With the knowledge age evolving, colleges and universities should be ever vigilant to assure that the pedagogies practiced are adequately preparing future workers with skills required to keep pace (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 2006). Business managers have identified self-direction and technology use as increasingly important in the 21st century (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2006), yet a gap in research of pedagogies that advance self-directedness and promote technology use has been found. To help identify new pedagogies, the purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between self-directed learning (SDL) and technology use of people entering the workplace. A sample of 572 recent university graduates represented the new workforce entrants. Based on the Personal Responsibility Orientation (PRO)-Model of SDL (Brockett & Hiemstra, 1991), factors of self-direction were identified and measured by the Personal Responsibility Orientation -Self Directed Learning Scale (PRO-SDLS) (Stockdale, 2003). Attitudinal factors of technology use were measured by the Computer Technology Use Scale (CTUS) (Conrad & Munro, 2008). Results of this study indicated that while significant relationships between SDL and technology use were found, the effect size of the model tested is low (less than .03). Hierarchical regression indicated the factors of SDL as predictors of computer self-efficacy, attitudes toward technology use and computer anxiety are significant in some cases but account for less than 7% of the variance for any one factor. Additionally, both instruments used in this study are relatively new. While reliability for the PRO-SDLS was found to be consistent with previous research, this study indicates that caution should be taken in using the CTUS. Based on these results, this study includes implications for practice as well as recommendations for future research.

This study looked at the relationship between personality functioning and generalized anxiety severity with the use of the Level of Personality Functioning – Self-Report Scale (LPFS-SR). This scale looks at the four core functions of personality: Identity, Intimacy, Empathy and Self-Direction. The population consisted of undergraduate students from the University of Central Florida who completed the study online (n = 1335; 63.7% female; mean age = 19.85, SD = 3.64, range = 18-57). Findings revealed that generalized anxiety severity related to more identity and empathy problems in both men and women. For both findings, women showed a stronger effect size than men. Future longitudinal research in a psychiatric sample can help clarify causal directions of these relationships. The results of this study can be applied to clinical settings to raise clinicians' awareness to further explore identity and empathy problems in individuals exhibiting generalized anxiety.

Consumer direction, a model of long-term care service delivery where service recipients and their families/advocates have enhanced control and choice over the services that they receive, is a growing phenomenon in United States. As it becomes greater utilized, it is important to understand the model and study its impacts. This dissertation details the history of the consumer direction movement, describes the current landscape of consumer direction in the United States, and presents a comparison study of users of consumer-directed (CD) services in three of Virginia Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Medicaid Waivers. Self-determination theory is provided as a theoretical framework for understanding consumer direction. The influences of liberty, empowerment, and paternalism are discussed in the context of self-determination theory as well as multidisciplinary influences. Results from the study indicate that overall, CD services facilitate self-determined decision making by enhancing recipients choice and control over services. When comparing differences between waiver groups, the survey domain of “access” was the only domain where statistically significant differences (p<.01) were found. Implications for users, advocates, and administrators of CD services are discussed.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(情報学) / 甲第23315号 / 情博第751号 / 新制||情||128(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院情報学研究科社会情報学専攻 / (主査)教授 緒方 広明, 教授 黒田 知宏, 教授 楠見 孝 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Informatics / Kyoto University / DFAM

Dans le cadre de cette recherche, nous nous proposons de réfléchir sur les matériels à mettre en place en vue d’un enseignement/apprentissage centré sur l’autonomie dans un contexte FOS. Les concepts en vigueur nous semblent peu adaptés à la situation des étudiants de première année universitaire (inscrits en science et technologie).L’objectif majeur de notre réflexion est d’apporter une contribution aux grands principes de l’auto-apprentissage. Nous avons voulu dépasser le stade de la théorie et nous avons réfléchi sur la faisabilité et la pratique de certaines notions qui ont permis le lien entre l’autonomie de l’apprentissage et le FOS : la centration sur l’apprentissage, l’apport des neurosciences et le cognitivisme.Nos conclusions de recherches nous ont permis de :- revoir/reconsidérer certains concepts clés de l’autonomie et de l’auto-apprentissage à la suite de l’expérimentation menée avec nos étudiants- des propositions concrètes pour une application des principes sur lesquels nous nous sommes penché. / For the sake of this research, we intend to reflect upon the materials that we can establish in order to enhance autonomy in language teaching /learning within the context of FOS (Français sur objectifs spécifiques : French specific pruposes). The existing concepts do not seem to coordinate with the first year technology and sciences students’ needs.The main objective of our research is to bring a contribution to the principle of self-directed learning. We aimed to go beyond theory and to reflect upon the feasibility and the practice of the concepts that create the bound between learners autonomy and FOS ; focus on learning, contribution of neurosciences and cognitivism.The research findings have enabled us to:- review/ reconsider some key concepts of autonomy and self-directed learning through the experiment conducted with our students.- present some practical applications of the principles that we have examined.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(情報学) / 甲第24734号 / 情博第822号 / 新制||情||138(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院情報学研究科社会情報学専攻 / (主査)教授 緒方 広明, 教授 伊藤 孝行, 准教授 馬 強 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Informatics / Kyoto University / DFAM

The retention literature concerning online education suggests a dropout crisis among most institutions offering online courses and programs. Despite the fact that online courses and programs are making it easier than ever before for students to have access to college education, students are dropping out of online classes at a much faster pace than the traditional brick and mortar or on-ground classes. It would benefit these institutions to understand why students are not finishing their courses in an effort to improve persistence and therefore retention in online education. Furthermore, to increase program retention in online education, it is important to determine what factors are related to course completion and non-completion so that at-risk students can be identified and offered support services. The characteristic of self-direction is an important concept in understanding student readiness for online education. The purpose of this study was to analyze the difference in self-direction, as measured by the Oddi Continuing Learning Inventory (OCLI), between students who persist and those who don't persist in an undergraduate online asynchronous program. The data were gathered from undergraduate students at a four-year baccalaureate degree-granting college that has both an online campus and on-ground campuses across the United States. Although self-directed learning as measured by the total score on the OCLI was not statistically significant, the foundation was laid in this study for important future research. GPA and how the student connects to the internet from home were statistically significant. Further research is needed to ascertain (1) whether self-direction is in fact related to persistence in online programs and (2) what other variables are related to student persistence. Institutions may be able to implement some mechanisms within the online course with the intention of increasing student persistence and therefore retention in asynchronous online programs. / Ph. D.

Organizational leaders know that training improves worker performance, but training is often initiated without considering employees' work task requirements. This instrumental case study was conducted to understand the perceptions of employees who completed a skills training program and those of supervisors. The conceptual framework was andragogy, emphasizing self-efficacy and self-direction, motivation, and goal setting for adult learners. The guiding questions addressed the perceptions of employees about their self-directed participation in the skills training program and its relationship to work tasks and supervisors' perceptions of employees' participation in that program. Semi-structured interviews with 8 individual employees and a focus group with 5 supervisors were conducted to discover those perceptions. All study participants found the training program to be generally beneficial, but some findings were unexpected. Employees expressed disappointment that anticipated promotion opportunities did not result from completing the program. Supervisors stressed that the high organizational operations tempo prevented employees from performing what they learned in the program. The findings led to the proposal of an instructor development program for the study site with the intent of improving instructor abilities to create more effective training. Through the program, instructors would increase knowledge and skills in instructional and design skills. Through a performance-based mindset that focuses on whether the training participant has improved in trained work tasks, instructors would be enabled to better prepare employees to succeed in work tasks and career goals and provide leaders with the information and products that they require.

Self-directed supports, as a method of service delivery, have grown from small pilot programs in a handful of states to at least one program in every state. For individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), self-direction presents unique opportunities to engage in self-determined behavior and shape the services upon which they rely. Although the evidence base for self-direction is relatively robust, there is a significant lack of information on how implementation of self-direction is faring on the national level. The purpose of this study is to understand how the political and economic factors within and across states have impacted the implementation of a self-directed service delivery system.

Abstract In the present research of engineering studies in the Department of Process and Environmental Engineering in the University of Oulu the graduation processes of eight various groups of students were documented and analyzed. For the validation of the data triangulation method was availed of. The accumulation of study attainments was calculated and, using the measured data, the graduation time models were created. A new method of modeling a non-linear study process by using a Matlab step response model was developed. The model is exact in the essential area of operation and can be used in any educational organization which considers following the process of graduation important. In this research study attainments were examined and explained with the help of self-regulation test analyses. The test used in this research is based on a shortened version of Guglielmino’s Self Directed Learning Readiness test. It measures the student’s capability for autonomous learning. A connection between good success in studies and observed self-directive learning was noticed as early as during the second academic year. The engineering study attainments were also compared to the study success in the upper secondary school. The results show that the students with satisfactory learning results in the upper secondary school did better than expected in their university studies. Instead, the students with better success in the upper secondary school than the group mentioned underachieved in their university studies. The students whose success was better than average during the first academic year were also better during the following years. Examining the study attainments of the eight elementary courses during the three years of studies showed that about 46 per cent of students passed the elementary courses in proper time. One year after the elementary courses had been given, 73 per cent of the students had passed them. / Tiivistelmä Tekniikan ylioppilaiden opiskelututkimuksessa käytettiin tutkimusmenetelmänä triangulaatiota. Työssä analysoitiin kahdeksan eri vuosikurssin opintosuoritusten perusteella Oulun yliopiston Prosessi- ja ympäristötekniikan osaston opiskelijoiden valmistumisprosessia. Opintosuoritusten avulla laskettiin eri vuosikurssien opintoviiveet ja saatujen mittaustietojen avulla tehtiin valmistumisaikamallit. Tutkimuksessa löydettiin uusi tapa mallintaa epälineaarista opiskeluprosessia askelvastemallilla. Menetelmän avulla saatu suoriutumismalli on todellisiin mittaustuloksiin verrattuna luotettava keskeisellä toiminta-alueella kolmesta seitsemään vuotta, kun tavoitteena on, että aloittaneista valmistuu 50 % kuudessa vuodessa. Työssä tutkittiin opintomenestystä itseohjautuvuusvalmiutta selvittävien testistöjen avulla. Tutkimuksessa käytetty testi perustuu Koron (1993) laatimaan versioon. Se on lyhennetty Guglielminon (1977) luomasta testistä Self Directed Learning Readiness, joka mittaa opiskelijan valmiutta itseohjattuun opiskeluun. Tutkimuksessa käytetyssä SDLR-testissä yhteen laskettujen pisteiden vaihteluväli on 37–185. Työssä käytetyn itseohjautuvuusanalyysin avulla testattiin opiskelijoiden valmiutta itsenäiseen ja pitkäjänteiseen opiskeluun opinto-ohjelman mukaisesti. Löydettiin yhteys keskimääräistä paremman opiskelumenestyksen ja keskimääräistä kehittyneemmän itseohjautuvuusvalmiuden välillä. Opiskelua tutkittiin lukiomenestyksen perusteella. Voitiin havaita, että tyydyttävästi lukiossa menestyneet pärjäsivät odotettua paremmin yliopisto-opinnoissaan. Sen sijaan lukiossa hyvin menestyneet alisuoriutuivat odotettua useammin opinnoissaan. Ensimmäisenä opiskeluvuonna keskimääräistä paremmin menestyneet opiskelijat selvisivät jatkossakin paremmin. Tämän havainnon perusteella voidaan väittää, että ensimmäisen vuoden opintomenestyksellä on selvä yhteys tulevien vuosien opintomenestykseen: huono opintomenestys ensimmäisenä vuotena johti sekä vuonna 2005 että 2004 aloittaneiden opiskelijoiden ryhmissä keskimäärin noin 26 % alempaan opintoviikkokertymään kolmen vuoden aikana verrattuna hyvin opiskelussa ensimmäisenä vuonna menestyneisiin ryhmiin. Opintosuorituksia tutkittiin kolmen ensimmäisen opiskeluvuoden aikana olleiden kahdeksan peruskurssin osalta. Havaittiin, että keskimäärin 46 % opiskelijoista suoritti peruskurssit ajallaan. Vuoden kuluttua peruskurssien päättymisestä keskimäärin 73 % opiskelijoista oli suorittanut ne.