Massive open online courses (MOOCs) require individual learners to be able to self-regulate their learning, determining when and how they engage. However, MOOCs attract a diverse range of learners, ...each with different motivations and prior experience. This study investigates the self-regulated learning (SRL) learners apply in a MOOC, in particular focusing on how learners' motivations for taking a MOOC influence their behaviour and employment of SRL strategies. Following a quantitative investigation of the learning behaviours of 788 MOOC participants, follow-up interviews were conducted with 32 learners. The study compares the narrative descriptions of behaviour between learners with self-reported high and low SRL scores. Substantial differences were detected between the self-described learning behaviours of these two groups in five of the sub-processes examined. Learners' motivations and goals were found to shape how they conceptualised the purpose of the MOOC, which in turn affected their perception of the learning process.
•We provide empirical investigation of learner motivations and learning strategies in MOOCs.•Substantial differences in learning behaviours were detected between participants with high and low SRL scores.•Learners’ motivations and goals shape their conceptualisation of a MOOC and the learning strategies they employ.•Learning in MOOCs cannot be fully understood by learning analytics alone and requires investigation of individual learners.
Learning to code and to develop a range of digital skills has been purported to help nations remain economically competitive. Development of these skills has been touted as a way to prepare workers ...for tech jobs and increase their social mobility. However, this focus is quite narrow and does not recognize the benefits of learning to code beyond the economic benefits. In this paper, we present results from a qualitative study of ‘go_girl: code + create’, a multidisciplinary computing program that places the needs of marginalized young women, aged 16–21, who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) at its centre. This study, based on in-depth, semi-structured open-ended interviews of nine participants at the beginning, mid-point and end of the program, examines changes in the self-concepts of these participants. This study demonstrates the role technology can play in facilitating changes in self-concepts and contributes to studies that examine the identity/self-concept of young underrepresented women participating in computing initiatives. Qualitative content analysis was applied to the interview data which revealed enhanced self-concepts in relation to education, career aspirations and technology use over the duration of the program. Participants' aspirations were either broadened or clarified and they began to view themselves as makers and not merely consumers of technology.
•Coding and creating served as a conduit for strengthening academic self-concept•Technological, social and psychological empowerment facilitated social inclusion•Learning to code and create increased confidence and the capacity to aspire•Seeing the self as a creator (and not just a consumer) of tech was a salient outcome
Amidst a rapidly changing educational landscape that is increasingly becoming corporatised, technology companies and wealthy techno-venture-philanthropists have demonstrated significant interest in ...education reform. According to the 2012 American Revolution 2.0 report, the US K-12 education market is valued at over $2.2 trillion. The emphasis placed on 21st century skills and the continued fiscal starvation of public education has enabled technology companies to entrench themselves in education. Technical catalysts for education reform including affordable hardware such as Chromebooks and cloud computing with Google's G-Suite have been the primary methods for technological integration in public schools. What is distinct about the contemporary reform movement is that it is being led and shaped by Silicon Valley values and interests. I refer to this contemporary movement as technocratic corporate reform. Encapsulating the trends and characteristics of the technocratic corporate reform is IBM's Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) model. The model, first implemented in 2011, is a STEM-focused six-year high school model built around a public-private partnership between industry, school districts, and community colleges. Notably, it was designed to serve marginalised students by providing the opportunity to earn an associate's degree at no cost. P-TECH serves as the focus of this study. This research entails a mixed-methods embedded case study research design examining three P-TECH model schools across the country. It includes 60 in-depth interviews with private partners, educators, and students across each school, participant observations, and a multi-level social network analysis of the P-TECH network. It employs a unique theoretical framework that combines the political economy of communication and cultural studies perspectives. By adopting both perspectives this research is able to capture what is happening in education at the macro and micro scales. Utilising theories of digital capitalism and Pierre Bourdieu's theory of social reproduction this study provides an analysis of the underlying values, interests, and aims of P-TECH and its implications for the K-12 system. The micro level analysis unveils the ways in which P-TECH is influencing students' identities and aspirations. It outlines the unintended consequences of this and the subsequent risk of reproducing the very inequalities the model was created to ameliorate. This thesis ultimately maps how the US K-12 education system is being reimagined and restructured according to the agenda of technology elites.
There has been considerable zeal regarding the democratizing promises of information and communication technologies (ICTs). This belief has resulted in the proliferation of ICT development ...initiatives in education through public private partnerships. However, there are critical scholars who caution against an overly celebratory perspective of ICTs and expose the ways in which they may be contributing to the exacerbation of existing inequalities. This thesis was inspired by Dan Schiller’s book, Digital Capitalism (1999) with the purpose of examining how digital capitalism is evident today.
'Digital capitalism' refers to the relationship between politics, economics, and technology that explains the shift in the use of the Internet from aiding government agencies to serving private commercial interests. Through a political economy of communication approach, this thesis examines a new model of public schools in which IT companies are partnering with various cities and districts to equip students with the 21st century skills needed to participate in the labor market. These partnerships are designed to benefit marginalized youth that do not have access to ICTs so the study looks at one of these schools encompassing this new innovative model in order to examine the benefits and limitations of these partnerships
The purpose of this thesis is to examine the way digital capitalism is playing out in education today in order to shed light on the political and economic forces driving these initiatives while examining who the decision makers are as well as who benefits and why. It has a dual objective of contributing to current digital inequality scholarship and informing policy-making. This thesis ultimately argues that there is a need for more targeted and individualized policies that serve each district’s unique needs, which works to fulfill the policy objective. It challenges the notion that technology is a neutral artifact that is separate from broader political, social, and economic processes.
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