Motivation is a complicated concept and difficult to measure and study; nevertheless, it is a substantial factor in students' performance that demands extra attention. Instructors across all grade levels and disciplines struggle to cultivate classroom environments that focus on student interactions and promote interest where high-quality work is…

The present study sought to explore the lesser-known dark side of flow in academics. Although flow is typically viewed as a positive experience, its outcomes are not always beneficial. In order to carry out this endeavor, a sequential explanatory design was utilized to assess the potential negative consequences associated with flow in the domain…

Military experience alone is no longer enough to replace a college degree for many civilian jobs, leaving nearly 15% of transitioning veterans at a disadvantage without higher education credentials. This study explored how active-duty Marines decide whether to pursue postsecondary education and assessed the role of the voluntary education (VolED)…

Instructors of post-secondary level courses sought novel ways of conveying content to a diversifying set of students. Likewise, the growth of computing and information technologies opened more avenues for instruction. Constructivist theories of education gained support in instructional efficacy. Instructors needed to balance the need of covering…

The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological qualitative study was to obtain an understanding of the lived experiences of instructors in higher education who had implemented ungrading. Ungrading is defined as shifting focus from points/letter grades to detailed feedback on student progress, creating space for failure, revision, and…

Learning takes motivation; therefore, educators need to pay attention to what motivates the student to improve one's learning. It was not known how community college psychology students describe the use of gamification as a motivator for improved learning. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how psychology students at…

There is not a strong academic foundation in the literature on relationships between knowledge-seeking behavior, and grit, and ambition, in high school seniors and college students. This quantitative correlational study utilized ex post facto data to explore the relationship between two independent variables, grit and ambition, and a dependent…

Students who were adopted are a unique and underserved identity group on college campuses who experience challenges, have complex needs, and can benefit from targeted support. Their lived experiences and developmental paths differ from their nonadopted peers and need to be understood to support them. Student affairs staff at most institutions are…

Occupations in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) are growing faster than all other fields in the United States. While this is exciting, there is concern that many of these positions will go unfilled, as students in STEM are leaving their educational pursuits at an alarming rate. The following two studies provide an in-depth…

Problem: Online learning is a form of distance education that occurs via the Internet (Adams, 2004; Carliner, 1999). The success of online learning depends on student-related factors such as acceptance, willingness, and motivation (Almaiah et al., 2019; Almaiah et al., 2020). When online learning systems are not utilized, students cannot realize…

This study looked at the link between academic motivation, student-instructor relationships, and student engagement on a Historically Black College and University campus. This study used quantitative research methods to identify a relationship between students' academic motivation, campus engagement, classroom engagement, and student-instructor…

As student enrollment in colleges across the United States continues to diversify, teaching and learning practices must keep pace with demographic shifts. The growing majority of today's college student body, dubbed post-traditional learners, is older, racially and ethnically diverse, more experienced in work and life, and stretched by competing…

Research into second language acquisition (SLA) has shown that individual difference (ID) variables can be strong predictors of language achievement (e.g., Dornyei, 2003; Skehan, 2003). Traditionally, this research conceptualized ID variables as static and monolithic variables (e.g., Dornyei, 2010). More recently scholars have questioned this…

The objective of this dissertation was to explore the impact of gender, maternal parenting style, and social class on the level of motivation in first-year college students. Existing research has shown that, individually, these three variables can influence motivation in students. However, we do not know how a mothers' parenting style paired with…

The current study delved into the problematic achievement gap between African-American graduates students and other groups, specifically in the online learning environment. African-American graduate students' lower achievement is problematic due to its lost opportunity costs and social subjugation of an entire group of Americans. The study's…