ABSTRACT
Managing learning continuity is critical for successful MOOC learning. Thus, enabling learners to have learning persistence needs to be integrated into the MOOC learning design. Motivation effort is a critical component enabling students to maintain continuous MOOC learning. The expectancy-value theory explains why learners engage in learning: (1) they have a higher perceived ability for learning success, (2) place value on learning, and (3) avoid psychological costs. However, it is unclear how these factors affect MOOC learning persistence and how learners' motivation is formed from this perspective. This experimental study explored how learners' motivational variables affect their learning persistence, focusing on the expectancy-value theory. The results of this study indicated that academic self-efficacy and task value had significant positive effects on learning persistence. The structural relationship of antecedent, process, and outcome variables showed that teaching presence as an antecedent had a significantly positive effect on academic self-efficacy and task value. Among the three factors of the expectancy-value theory, only the task value influenced learning persistence through student engagement as a mediator. Based on the results, suggestions are provided for motivating MOOC environments that support learners' continuous MOOC learning.
ABSTRACT
Work engagement is considered the core factor that affects various outcomes at the organizational and individual levels including absenteeism, turnover rate, profitability, and productivity. Therefore, the concept is drawing substantial attention in the practical and academic fields. There have been several attempts to measure work engagement to enable its effective management. The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-17 is a representative tool for measuring work engagement, which is used in several organizations worldwide. However, despite its popularity, the validity of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-17 is often questioned. Especially in Korea, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-17 is one of the most commonly utilized tools to measure work engagement, but there is limited psychometric evidence on its validity. Thus, the present study aimed to test the validity of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-17 in a Korean sample, using the Rasch measurement model to examine validity pertaining to different dimensions. The analysis of item fitness to test the content validity of the tool indicated that two of the items require reconsideration. Furthermore, the person-item map to test its substantive validity indicated that the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-17 did not reflect the level of work engagement adequately in the Korean sample. The Rasch factor analysis conducted to test the structural validity of the tool indicated that the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-17 comprises three subscales. Finally, the differential item function between male and female participants was examined to gather evidence on the generalizability aspect of the tool's validity. Findings revealed that only 9 out of the 17 items expressed adequate differentiation between males and females.