Engagement, Self-Efficacy, Persistence, and Academic Entitlement

Introduction

Nontraditional learners are the fastest-growing population of college students (NCES, 2011a). In spite of this, there is still much to be examined about this vulnerable group of learners. Nontraditional learners, as defined by Horn and Carroll (1996), are more than twice as likely to leave or drop out during their first year of study when compared to traditional learners (Miller, 2014; NCES, 2011b). Despite this being somewhat common knowledge in institutions of higher education, there is little research that has examined persistence in the classroom in these students (Ellis, 2019).

Learners are characterized as nontraditional if they have one of the following characteristics: aged 25 years or older; delayed college enrollment; has dependents; is a single parent; enrolled part-time in classes; full-time employee; caring for dependents; or did not complete high school (Choy, 2002; Horn and Carroll, 1996). Horn and Carroll (1996) further classified these students as traditional if they had zero of these traits, minimally nontraditional if they were characterized by one of these traits, moderately nontraditional if they were characterized by two to three of these traits and highly nontraditional when characterized by four or more of these traits.

Nontraditional learners bring an array of life experiences to the classroom, which allows them to engage actively in the course material (Knowles, 1984). However, their responsibilities and roles outside of the classroom also impede their success through time constraints and increased levels of stress, often due to nontraditional learners identifying primarily as parents and employees rather than as students (Bye et al., 2007; Forbus et al., 2011; Kasworm, 2010). Due to these outside pressures, plus less time on campus due to part-time enrollment, a long break from the classroom resulting in academic anxiety, and increased age and maturity, nontraditional learners typically interact less with their peers than do traditional learners (Rabourn et al., 2018).

Engagement, which can be measured by how much learners interact with the academic environment and their instructor and peers, is crucial to student success (Wyatt, 2011). Although increasing academic and social engagement, especially in the first year of enrollment, has long been seen as the answer to increasing persistence, the social integration model was based on traditional students at residential campuses, and may not be generalizable to nontraditional learners (Gilardi & Guglielmetti, 2011; Ishitani, 2016). Strategies for increasing persistence in nontraditional learners, especially those at non-residential campuses, should focus on community engagement over classroom and campus engagement (Gilardi & Guglielmetti, 2011).

Increasing self-efficacy has long been seen as an answer to increasing persistence in college students (Lent et al., 1984). Self-efficacy is an individual’s belief that they are in control of their motivation, behavior, and social environment (Bandura, 1977, 1986, 1997). High levels of self-efficacy predict academic achievement, and self-efficacy in nontraditional learners can improve persistence, motivation to learn, and educational success in nontraditional learners (Johnson et al., 2016; Quiggins et al., 2016; Quimby & O’Brien, 2011). Strategies that focus on increasing self-efficacy through interactive, collaborative, and positive learning environments can help increase persistence beyond nontraditional learners’ first year of higher education (Stephen et al., 2020).