Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Understanding why military students pursue a master’s degree has become more important as the number of military students taking advantage of education benefits through the Post-911 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 has increased. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how U.S. Army officers attending the Command and General Staff College (CGSC) decided to enroll in a master’s degree program. Four research questions guided the study to determine whether and how career requirements, post-military aspirations, family considerations, and previous academic experience influenced the choice to pursue a master’s degree. A conceptual framework comprised career development, career decision making, and adult development that provided additional guidance. The study used a case study methodology, and 26 military students participated. Data collection comprised interview and surveys, and data analysis comprised coding with peer review and member checking. The findings affirmed the research questions and identified themes related to self-efficacy, goal setting, persistence, and time management, leading to implications.

Keywords

U.S. Army Command and General Staff College U.S. Army officers master’s degree decision making adult development

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bandura

(2001). Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 153-159.

Brown

(2007). Career information, career counseling and career development (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Brown

S. D.

Lent

R. W.

(2005). Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.

Creswell

J. W.

(2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Cross

P. K.

(1981). Adults as learners: Increasing participation and facilitating learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Dean of Academics and Command and General Staff School. (2008). U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC) Intermediate Level Education (ILE) self study. Fort Leavenworth, KS: U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.

Defense Manpower Data Center. (2012). Active duty personnel master and RCCPDS files [Data file]. Retrieved from https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/appj/dwp/index.jsp

Dempsey

M. E.

(2011). Building critical thinkers. Armed Forces Journal, 148, 12-15.

Dortch

(2014). The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 (Post-9/11 GI Bill): Primer and issues. Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service. Retrieved from http://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42755.pdf

10.

Gottfredson

(2002). Gottfredson’s theory of circumspection, compromise, and self-creation. In Brown

(Ed.), Career choice and development (pp. 85-148). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

11.

Hoare

(Ed.). (2006). Handbook of adult development and learning. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

12.

Krathwohl

D. R.

(1998). Methods of educational and social science research. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.

13.

Krumboltz

J. D.

Jones

G. B.

Mitchell

A. M.

(1979). Social learning and career decision making. Cranston, RI: Carroll Press.

14.

Lemme

B. H.

(2006). Development in adulthood (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

15.

MacKeracher

Stuart

Potter

(2006). State of the field report: Barriers to participation in adult learning. University of New Brunswick. Retrieved from http://en.copian.ca/library/research/sotfr/barriers/barriers.pdf

16.

Marshall

T. C.

Jr. (2012). Dempsey describes future force at Warfighting Conference. American Forces Press Service. Retrieved from http://www.defense.gov//News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=116362

17.

Mbilinyi

(2006). Degrees of opportunity: Adults’ views on the value of returning to school. Minneapolis, MN: Capella University.

18.

McClusky

H. Y.

(1963). The course of the adult life span. In Hallenbeck

W. C.

(Ed.), Psychology of adults (pp. 15-17). Chicago, IL: Adult Education Association.

19.

McClusky

H. Y.

(1970). An approach to a differential psychology of the adult potential. In Grabowski

S. M.

(Ed.), Adult learning and instruction (pp. 80-95). Syracuse, NY: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult Education.

20.

Merriam

(2009). Qualitative research. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

21.

Merriam

S. B.

Caffarella

R. S.

Baumgartner

L. M.

(2007). Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Wiley.

22.

Neugarten

(1979). Time, age, and the life cycle. American Journal of Psychiatry, 136, 887-894.

23.

Petraeus

D. H.

(2007, July). Beyond the cloister. The American Interest, 2(6). Retrieved from http://www.the-american-interest.com/2007/07/01/beyond-the-cloister/

24.

Radford

Weko

(2011). Military service members and veterans. A profile of those enrolled in undergraduate and graduate education in 2007–08. U.S. Department of Education, NCES 2011-163. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED524042.pdf

25.

Shea

K. P.

(2010). The effects of combat related stress on learning in an academic environment: A qualitative case study (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from http://krex.k-state.edu/dspace/handle/2097/6683

26.

Super

(1980). A life-space, life-span approach to career development. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 16, 282-296.

27.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (2014). Education program beneficiaries. Washington, DC: National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.va.gov/vetdata/docs/QuickFacts/Education_Beneficiaries.pdf

28.

Vance

(2013). An exploration of how U.S. Army officers attending the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College decide whether or not to attend graduate school: A qualitative case study (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from http://krex.k-state.edu/dspace/handle/2097/15310

29.

Washton

N. S.

(1945). A veteran goes to college. The Journal of Higher Education, 16, 195-196, 226.

Decision-Making Considerations for Mid-Career Army Officers to Pursue Master’s Degrees

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References