's own educational experiences &ndash; and MOOC completion rates, this research may assist in improving the quality of MOOCs. </p><p> A statistically significant relationship was found between self-directed learning and MOOC completion percentages. Those stronger in self-directed learning tended to complete a greater percent of the MOOC examined. In addition, English speaking ability demonstrated a mediating effect between self-directed learning and MOOC completion. Learners indicating a strong ability in speaking English were more likely to be ready for self-directed learning and completed a higher percentage of the MOOC. Compared with those that did not complete MOOCs, however, few additional differences in demographics of adult learners that completed MOOCs were found.</p><p> To better understand the skills and experiences needed to be successful in a MOOC, additional research on factors that influence MOOC completion is warranted. If only a minority of strongly self-directed learners can successfully complete MOOCs, then more resources should be invested into the design and development of MOOCs to meet the needs of many learners. If this does not occur, then MOOC completion rates could continue to suffer and new open education solutions of higher quality may appear, making MOOCs a short-lived phenomenon. </p>

<p> Despite there being a significant amount of research investigating workplace learning, research exploring firefighter workplace learning is almost nonexistent. The purpose of this qualitative multi-case study was to explore how firefighters conceptualize, report, and practice workplace learning. The researcher also investigated how firefighters learn informally in the workplace and how that informal learning was manifested. A qualitative multi-case research study of six full-time career firefighters employed by a fire department in New York State was conducted. Data were collected through field observations, interviews, and document analysis. The data were analyzed using grounded theory analysis as detailed by Charmaz (2006). Several themes emerged from the data analysis revealing how firefighters learn in the workplace. Findings indicate that firefighters learn necessary workplace information through both formal and informal learning practices. Firefighters learn formally in the workplace by (a) attending the fire academy, (b) participating in the in-service training programs, (c) taking external fire service courses, (d) attending college-level fire science programs, and (e) teaching and instructing. Firefighters learn informally in the workplace (a) through practice, (b) from each other, (c), through self-directed learning activities, and (d) from prior exposure to the fire service. These findings highlighted a complex, hybrid interaction between formal and informal workplace learning activities. The findings present implications for both fire service practice and policy. Findings from this study suggest workplace learning may be enhanced through training fire officers to identify and foster firefighter's informal workplace learning practices. The policy implications for fire department managers and trainers include improving firefighter informal learning in the fire service through the provision of support, resources, and time for learning activities as well as by developing mechanisms to record and document the time spent on informal learning activities. </p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-07, Section: A, page: 2762. Adviser: Scott D. Johnson. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 184-215) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

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This study explored the differential effects of single-sex versus coed education on the cognitive and affective development of young women in senior year of high school. The basic research question was: What are the differential effects of single-sex versus coed education on the development of mathematical reasoning ability, verbal reasoning ability, or self-concept of high school girls? This study was composed of two parts. In the first part, the SAT verbal and mathematical ability scores were recorded for those subjects in the two schools from which the sample populations were drawn. The second part of the study required the application of the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale to subjects in each of the two sample populations. The sample schools were deliberately selected to minimize between group differences in the populations. One was an all girls school, the other coeducational. The research design employed in this study was the causal-comparative method, used to explore causal relationships between variables that already exist. Based on a comprehensive analysis of the data produced by this research, no significant difference was found to exist between the mean scores of the senior girls in the single-sex school and the coed school on the SAT 1 verbal reasoning section. Nor was any significant difference found to exist between the mean scores of the senior girls in the single-sex school and the coed school on the SAT 1 mathematical reasoning section. Finally, no significant difference between the mean total scores of the senior girls in the single-sex school and the coed school on the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale was found to exist. Contrary to what many other studies have found in the past about single-sex schools and their advantages for girls, this study found no support for such advantages in the cognitive areas of verbal and mathematical reasoning as measured by the SAT or in the affective area of self-concept as measured by the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale.

This study was a qualitative investigation, with demographic quantitative features, of post-secondary educational access and legal guidelines for individuals with psychological disabilities. Although disability laws have positively influenced post-secondary educational attitudes and practices relative to accommodating many individuals with disabilities, prevailing stigmas regarding mental illness have discouraged the equal access to higher education for individuals with psychological disabilities. Little research concentrating on this area was found. Thirty-six relevant legal case decisions, focusing on a variety of realms of higher education, were scrutinized. The policies, procedures, and practices of six Southeastern United States universities were analyzed through official documents and participant responses from disability service providers and other university employees. Comparisons were made between legal cases, and within and between universities. Case findings also provided standards through which participating university practices could be studied. The legal analysis revealed that most institutions did not discriminate against individuals with psychological disabilities. Practices of a few of these institutions, however, suggested non-compliance despite favorable decisions on their behalf. Institutions found to have discriminatory practices were cited for inadequate procedures, or for presumptive assessments of the educational functioning levels of individuals with psychological disabilities. Participant university practices generally suggested disability law compliance; however, certain campus interventions were determined to be ineffective in identifying, addressing, and communicating about the educational needs of individuals with psychological disabilities. The most effective services for these individuals, who were described as rapidly increasing in number but lagging in self-advocacy and acceptance by others, went beyond legal requirements. Recommendations were made for institutional practices concerning disability-related documentation, written standards and operations, and student identification and referral. Directions for future research focused on study skills training for students; exposure of mental health professionals to client educational needs; and expansion of the current research, on a nationwide collegiate level, and a parallel analysis focusing on business and industry.

Contemporary assessments of management training efforts have generally found such efforts to be wanting, in failing to inculcate enduring changes in skills and capacities. Simultaneously, a variety of management theorists have pointed in the direction of cognitive complexity, sometimes described as "complicated understanding", as the key quality for successful managers. This study is concerned with the contribution that an explicitly developmental perspective can make to a better understanding of the dynamics of managing in an organizational setting. It draws on research conducted over the last two decades by a small group of researchers interested in the nexus of developmental psychology and management and aims to lend additional empirical support to those efforts. This study focuses on the work of developmental psychologist Robert Kegan, who has constructed a theory of stage-related progressions in the development of the self and personal meaning-making over the life course. Kegan's notion that our culture makes mental demands on us that can be understood in stage terms is applied here to the domain of management. The purpose was to explore the possible connections between essential managerial skills and the properties of developmental stages. Sixteen (16) managers in a mid-sized state agency formed the research sample. Each subject was assessed for both developmental stage and managerial stage. The results reported here suggest a strong correlation between stage-functioning and management style. The implications for further theory building and organizational reform in the service of fostering managerial success are discussed in detail.

In 1989, the City of Pittsfield implemented an entrepreneurial education program for the unemployed using federal funding. This study describes the evolution of the educational program and identifies key elements in the entrepreneurial education process. The literature review sets the context of the case study in the new, burgeoning field of entrepreneurial education. The lack of consensus on a definition and the "idiosyncratic" nature of entrepreneurship creates a fluid, volatile climate for this case study. The case study responds to the call for research in the field by providing a seven year in depth analysis of the results of an entrepreneurial educational program for the unemployed. A personal, narrative case study approach reflected my role as a participant/observer and included participant and staff responses. Data analysis also included document review and participant surveys. The key elements that emerged in this case study were: (1) issues of unemployment needed to be addressed in the curriculum design; (2) adult learning strategies provided methodologies that addressed those issues; (3) a staff composed of present or former business owners provided the necessary practical, relevant orientation; (4) networking skills were enhanced by interaction with peers; (5) continual feedback from participants provided essential guidance for curriculum development; and (6) beneficial results beyond business starts need to be included in assessments of entrepreneurial training programs. The case study reports that 264 of the 428 participants included in the study started businesses and almost all of the others secured employment or went on for other training. This study concludes with recommendations for support of future entrepreneurial educational programs for the unemployed as a way to create a climate for small business development in turbulent, changing economies.

We used Kolb's Model of Experiential Learning and learning style (LS) theory to design a group workshop (GW) and correspondence course (CC) to instruct adults on reducing cancer risk through diet. Kolb's model has four stages: having a concrete experience, reflecting on that experience, forming abstract concepts about the experience, and actively experimenting with what has been learned. Individuals prefer one stage of learning and are classified into four LSs: divergers, assimilators, convergers, and accommodators. The purpose of the study was to test the relationship of LS and instructional method to knowledge, attitude, and behavior change; knowledge and attitude maintenance ten weeks after instruction; and course attrition. Through mass media we recruited adults interested in diet and cancer prevention. Subjects completed Kolb's LS Inventory II (an instrument to determine LS), demographic questionnaire, and knowledge, attitude, and behavior pretests. Subjects were randomly assigned, by LS, to the GW, CC, or control group. Following the educational intervention, participants completed posttest measures of knowledge and attitude and delayed posttests of knowledge, attitude, and behavior. Both courses improved knowledge and attitude at posttest. However, knowledge gain was not maintained in either course, but attitude was maintained in the CC. Each course increased self-reported behavior scores, but only the GW values were significantly greater than controls. The CC improved "Yellow and Dark Green Vegetable" intake and lowered fat consumption in those subjects who had high fat intakes before the study began. No relationship was found between LS and knowledge and attitude change or maintenance, self-reported behavior, nutrient intake, nutrient density, or attrition. However, the converger LS had a significant decrease in consumption of citrus fruits at delayed posttest as compared to divergers and accommodators. In addition, convergers attending the GW had decreased fruit and vegetable consumption. The negative outcomes of convergers in the GW may be due to their preference for technical tasks rather than people. Thus, successful knowledge, attitude, and behavior change can result from nutrition education programs designed to reach all learning styles. Further research is needed to compare Kolb's model to other theories of behavior change and maintenance.

Individuals who pass the General Educational Development (GED) exam often pursue higher education. Although GED diploma students tend to enroll in two-year colleges, an increasing number are enrolling in four-year postsecondary education institutions. GED diploma college students are characterized as nontraditional students and usually possess risk factors that impede academic performance and cause attrition. Collective data and analysis of their academic performance and persistence and attrition behavior is needed to determine their success in attaining a bachelor's degree.;The purpose of this study was to analyze the academic performance and persistence and attrition behavior of GED diploma undergraduates who applied directly to Virginia's public, four-year postsecondary education institutions fall 1993 and fall 1994. Data on demographic factors, first-year grade point average, and persistence and attrition behavior for Virginia GED undergraduates and a national sample of nontraditional undergraduates were analyzed and comparisons were conducted within the groups and between the groups.;Statistical tests were used to determine if relationships existed between gender and academic performance and gender and graduation. Multiple regression was utilized to determine if relationship existed between demographic variables and GPA. Discriminant analysis was used to classify first-year dropouts and six-year graduates.;Comparatively, GED diploma undergraduates do not perform as well as other nontraditional undergraduates. GED diploma undergraduates who complete more credit hours in their first-year can earn satisfactory grades and are likely to persist to a second year. Female GED undergraduates should be expected to earn higher GPAs than their male counterparts. Older GED undergraduates are more likely to achieve higher GPAs and accumulate more credit hours than younger GED undergraduates. The majority of GED undergraduates who enroll directly in four-year degree programs drop out in their first year and over time and subsequently, do not earn a bachelor's degree.