Self-Directed Learning in the Workplace

Title of Dissertation: SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING IN THE WORKPLACE Amy Buhl Conn, Doctor ofPhilosophy, 2000 Dissertation directed by: Professor and Dean Irwin L. Goldstein College of Behavioral and Social Sciences C: L Rapid changes in workplace (e.g., technology, organizational structure) increase the complexity of work which, in turn, increases the demand for continual learning. Current training efforts, in which organizations sponsor employee training in some form, are insufficient in meeting this demand for training. As a result, organizations have embraced the principles of self-directed learning (SDL) and encouraged employees to assume some responsibility for their own learning. Yet, the effectiveness of SDL in the workplace has received little empirical attention. Previous research has demonstrated that individuals high in SDL readiness (i.e., individuals who prefer guiding and directing their own learning as opposed to a teacher-centered format) received higher overall performance ratings. However, researchers have not examined the effect of actual SDL experience on either overall performance or performance in the specific area related to those SDL expenences. While it has been maintained that SDL is an effective form of workplace training to improve job performance, this assumption has not been tested. The goal of the present research was to test this assertion by evaluating a SDL program (i.e., an on-line listening skills course) currently in place. Measures of individuals' SDL readiness, work locus of control, cognitive ability, SDL activities, learning acquisition, and job performance were examined before and after engaging in the SDL program. A control group was secured for comparison, thereby providing a better test of the propositions. Results supported many of the proposed relationships. In particular, SDL readiness and work locus of control predicted membership in the target SDL course and the extent to which participants engaged in the course. Participation in the listening skills course and the extent to which they engaged in the course predicted greater learnings, which in tum predicted improved listening skills performance three months after the completion of the course. Implications of the results as it relates to past research, limitations of the study, and directions for future research are discussed. SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING IN THE WORKPLACE

[1]  J. Greenhaus,et al.  Relationship between Locus of Control and Reactions of Employees to Work Characteristics , 1976, Psychological reports.

[2]  A. Felstead,et al.  Training and development , 1995 .

[3]  D. Hall,et al.  Careers as lifelong learning. , 1995 .

[4]  Robert P. Vecchio,et al.  Influences on the quality of supervisor–subordinate relations: The role of time‐pressure, organizational commitment, and locus of control , 1994 .

[5]  Jane M. Howell,et al.  Transformational leadership, transactional leadership, locus of control, and support for innovation: key predictors of consolidated-business-unit performance , 1993 .

[6]  W. Bennis,et al.  The Social Psychology of Organizations , 1966 .

[7]  P. Nystrom.  Managers' Salaries and their Beliefs about Reinforcement Control , 1983 .

[8]  J. Campbell.  Invited reaction: The compleat self-learner , 1991 .

[9]  L. Adrianne Bonham,et al.  Guglielmino's Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale: What Does It Measure? , 1991 .

[10]  John E. Hunter,et al.  Validity generalization results for two job groups in the petroleum industry. , 1981 .

[11]  Wayne F. Cascio,et al.  Whither industrial and organizational psychology in a changing world of work , 1995 .

[12]  Joseph J. Martocchio,et al.  Relationship between conscientiousness and learning in employee training: mediating influences of self-deception and self-efficacy. , 1997, The Journal of applied psychology.

[13]  Donald W. Mocker,et al.  The Organizing Circumstance: Environmental Determinants in Self-Directed Learning , 1984 .

[14]  The Relationship Between Self-Directed Learning Readiness and Life Satisfaction Among Older Adults , 1985 .

[15]  Stephen Brookfield,et al.  Self-Directed Adult Learning: A Critical Paradigm , 1984 .

[16]  Stephen Brookfield,et al.  Self‐directed learning: A critical review of research , 1985 .

[17]  Laurie A. Broedling,et al.  Relationship of internal-external control to work motivation and performance in an expectancy model. , 1975 .

[18]  R. Brockett.  Self-Directed Learning and the Hard-to-Reach Adult. , 1983 .

[19]  C. Dodrill.  An economical method for the evaluation of general intelligence in adults. , 1981, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[20]  L. Oddi,et al.  Perspectives On Self-Directed Learning , 1987 .

[21]  R. Hiemstra.  THE OLDER ADULT'S LEARNING PROJECTS , 1976 .

[22]  M. E. Schumacher.  Continuing education for nurses. , 1973, The Australian nurses' journal. Royal Australian Nursing Federation.

[23]  Awatif Mohamed Hassan.  An investigation of the learning projects among adults of high and low readiness for self-direction in learning , 1981 .

[24]  Timothy G. Hatcher,et al.  The Ins and Outs of Self-Directed Learning. , 1997 .

[25]  P. Penland.  Self-Initiated Learning , 1979 .

[26]  Rosemary S. Caffarella,et al.  Self-Directed Adult Learning: A Critical Paradigm Revisited , 1987 .

[27]  T. Macan,et al.  Spector's Work Locus of Control Scale:Dimensionality and Validity Evidence , 1996 .

[28]  C. I. Hovland,et al.  The Personnel Test: a restandardized abridgment of the Otis S-A test for business and industrial use. , 1939 .

[29]  Maurice Gibbons,et al.  Toward a Theory of Self-Directed Learning: a Study of Experts Without Formal Training , 1980 .

[30]  Patrick R. Penland.  Self-Planned Learning in America. Final Report. , 1977 .

[31]  J. Hunter,et al.  Validity and Utility of Alternative Predictors of Job Performance , 1984 .

[32]  G. Blau.  Testing the relationship of locus of control to different performance dimensions , 1993 .

[33]  Malcolm James Ree,et al.  Predicting job performance: Not much more than g.. , 1994 .

[34]  Lawrence Field.  An Investigation Into the Structure, Validity, and Reliability of Guglielmino's Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale , 1989 .

[35]  A. Tough.  Major Learning Efforts: Recent Research and Future Directions , 1978 .

[36]  Paul E. Spector.  Behavior in organizations as a function of employee's locus of control. , 1982 .

[37]  Marcelline R. Fusilier,et al.  Control in the workplace. , 1989 .

[38]  A. Tough.  The adult's learning projects : a fresh approach to theory and practice in adult learning , 1979 .

[39]  J. Rotter.  Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. , 1966, Psychological monographs.

[40]  L. Guglielmino.  Development of the self-directed learning readiness scale , 1977 .

[41]  Richard K. Wagner,et al.  Intelligence, training, and employment. , 1997 .

[42]  J. P. Craiger.  Technology, Organizations, and Work in the 20th Century , 1997 .

[43]  L. Guglielmino,et al.  Self-directed learning readiness and performance in the workplace , 1987 .

[44]  Nathan Brody,et al.  Intelligence, schooling, and society. , 1997 .

[45]  R. Pritchard,et al.  Relationships between personality variables and components of the expectancy--valence model. , 1976, The Journal of applied psychology.

[46]  R. Brockett.  Methodological and Substantive Issues in the Measurement of Self-Directed Learning Readiness , 1985 .

[47]  Zahra Sabbaghian,et al.  Adult self-directedness and self-concept: an exploration of relationship , 1979 .

[48]  Robert J. Sternberg,et al.  Intelligence and Lifelong Learning: What's New and How Can We Use It?. , 1997 .

[49]  J. McNally.  Self-Directed Learning, A Guide for Learners and Teachers , 1976 .

[50]  Irwin L. Goldstein,et al.  Training in organizations: Needs assessment, development, and evaluation , 1986 .

[51]  S. Brookfield.  Independent Adult Learning , 1981 .

[52]  E. Salas,et al.  Application of cognitive, skill-based, and affective theories of learning outcomes to new methods of training evaluation. , 1993 .

[53]  D. DeJoy,et al.  Self-Directed Learning: The Time Is Now. , 1987 .

[54]  Sue A. Dahmus,et al.  Assessing the Appropriateness of Self‐managed Learning , 1992 .

[55]  D. Katz,et al.  The motivational basis of organizational behavior. , 1964, Behavioral science.

[56]  C. O. Houle,et al.  The inquiring mind : a study of the adult who continues to learn , 1963 .

[57]  Ray Anthony Shackelford.  Self-directed learning projects among black adults in Havana, Florida , 1983 .

[58]  Peter Cappelli,et al.  Change at Work , 1997 .

[59]  Allen Tough,et al.  The adult's learning projects , 1979 .

[60]  H. Long.  Reactions To Field's Investigation Into The Sdlrs , 1989 .

[61]  S. Faraone,et al.  WAIS—R validation of the Wonderlic Personnel Test as a brief intelligence measure in a psychiatric sample. , 1990 .

[62]  Brian L. Delahaye,et al.  The Validity of the Learning Preference Assessment , 1995 .