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Can distance education courses increase academic motivation?
PROCEEDINGS

, University of Montreal, Canada ; , University of Patras, Greece ; , University of Montreal, Canada

E-Learn: World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA ISBN 978-1-880094-66-2 Publisher: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE), San Diego, CA

Abstract

The goal of this research was to better understand the impact of the implementation of a compulsory Web-based course on preservice teacher motivation. Subjects were enrolled in a four-year teacher education program (n = 429) in the province of Quebec, Canada. Our starting hypothesis was that the Web-based distance education course—designed to promote feelings of self-determination, affiliation, and competence—would positively impact the motivation of preservice teachers registered. The results presented are drawn from both quantitative measures and qualitative measures. Based on Deci and Ryan’s (1985, 2000) self-determination theory, results show that a technologically rich learning environment such as a distance education course can, eventually enhance preservice teachers’ motivation after a few weeks. Results also highlight that such a context promoting self-determination represents somewhat of a learning dissonance for participants – i.e. they are not used, in higher education, to such autonomy – which may result, at the beginning, in a decrease in their motivation.

Citation

Karsenti, T., Komis, V. & Villeneuve, S. (2008). Can distance education courses increase academic motivation?. In C. Bonk, M. Lee & T. Reynolds (Eds.), Proceedings of E-Learn 2008--World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education (pp. 2797-2803). Las Vegas, Nevada, USA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved March 28, 2024 from .

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