Study on Motivation Strategies for Elder Adults Continuing Learning in Senior Citizens Learning Camp
Graduate Institute of Technological and Vocational Education, National Taipei University of Technology. Taipei city, Taiwan.
Department of Digital Media Design, Hwa Hsia University of Technology. New Taipei city, Taiwan.
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to ascertain the motivations of elder adults who continuing participated in a Senior Citizens Learning Camp in New Taipei City of Taiwan as a reference for senior citizens. A modified MSLQ was applied for study the learning motivation of elder adults. Total of 67 copies were collected. The majority of members were female, well-educated. In particular, participants of the study had very high levels of education. Almost 75% of respondents possessed undergraduate or advanced degrees. Many of the participants were retired over 15 years. They enjoy educational and cultural benefits offered by the camps. The main reason for elder learners to continue learning is to full fill the need of and surmount oneself. They believe that keep learning will help people to maintain their mind in health, and full fill their self-satisfaction; plus, various courses attract people’s interest to learning. A further analysis, compare with the perception to the life and involving in the working field, students’ feedback is more positive towards inner motivation, external expectation, and giving back to the community. Over all, findings from this study indicated the motivation among participants who enrolled in senior citizen learning camp are diverse. The motivation for those who attended the learning camps over 6 years is regarding affective components; while for those who attended the learning camps 4-5 years is more about value components motivation; in addition, those who attended the learning camp 2-3 years are more motived by expectancy components. In conclusion, reflection and giving back to the community are the main key to the learning motivation, which gives the senior learners a clear picture to the relationship between learning and the quality of life more.
KEYWORDS
MSLQ, elder adults, elder learners, learning motivation