The study explores the influence of motivation on college students' achievement, emphasizing the differential roles of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. 147 college students, aged eighteen to forty-two, completed a survey consisting of the Academic Motivation Scale and the Academic Success Inventory for College Students and provided their grade…

Goal setting and grade loss aversion have individually been found to be effective motivators for student performance. We combine these two strategies to investigate, in a university setting, the effectiveness of grade endowment within a goal-setting framework. Our participants set grade goals which some must earn the traditional way, thus framed…

Objective: This study examines whether there are differences among first-generation and continuing-generation community college students in the importance they place on achieving college-related goals and difficulties they face from college- and other life-related challenges. Methods: Data were drawn from the "Community College Libraries and…

Academic cheating is a problem that affects many educational institutions and has become increasingly significant with the new challenges of online education. Recent studies have found that learning goals are correlated with cheating behavior among students. In this study, we investigated whether learning goals are still a predictor of cheating…

Attending college is a significant human capital investment but only about 60% of those who start college will have a completed degree six years later. This makes identifying the skills associated with college success an important policy concern. We surveyed over 1,100 entering college freshmen, majoring in business and engineering at a public…

Academic misconduct (AM) runs rampant across higher education institutions in the US and internationally. Ample empirical research has identified myriad student variables that predict AM. However, two variables have been unexamined: the quality of conceptual knowledge university students have on AM and the relation between goals for going to…

This research aimed to reveal the decisions of master's students about whether to pursue their doctoral degree or not and the factors affecting these decisions. The participants of this research, in which the basic qualitative research design was used, consisted of 28 students (19 female and 9 male) in different parts of the educational sciences…

This mixed methods study investigated the change types and the underlying mechanisms of Chinese undergraduates' deep learning approach at a research-oriented university in eastern China. In Study 1, the deep learning approach of 273 freshmen was assessed using R-SPQ-2F at the beginning and end of a semester. The changes were categorized into three…

Background/Context: Sociologists of education have studied how community colleges' institutional authorities and organizational barriers stratify students' postsecondary aspirations. Notions of how students might diverge in their pursuits are less understood. This study builds on imagined futures and postsecondary aspiration literature to…

This study uses the Education Longitudinal Survey of 2002 (ELS:2002) to examine how varying levels of intention (planning) and action (choice) in pursuing a science-based major affect American college students' degree attainment in Science and Engineering (S&E) fields by age 26. The study is guided by the Social Cognitive Career Theory's…

This intrinsic case study investigated the experiences of select low-income and first-generation students who participated in the Upward Bound program throughout high school to understand how participation influenced enrollment at a postsecondary institution. Two theoretical frameworks guided this research study: Astin's (1984) I-E-O model and…

An insufficiency of research exists concerning active-duty enlisted soldiers pursuing education beyond a high school diploma. Although Army leaders and the American people support higher education, only 15.9% of active-duty enlisted soldiers have an education past a high school diploma. The purpose of this study was to explore the interpretations…

Understanding students' post-graduation goals is important because it aids faculty and administrators in course and program design, mentoring, and generally serving students. Using a sample of almost 513,000 undergraduates from more than 600 colleges and universities, we examine goals and plans of international business majors. Students were…

Student-athletes' persistence to graduate has been a consistent topic of debate. The lack of information from the student-athletes' perspective about what impacts their persistence has created a gap where institutions, coaches, and sporting agencies lack the proper support system to ensure their success. This qualitative phenomenological study…

Data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 were used to describe and compare postsecondary education enrollment patterns of first- and continuing-generation students. Social cognitive career theory was used to explain the processes of educational and career pursuit and attainment, as well as personal, behavioral, and…