What to Expect When Youre Expecting: Gaps in Utility Perceptions of the Online Adult Learner

The adult learner can be defined as someone who, while enrolled in an academic institution, is involved in other major life responsibilities such as work or family obligations. Recently, there has been an increase in the number working adults pursuing a college education. However, empirical research...

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Main Author:	Lowery, Byron Shane
Other Authors:	Cherry, Katie
Format:	Others
Language:	en
Published:	LSU 2014
Subjects:	Psychology
Online Access:	http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-04082014-222817/

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spelling	ndltd-LSU-oai-etd.lsu.edu-etd-04082014-2228172014-04-18T03:48:32Z What to Expect When Youre Expecting: Gaps in Utility Perceptions of the Online Adult Learner Lowery, Byron Shane Psychology The adult learner can be defined as someone who, while enrolled in an academic institution, is involved in other major life responsibilities such as work or family obligations. Recently, there has been an increase in the number working adults pursuing a college education. However, empirical research regarding the job-related utility of obtaining this education is limited. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly important to examine not only the expectations regarding how a degree may be useful for career advancement, but the work and life outcomes associated with obtaining the degree as well. This study examined job-related utility perceptions for obtaining an online college degree. Furthermore, it examined the overlap between Expected Utility and Actual Utility, and the extent to which congruence between the two may influence ones psychological contract at work and have consequences for other related job outcomes. Overall, the results showed Actual Utility was positively related to Psychological Contract Breach, Job Performance, and Job Commitment, suggesting the perceived usefulness of a degree may determine how adult learners are impacted within the organization, regardless of prior expectations of obtaining the degree. Cherry, Katie Rizzuto, Tracey Hicks, Jason LSU 2014-04-17 text application/pdf http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-04082014-222817/ http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-04082014-222817/ en unrestricted I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached herein a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to LSU or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below and in appropriate University policies, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report.
collection	NDLTD
language	en
format	Others
sources	NDLTD
topic	Psychology
spellingShingle	Psychology Lowery, Byron Shane What to Expect When Youre Expecting: Gaps in Utility Perceptions of the Online Adult Learner
description	The adult learner can be defined as someone who, while enrolled in an academic institution, is involved in other major life responsibilities such as work or family obligations. Recently, there has been an increase in the number working adults pursuing a college education. However, empirical research regarding the job-related utility of obtaining this education is limited. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly important to examine not only the expectations regarding how a degree may be useful for career advancement, but the work and life outcomes associated with obtaining the degree as well. This study examined job-related utility perceptions for obtaining an online college degree. Furthermore, it examined the overlap between Expected Utility and Actual Utility, and the extent to which congruence between the two may influence ones psychological contract at work and have consequences for other related job outcomes. Overall, the results showed Actual Utility was positively related to Psychological Contract Breach, Job Performance, and Job Commitment, suggesting the perceived usefulness of a degree may determine how adult learners are impacted within the organization, regardless of prior expectations of obtaining the degree.
author2	Cherry, Katie
author_facet	Cherry, Katie Lowery, Byron Shane
author	Lowery, Byron Shane
author_sort	Lowery, Byron Shane
title	What to Expect When Youre Expecting: Gaps in Utility Perceptions of the Online Adult Learner
title_short	What to Expect When Youre Expecting: Gaps in Utility Perceptions of the Online Adult Learner
title_full	What to Expect When Youre Expecting: Gaps in Utility Perceptions of the Online Adult Learner
title_fullStr	What to Expect When Youre Expecting: Gaps in Utility Perceptions of the Online Adult Learner
title_full_unstemmed	What to Expect When Youre Expecting: Gaps in Utility Perceptions of the Online Adult Learner
title_sort	what to expect when youre expecting: gaps in utility perceptions of the online adult learner
publisher	LSU
publishDate	2014
url	http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-04082014-222817/
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What to Expect When Youre Expecting: Gaps in Utility Perceptions of the Online Adult Learner

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