Published
November 14, 2009
Keywords
- Distance Education,
- Motivation,
- High School
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Abstract
Motivation in distance education (DE) has been studied mostly at the postsecondary level with few studies having been conducted at the high-school level. This paper breaks with this tradition by reporting on the perspectives on motivation of 42 Canadian high-school DE teachers. Data collection involved one-hour long, semi-structured telephone interviews across the eastern, central, and western areas of the country. Data analysis of transcribed interviews resulted in the identification of 16 sub-categories which were further grouped under three main categories as follows: 1. Communication, Interaction, and Social Presence; 2. Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivators; and 3. Learner-Centered Designs. Findings are presented according to the 16 sub-categories and discussed in relation to the three categories and in relation to the theoretical and empirical literature.
La motivation dans l’éducation à distance (ÉD) a surtout été étudiée au niveau postsecondaire alors que peu d’études ont été menées au niveau secondaire. Cette étude rompt avec cette tradition en relatant les perspectives en lien avec la motivation de 42 enseignants d’ÉD canadiens de niveau secondaire. Les données colligées impliquaient des sondages téléphoniques semi-structurés d’une durée d’une heure, menés dans l’est, le centre et l’ouest du pays. L’analyse des données des transcriptions d’entrevues ont eu pour résultat l’indentification de 16 sous-catégories qui ont été groupées sous trois catégories principales, à savoir : 1. Communication, interaction et présence sociale; 2. Motivateurs intrinsèques et extrinsèques; et 3. Concepts centrés sur l’étudiant. Les conclusions sont présentées selon les 16 sous-catégories et sont discutées en lien avec les trois catégories et en lien avec la littérature théorique et empirique.
