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…

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…

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…

This qualitative study was designed to add to educators' understanding of veteran student success and offer ways to reframe how they measure veteran student success. Currently, university leaders tend to measure veteran student success using traditional metrics such as retention and graduation rates. This study involved examining whether there are…

Second language learning success relies on instructional methodologies that foster guidance, engagement, motivation, creativity, and active learning in an inclusive environment. As language educators, it is important to establish instructional modes to entice positive behavior and stimulate the senses. The problem to be addressed by the study is…

This dissertation examines the Saudi undergraduate educational environment, exploring relationships among teacher support, basic psychological needs satisfaction and frustration, academic motivation, and GPA. The study investigates whether basic psychological needs mediate the relationship between teacher support and academic motivation, utilizing…

Within the field of music education, previous literature has examined numerous features of relationships between students and teachers, but survey instruments measuring these relationships from the student perspective are lacking. Accordingly, two studies were conducted to develop and evaluate a new survey instrument measuring students'…

The current study examined hindering factors of 2-year community college students' vertical transfer to 4-year colleges. Rational choice theory guided the study and provided the scope of the problem, which is community college students' apprehension about vertically transferring to 4-year colleges. A quantitative Likert-scale survey, which…

Despite evidence that self-regulated learning ability is a strong predictor of academic achievement, effective learning and study strategies remain largely underutilized by students in higher education. In a time of extreme nursing shortage when prelicensure programs are operating at capacity, implications for course failure reach far beyond the…

Learning an L2 is often said to transform an individual into a new (and improved) version of the self. This mixed-method study investigated (1) whether, and if so, in what way such a transformation occurs within the L2 learner self; and (2) whether current theories of self and motivation in the fields of SLA and psychology adequately address L2…

The purpose of this study was to design, develop, and test the effects of digital game-based learning on undergraduate students' learning motivation, mathematics achievement, and learning retention in a college algebra course. Digital games utilize interactive digital media that offer rules-based challenges and react to the individual's choices.…

This study investigated how undergraduate college students with different STEM career orientations differ in their motivation toward science education. The purpose of this study was to surface differences in the quality of motivations between groups of students with different orientations toward STEM careers to support them in science education…

The problem addressed by this proposed study is that nontraditional African-American female college students in the United States experience more underlying issues with balancing the demands of work, school, and life than their non-minority peers. The proposed quantitative, correlational study investigated if and to what extent a relationship…

The study topic of this dissertation manuscript is the effect a professor's leadership style has on the motivation of a student to attend class and learn new course material. The purpose of this study is to understand how college students are motivated by their professor's type of leadership style, and compare the relationship of each leadership…

Second language learner motivation research has witnessed a transition from a historically static approach to a more dynamic approach, yielding extensive research during the past decade. Dornyei (2005, 2009) proposed a vigorous motivation framework, the Second Language Motivational Self System (L2MSS) that highlights the dynamic nature of learner…