Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Dr. Donna Heretick

Abstract

There is limited research on grit among nontraditional online adult learners, especially focusing on male and female Black college students who are adult online learners, including those who are older than 40. The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental study was to examine possible between-group differences in motivation to persevere, as defined by grit, among nontraditional-age Black online college students. The theoretical framework for this study was life-span development theory and the grit motivational factor model. A sample of 138 Black male and female online, nontraditional-age college students completed an online survey. Demographic information was collected, and scores from the Short Grit-S Survey operationalized perseverance needed to accomplish long-term goals in the face of challenges and obstacles. A 2 by 2 factorial ANOVA analysis was used to test the research hypotheses. The results of the study indicated that male and younger students scored significantly higher than the comparison groups on the Grit-S Scale, but there was no significant interaction. Though these results are not consistent with observed gender differences in retention among Black college students, they suggest that other factors play more influential roles among online learners. These findings may inform positive social change for colleges and universities regarding needs for individualized support of their Black online students, including those related to motivational differences between male and female students and between traditional- and nontraditional-age cohorts.

Download

Share

 
COinS