ISSN 2736-1578
African Journal of Gender and Women Studies ISSN: 2736-1578, Vol. 7 (1), pp. 001-008, January, 2022. © International Scholars Journals
Review
An examination of the relationship of gender, marital status, and prior educational attainment and learner autonomy
M. G. Derrick1, A. P. Rovai2, M. Ponton2, G. J. Confessore3 and P. B. Carr4
1School of Education, Regent University, 1000 Regent University Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23464.
2School of Education, Regent University, 1000 Regent University Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23464-9800.
3School of Education, The George Washington University, 2136 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20052.
4School for Leadership Studies, Regent University, 1000 Regent University Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23464.
Accepted 21 October, 2021
Abstract
The development of a conceptual model that provides a theoretical framework for understanding the conative factors of desire, resourcefulness, initiative, and persistence in autonomous learning consi-dered the related variables of gender, education level, age, and marital status. The relevance of these demographic variables is based on prior research in the area of self-directed learning that suggested additional consideration in the development of autonomous learning. The Learner Autonomy Profile (LAP), currently used to assess an individual’s level of personal autonomy, continues to accrue data on the identified demographic variables. This purpose of this paper is to present the finding of an analysis of the demographic data with the factors of autonomous learning (LAP scores) and discuss the implications for future research in adult learning theory.
Key words: Autonomous learning, adult learning, self-directed learning.