The Internet and Higher Education 36 (2018) 33–40

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The Internet and Higher Education

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/iheduc

Students' motivation and subjective task value of participating in online and MARK
blended learning environments
Silke Vanslambroucka,⁎, Chang Zhua, Koen Lombaertsa, Brent Philipsena, Jo Tondeurb
a
Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
b
Interfaculty Department of Teacher Education, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Online and blended learning (OBL) is intended for individualising education. However, while OBL attracts a
Blended learning diverse range of students, teachers lack insight into this diversity, which hinders them in anticipating students'
Higher education individual needs. The present mixed methods' study examines the reasons and values that students in a teacher
Motivation training programme in higher education attribute to their participation in OBL. Firstly, three motivational
Online learning
profiles were distinguished. Furthermore, the students value the flexibility and the face-to-face moments in OBL.
Self-determination theory
However, based upon students' current experiences, costs - seen as negative aspects of OBL - seem to emerge.
Subjective task value
While students mainly mention costs regarding education in general (e.g. a high workload), they also indicate
specific costs concerning OBL (e.g. harder to organise group work). A cost-value balance affects students' de-
cisions to persist. Therefore, this study provides the values and costs that teachers should bear in mind for each
profile.

1. Introduction to the expectancy-value theory of Wigfield and Eccles (2000), the

subjective values students attribute to a task is a factor that shapes
Online and blended learning (OBL) is increasingly used (Graham, motivation. For example, attributing a low value to learning in an OBL
Woodfield & Harrison, 2013) because it creates more flexible learning environment could denote that the student is not convinced of the ef-
opportunities for students. The fully online instruction or the combi- fectiveness of OBL and will be less motivated to learn and persist (Fryer,
nation of online and face-to-face instruction (i.e. blended learning) Bovee & Nakao, 2014). In a preliminary study, the authors
(Boelens, Van Laer, De Wever & Elen, 2015), allows students to engage (Vanslambrouck, Zhu, Tondeur, & Lombaerts, 2016) examined students'
in learning at their own time, pace and place. However, the high stu- perceptions of the OBL environment and concluded that students
dent dropout rates in these environments raise concerns mention freedom as a positive aspect and (lack of) interaction during
(Deschacht & Goeman, 2015; Rekenhof aan het Vlaamse Parlement, distance moments as a negative aspect of OBL. The current research
2013). This elicited research into student factors that influence student aims to explore these perceptions in more depth by examining the value
persistence. One line of research indicates that it is important to un- they represent.
derstand students' motivation because it accounts for their engagement The open nature of OBL allows people with diverse previous work,
and success at school (Guay, Ratelle & Chanal, 2008; Lopéz-Pérez, life and educational experiences, to engage in education. This results in
Pérez-López & Ródriguez-Ariza, 2011). Since OBL environments pro- a heterogeneous group of online or blended learning students with a
vide independent learning with less face-to-face human support, moti- diversity of goals, motivations and expectations (Hegarty, 2011). This
vational problems can cause students to be at risk of dropping out more makes understanding the motivation and values of students a challen-
easily (Cho & Jonassen, 2009; Fryer & Bovee, 2016). ging task and may cause teachers to lack a clear view and knowledge of
Teachers and institutions should target the dropout by promoting the diversity of students. Research is required that focuses on the di-
students' motivation. This can be done by designing the pedagogy and versity of students in the unique OBL environment, thereby addressing
the OBL environment in a way that aligns with students' needs and a gap in the current examined literature. Therefore, this study aims to
interests (Hegarty, 2011). Therefore, teachers need a clear under- explore the main motives of students to enrol in education in general,
standing of, for instance, students' motivation why to participate in and the value they attribute to learning in online or blended education.
online or blended education (Fryer, Bovee & Nakao, 2014). According The results of this study may assist teachers in the adjustment of their

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (S. Vanslambrouck).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2017.09.002
Received 14 November 2016; Received in revised form 15 September 2017; Accepted 15 September 2017
Available online 20 September 2017
1096-7516/ © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
S. Vanslambrouck et al. The Internet and Higher Education 36 (2018) 33–40

pedagogy and the OBL environment, to meet the needs of the students. students, which helps them perform at more personal levels (Hegarty,
2011). However, it is already complicated as students can have multiple
2. Theoretical background motivations, but the heterogeneity of students in these OBL environ-
ments (Stavredes, 2011) poses an even bigger challenge for teachers, to
2.1. Motivation to participate: self-determination theory clearly grasp the motivations of their students. Furthermore, teachers
need to know more than just the reason or motivation why students
Motivation is the driving force of students' choices and the extent of learn. Hence, more research is needed that provides information about
their engagement, effort and persistence in their learning process how students' motivation is shaped.
(Dörnye & Ushioda, 2011). In their self-determination theory (SDT), The expectancy-value theory of Wigfield and Eccles (2000) can
Deci and Ryan (2000) show that students can be motivated in different provide a basis regarding how students' motivation is shaped and is
ways. The continuum of different kinds of motivations in the self-de- therefore used in this study as the main theory. While the self-de-
termination theory represents: (1) intrinsic motivation, which means termination theory describes the motivations that affect the behavior of
that people learn for the pleasure they get out of it; (2) identified reg- students, motivation itself is shaped by mental processes
ulation, where individuals learn because it is personally relevant to (Dörney & Ushioda, 2011) which are conceptualised in the expectancy-
them; (3) introjected regulation where people learn because they want value theory as the self-efficacy and the subjective task value of stu-
to avoid shame or guilt; (4) external regulation, where people learn to dents. In this way, the expectancy-value theory and the SDT are linked,
obtain positive outcomes or avoid negative ones and (5) amotivation, whereas the motivation of the SDT is considered as a reaction to the
where people lack motivation to learn or persist. expectations of students and the value they attribute to their tasks
An extensive range of previous research on students' motivation to (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002).
learn suggests that motivation is important for several student out- This is confirmed in the study of Lopéz-Pérez, Pérez-López and
comes. For example, some researchers indicate that it explains students' Ródriguez-Ariza (2011) who indicate that the perceptions of the stu-
performances (Hegarty, 2010; López-Pérez, Pérez-López & Rodríguez- dents about the utility of e-learning are correlated with their motivation
Ariza, 2011; Yli-piipari & Kokkonen, 2014), predicts the persistence of to attend classes. Furthermore, Deci and Ryan (2000) confirm this, by
students (Hegarty, 2011), or influences students' satisfaction with the stating that self-efficacy is necessary for all sorts of motivation. Sub-
course (Svanum & Aigner, 2011). Based upon the SDT, intrinsically sequently, Fryer, Bovee and Nakao (2014) argue that students who are
motivated students seem to persist more and gain higher qualifications amotivated are characterised with low self-efficacy and low task value.
(Guay, Ratelle & Chanal, 2008; Rothes, Lemos & Gonçalves, 2014). In The component of the subjective task value is composed of four
line with this, Fryer, Bovee and Nakao (2014) argue that students who kinds of values (Eccles et al., 1983). Applied to the current study, the
are amotivated are more at risk of dropping out. Another example is the ‘task’ of students is regarded as their participation in an online or
review of Reeve, Deci and Ryan (2004) in which a great deal of lit- blended course. Firstly, there is intrinsic value. This refers to the
erature shows a link between autonomous regulation and positive pleasure one has in participating or the subjective interest they have in
outcomes like persistence and higher grades. their education and can be matched with intrinsic motivation. Sec-
Some researchers go even further and prove that students can have a ondly, if students find it personally important to do well during their
wide range of reasons to participate in education (e.g. Gorges, 2016) participation, it refers to attainment value. This includes among other
and can even have multiple motivations at once. Based on the afore- things the will to demonstrate their competences and to keep their
mentioned motivation types of Deci and Ryan (2000), Boiché and dignity by avoiding shame and guilt. Thirdly, the utility value refers to
Stephan (2014) developed five motivational profiles of students, ex- the usefulness of participating; for instance, because it helps to attain
plored from a person-oriented approach: (1) the additive profile with future goals. This refers to extrinsic motivation. Fourthly, costs are also
high levels of intrinsic motivation, identified, introjected and external considered as values and refer to the negative aspects of participating in
regulation; (2) the self-determined profile with above average levels of online or blended education (e.g. technology issues) (Vanslambrouck
intrinsic motivation and identified regulation; (3) the moderate profile et al., 2016).
with above average levels of identified and external regulations; (4) the Additionally, prior research shows that expectancies (de Fátima
low profile with a mean score for amotivation and (5) the non-self- Goulão, 2014; Fryer & Bovee, 2016) and values (Chiu & Wang, 2008)
determined profile with above average scores for introjected regulation are significant predictors of students' intentions to persist in e-learning.
and high scores for external regulation and amotivation. They further However, Bandura (1986) states that students can have a high self-ef-
state that these profiles have significant relevance with the grades of ficacy standard but still drop out, if they believe that their learning
students, meaning that the motivation is an important aspect for success process is of low value and/or has too high costs. Nevertheless, research
in an educational programme (Boiché & Stephan, 2014). The pre- related to values in online and blended learning is scarce in comparison
liminary research of Vanslambrouck et al. (2016) showed that students to that of self-efficacy. Therefore, this study focuses on the value stu-
are mostly motivated for controlled reasons but at the same time have dents attribute to their learning process in the specific context of OBL.
multiple motives to enrol in education. Therefore, the current study Furthermore, since studies that focus on value mostly ignore costs
uses motivational profiles, based on the SDT, to explore students' mo- (Wigfield & Cambria, 2010); this study also considers costs that are at-
tivations. tributed to the specific context of OBL.

2.2. Motivation in OBL: expectancy-value theory 3. Present research

The above-mentioned results for the influence of motivation on Understanding the motivation of students with the aim of perso-
dropout and success in education raise awareness of the importance of nalising their education is a challenging task in OBL environments, as
motivation for OBL environments where dropout rates are considered students in OBL environments are very diverse. However, it is regarded
high. Furthermore, motivation is especially important in OBL environ- as a first step towards reducing dropout rates, which can arise from a
ments, where students get autonomy to learn independently with less lack of success for students. Therefore, the current study has the aim of
teacher regulation or less face-to-face human support and interaction tackling this problem by firstly using the SDT for preliminary quanti-
(Cho & Jonassen, 2009; Fryer & Bovee, 2016; Fryer, Bovee & Kaori, tative research on the diversity among students' motivations to parti-
2014). cipate in education. This is done by analysing the motivational profiles
The benefit of OBL is that teachers can personalise learning by ad- of students. Thus, the first research question in this study is:
justing their pedagogy and online environment to the motivation of the What kind of motivational profiles can be identified among students

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S. Vanslambrouck et al. The Internet and Higher Education 36 (2018) 33–40

in an OBL programme? p < 0.01; CFI = 0.871; TLI = 0.847; RMSEA = 0.070 and
Secondly, the present study explores qualitatively more in-depth SRMR = 0.086). Based on bivariate correlations, the item “Because I
which different values students attribute to their learning in the specific want to have the good life later on” from the subscale ‘external reg-
context of OBL. Therefore, we use the expectancy-value theory. In this ulation’ was deleted. The fit indices for the model without this item
way, a second research question is developed: were acceptable (χ2(142) = 0.000, p < 0.01; CFI = 0.905;
What specific values do the students attribute to their participation TLI = 0.886; RMSEA = 0.061 and SRMR = 0.081). All subscales ap-
in an OBL teacher training programme? pear to display adequate levels of internal consistency with Cronbach
Thirdly, this study divides the values students mention in (1) values alphas ranging from 0.70 to 0.89.
attributed to the specific OBL environment, or (2) values attributed to Secondly, semi-structured interviews were conducted by the re-
their participation in education in general. Sequentially, it is examined searcher, preceded by signing an informed consent. The interviews
as to what extent the specific values attributed to the OBL environment lasted about 60 min and included questions on topics such as the per-
dominate the general value of students to participate in education. This sonal background of the students, their reasons and values attributed
will give an indication about whether OBL itself plays a big role in the for participation in education and the perceptions and values they at-
decision of students to enrol in education or to persist. This leads to a tribute to learning in the specific context of online and blended edu-
third research question: cation.
Which role do the specific values to learn in OBL play in the general
value of participating in education? 4.2. Participants
Finally, previous literature (e.g. Chiu & Wang, 2008) states that the
motivation types of the SDT can be linked to the values of students in The participants were students in higher education who enrolled in
the following way: intrinsic motivation represents the intrinsic value; a teacher education programme. Teacher education programmes are
introjected regulation represents attainment value; identified and ex- provided by universities, university colleges and adult education cen-
ternal regulation represents utility value. Hence, it can be assumed that tres (AEC's). This study focuses on AEC's, since modules in a teacher
people with different motivations, defined by the SDT, also attribute education programme in AEC's are often offered in an OBL mode, for
different values to their OBL education. Therefore, the following re- the convenience of their target audience. In the first phase, after
search question is explored: checking for both univariate and multivariate outliers, the sample
Is there a link between student motivational profiles and their consisted of 166 participants from three different AEC's. The ages
subjective values? ranged from 20 to 56 years old. There were 73% female and 27% male
participants.
4. Method In terms of motivation, results from the AMS indicated that the
students score high on intrinsic motivation (mean = 3.84, SD = 0.92)
This study is conducted using a mixed-method approach and identified regulation (mean = 3.98, SD = 0.75). In other words,
(Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004). Firstly, quantitative data were col- they are autonomously motivated to learn. Furthermore, they score
lected to answer the first research question by developing motivational average on external regulation (mean = 3, SD = 1.15), slightly low on
profiles. Results of this phase informed the development of the second introjected regulation (mean = 2.64, SD = 1.03) and low on amoti-
phase by serving as a selection tool. This means a development mixed- vation (mean = 1.59, SD = 0.66).
method approach is applied (Greene, Caracelli & Graham, 1989). A se- For the second phase, students who had participated in the first
lection of participants from each motivational profile were contacted phase and indicated in the survey that they would like to participate in
again to participate in an interview regarding the values they attribute further research were randomly contacted until we had students from
to their participation in online or blended education. This second, every profile. This led to a diverse group of nine students (five males,
qualitative phase provided an answer to the second and third research four females) who participated in an interview, whose ages ranged from
question. A complementarity mixed-method approach with both qua- 23 to 53 years old. The participants were diverse as regards (1) their
litative and quantitative phases was used to measure overlapping but family situation (some still living with their parents, while others al-
also different facets of a phenomenon (Greene, Caracelli & Graham, ready have their own family with children), (2) their education level
1989), yielding an answer to the fourth research question. By doing so, (one participant had no prior degree, while others had a secondary,
we could explore whether the values represent the different motiva- bachelor's or master's degree), and (3) their employment status (both
tional profiles and provide elaboration, illustration and clarification of unemployed and fulltime employed people participated). Four of the
the profiles with quotes from the interviews (Greene, participants were already working as teachers.
Caracelli, & Graham, 1989).
4.3. Data-analysis
4.1. Procedure and instruments
In the quantitative phase, the data were firstly checked for nor-
Firstly, a survey was distributed to gather information on students' mality and outliers to avoid distortion in the cluster formation. Second,
(1) socio-demographic characteristics (age and gender), and (2) moti- cluster analysis was conducted using SPSS 23 to identify motivational
vation to learn. The motivation to learn was measured using the profiles. A two-step procedure was used with firstly, a hierarchical
Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) of Vallerand et al. (1992). The scale cluster analysis with Ward's method and squared Euclidean distance, to
includes 20 items probing students' motivations to participate in edu- explore the number of clusters that emerge naturally, and secondly, a k-
cation. Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale anchored between 1 means procedure to assign the students to their profile.
(= totally disagree) and 5 (= totally agree). In the qualitative phase, content analysis (Patton, 2015) is used,
Since the AMS was translated into Dutch, a confirmatory factor after transcribing and anonymising the interviews, to adequately reflect
analysis (CFA) was conducted with Lavaan (Rosseel, 2012) to test the the students' subjective task value of participation in education and
validity and reliability. Furthermore, we explored the extent to which OBL. A first step in the analysis was to subdivide the data in pre-de-
the theoretical model - in this case, a five-factor model corresponding to termined deductive categories, identified from the expectancy-value
the five kinds of motivation of the SDT - is adequately represented by theory (Wigfield & Eccles, 2000). The categories were: intrinsic value,
the data. The Satorra-Bentler test was used in the CFA to correct for the attainment value, utility value and costs. Additionally, these categories
high Kurtosis of the motivation subscales. The fitness index of the ori- were further inductively differentiated, which means that smaller ca-
ginal model with the five factors was not satisfactory (χ2(160) = 0.000, tegories were constructed, based on the inductive codes used during the

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S. Vanslambrouck et al. The Internet and Higher Education 36 (2018) 33–40

analysis of the data. This was done to enrich the deductive derived Table 1
categories and was done twice; once for the general values and once for Categories of values attributed to participation in OBL education.
the specific value of OBL.
Deductively derived Inductively derived Inductively derived
As regards the trustworthiness of the current study, Lincoln and categories categories for general categories for the value of
Guba's criteria for qualitative research (1985) were taken into account. participation OBL
Triangulation of qualitative and quantitative analysis helped to sustain
Intrinsic value Learning pleasure Self-study
credibility. In addition, by thoroughly recording thoughts, methods and
Content interest Working with technology
decisions in a research diary, the principal investigators aimed to en- Job performing pleasure Social contact
hance dependability. To monitor the study's confirmability, biweekly Attainment value Self-esteem Independent learning
debriefing meetings were organised with the project steering group, Social affirmation Social motivation
teachers and experts in OBL. During these meetings, analysis methods Satisfying old needs
Utility value Teaching job Flexible learning
and findings were discussed from different perspectives, which aimed at
Financially Face-to-face moments
preventing researcher bias and enhancing the neutral positionality of Time New skills
the principal researcher. Feel good
Costs Workload Personal sacrifices
Relationship risks High effort in distance
5. Key findings and discussion
moments
Mental issues High effort for social help
5.1. Motivational profiles Technology

Based on the quantitative data, the motivational profiles of the

students were analysed to address research question one. The cluster differences in motivation between clusters. In this way, this support the
analysis results, based on the academic motivation subscales (Vallerand distinctiveness of the motivational profiles.
et al., 1992), revealed three motivational profiles. The naming of the Lastly, chi square tests of association were used to examine whether
labels was based on the terminology of Boiché and Stephan (2014). The the membership in the profiles varied corresponding to gender or age.
profile with the most students (52%) is referred to as the additive All of the results revealed no significant age-related (χ2 (4) = 3.486;
profile. It shows high scores on intrinsic motivation and identified p > 0.05) nor gender-related (χ2 (2) = 5.341; p > 0.05) differences
regulation, above neutral scores for introjected and external regulation between the clusters.
and low scores for amotivation. This means that students in this profile
have a variety of both autonomous and controlled motives to enrol. The 5.2. Subjective values of participation in education and in OBL
next profile is characterised by high intrinsic motivation, above neutral
scores on identified regulation and low levels of introjected and ex- Based on the interview data, students' subjective values for learning
ternal regulation and amotivation. This profile is called the ‘self-de- in OBL environments were analysed. As mentioned in Section 4.3 (Data-
termined’ profile and concerned 27% of the respondents. Finally, the analysis), the deductive categories were pre-determined categories de-
last profile includes 21% of the respondents and is denoted as the rived from the expectancy-value theory (Wigfield & Eccles, 2000). The
‘moderate profile’. Respondents score above neutral on identified and inductive categories were derived from the qualitative analysis. Table 1
external regulation, below neutral on intrinsic motivation and low on gives an overview on the final set of categories for both the value at-
introjected regulation and amotivation (See Fig. 1). These results are in tributed to their participation in education in general and their specific
accordance with the study of Boeren (2011), suggesting that students participation in OBL. Furthermore, as an answer to research question
do not participate for one specific motive but rather for a diversity of two, results are presented for every kind of value by using quotes of the
different motivations. students who are referred to with pseudo names.
The results from comparisons using ANOVA showed that the mean
scores on the different kinds of motivation - intrinsic motivation F(2, 5.2.1. Intrinsic value
165) = 90.771, p < 0.001, ŋ2 = 0.53, identified regulation F(2, 165) As regards the intrinsic value, results showed that the greater part of
= 20.840, p < 0.001, ŋ2 = 0.20, introjected regulation F(2, 165) the students indicated that they find learning a pleasant activity (cf.
= 59.945, p < 0.001, ŋ2 = 0.42, external regulation F(2, 165) Gorges, 2016). They stated that they are studious and participation in
= 101,446, p < 0.001, ŋ2 = 0.55 and amotivation F(2, 165) = 7.183, education “is useful because I keep learning and studying will not be-
p < 0.05, ŋ2 = 0.08 - varied significantly between the motivational come strange to me in this way”. Another aspect that refers to the in-
profiles. Furthermore, a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) trinsic value is that students see the content of the course as interesting
was used to explore whether the scores on the different motivation and relevant for them. A quote from Inge illustrates this:
types together differed across the clusters. We used MANOVA instead of
I don't know anything about teaching, I would not know how to do
a series of ANOVA's to reduce the Type I errors and keep the relation-
that, so I think it's interesting to learn aspects like: how to behave in
ship between the dependent variables intact. A significant Wilks's
front of a class, the class management, the group dynamics, how to
lambda, F(10, 318) = 50,806, p < 0.01, partial ŋ2 = 0.615, indicated
know the initial situation of your students, … I think it is really
interesting what I learn in class.
Furthermore, the students valued the job-related actions they per-
form during their education. They sometimes had to teach mini-courses
to each other, which Jeroen experienced as “particularly pleasant be-
cause I can put some of my energy in it”. They find it enjoyable to
transfer their specific knowledge to each other.
Within the context of the specific OBL environment and its role in
the intrinsic value of students, few aspects contributed to this value.
Self-study, interpreted as independently searching for more information
or autonomously going through the course material, was mentioned
only by Laurent as something that he likes. In OBL courses, this is
Fig. 1. Mean scores of motivation for each profile.
somewhat expected from students but he would do it on his own

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S. Vanslambrouck et al. The Internet and Higher Education 36 (2018) 33–40

initiative, even if he is not in an OBL course. So, it is an aspect of OBL Smith (2010), about a quarter of the students take the course to have
that raises pleasure for him, next to using the internet. He stated: “I like more options in the labour market. They see teaching as an alternative
doing things through the internet, making assignments through the job and are not yet sure if they will actually perform it. This can be
internet. I'm good at it”. Furthermore, the social contact that is still linked to their employment status. Participants, who have a job related
present in OBL was appreciated and a must for social interactions to their diploma, see their education as a means to obtain an alternative
(Akkoyunlu & Soylu, 2008). To illustrate, Conny mentioned she could job. The other participants take the course to keep their current job as a
choose to do her teacher training fully online, but that she did not do teacher or to no longer be unemployed and obtain a job as a teacher.
that because she liked the social contact. Also, Lucas said: “Fully on- The goal of graduating from teacher training and possibly become a
line… hmmm, I would miss personal contact”. teacher, holds other utility values too. The financial benefit when be-
None of the other participants mentioned that they experienced coming a teacher was valued by four participants. The time benefits
pleasure from the self-study, the use of technology or social contact. were also valued. Lucas valued his participation because, with the di-
Some of them even clearly stated that “this [participation in education] ploma, he can work as a teacher. As for him, this will give him more
is really for my job and not for fun, believe me”. However, they did time with his children. He stated: “I was [in his former job] a lot on the
indicate the importance of technology, social contact or self-study, way so my children nearly never saw me, even at the weekend”. The
which are discussed in the sections about attainment value and utility ‘feel good’ they got while performing a job as a teacher was also
value. mentioned as a utility value. In this respect, Laurent said: “For me it's
even important to feel good, the self-realization, making a job out of
5.2.2. Attainment value your hobby”. Thijs mentioned that he did not feel good at his former
For two participants, achieving their teaching diploma is something job. He said: “I should have done it a long time ago [enrolling in teacher
they had always wanted to do. They had not done it back then and education] because I felt I was different [at his former job], I didn't fit in
regret it now. So, for them, participating in their education to satisfy an there”.
old need is personally valuable. It is clear that the specific OBL environments are mainly valued for
Furthermore, eight participants referred to the importance of their their utility, since this value was, in contrast with the other values,
education for their self-esteem. Of these participants, five mentioned mentioned a lot. More specifically, OBL was considered as especially
that they wanted to ‘show’ themselves and make themselves or others useful in its flexibility in time, space and pace of learning. The parti-
proud. This was illustrated by Frauke who said: “I like to be able to say cipants all mentioned that “you do it [distance education] whenever
to others: look I'm doing it”. Also, Laurent mentioned that his partici- you want, in the order you want and how long you want” and “you can
pation in education is personally important because: do your own thing, at your own pace”. The latter was especially im-
portant since two participants said that the classical courses went too
I know I can do it and I know that it is my thing and I want to show
slowly; one participant said the classical courses went too fast and
that. It's a kind of self-expression, of self-realization. Doing things of
another participant said she went faster over contents that were less
which you know you can do it, that you realize that you can do
interesting for her. This flexibility of OBL made their education feasible.
something and wanting to show this to yourself but also to others.
Six participants stated that “it would not be feasible with my job” if it
Five participants referred to their self-esteem by saying that they were not OBL. This is in line with the research of Styer (2009) and
would feel ashamed if they should quit their education before gradu- Ruffalo Noel Levitz (2016), who mentioned that the convenience and
ating. Frauke even said she would “see it as a failure”. Lucas had one flexible pacing are enrolment factors for online programmes. This in-
experience where he had not succeeded in his module. He stated: “It dicates that students want their education to fit into their situation and
hurt. It felt like a failure but you have to get back on your feet”. that OBL is valued for it.
The less flexible, face-to-face moments in blended learning were the
The last aspect that students valued in their participation is the
second aspect participants valued, as these seem beneficial for learning
social affirmation they got from peers or family. It is “useful and
and achieving their goal to succeed. Respectively, participants in-
motivating”, according to Angela.
dicated that in face-to-face moments “everyone asks questions, even
With respect to the attainment value of the specific OBL environ- about things you did not think of and then you discuss and learn from
ment, again the environment had not much personal value for the each other”. Additionally, the teacher will also tell more anecdotes from
students. Two participants indicated that they valued OBL because they his or her own experiences during face-to-face moments. Furthermore,
learned to work independently and this is important because they were two participants stated that some content, like for example, learning
adults and “they are supposed to do it to some extent”. Furthermore, how to deal with bad-news-conversations, need practical exercises, and
they valued the few social contacts they had in OBL because it moti- can only be achieved in face-to-face moments. Four participants valued
vated them (cf. Brown, 2003; Lopéz-Pérez, Pérez-López & Ródriguez- these face-to-face moments in OBL because they think they can more
Ariza, 2011). Laurent referred to peers and indicated that “the social easily succeed in their education if they have these moments.
aspect, to vent, also informal, that is important”. The social contacts In this respect, the question arises as to why the students enrol in
with the educational staff were also valued, as Frauke said: “I have the OBL, when they value face-to-face moments that much. Next to the fact
feeling that those people, who guide you, you don't see them a lot but that they mostly did not have the choice but to enrol in OBL, students
they stimulate you to progress”. However, teachers should be aware indicated that they would not be able to participate if there were no
that the preference for the amount of face-to-face moments differs for distance moments. The face-to-face moments need to be alternated with
each student (Owston, York & Murtha, 2013). distance moments to make it possible to combine it with a family and a
job. This in turn relates to the convenience and flexibility that is va-
5.2.3. Utility value luable to students who have multiple responsibilities (Xu & Jaggars,
This value is the most extensively mentioned value attributed to 2013). Therefore, distance moments should complement, and not re-
participating in education. More specifically, the value mentioned most place, the face-to-face moments, and a good balance should be pursued
as regards to the utility of their participation in education, can be linked (Lopéz-Pérez, Pérez-López & Ródriguez-Ariza, 2011).
to the teaching job. Whether it is to be able to perform the job after they Lastly, most participants valued that they had learned new skills,
graduate, to keep their current job as a teacher or to have a job alter- thanks to OBL. They think it was useful to learn in OBL environments
native, they indicated that they wanted the diploma because, as Jeroen because they learned to work more self-regulated. Lucas said: “You
said: “If you are applying for a teaching job, you have to be able to show learn to plan your work more effectively”, while Laurent said: “You
your diploma, so it is useful to have it”. As in the study of Roness and learn to process the content autonomously and also make syntheses.

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You learn to manage your learning process on your own”. optional group work, lest they decrease students' perception of freedom
Overall, as an answer to research question three, the students in this (and thus their motivation). For some students, interacting online is a
study mainly refered to the value of their education and less to the threshold. A quote from Angela illustrates this:
specific value of the OBL environment itself. In other words, they at-
In distance moments, you encounter some questions and at that
tribute more value to their participation in education than to the way
moment you think “I want to know the answer but if I have to e-
they receive their education, namely through OBL. This can be attrib-
mail, when will I receive a reply? Did I send my question to the
uted to the fact that some institutions only provide OBL and, in this
teacher only or can everyone read this? Isn't my question ridiculous
way, most students automatically enrolled in OBL, even without
or stupid?” You hold yourself back to ask things and then you let it
knowing it. So, the fact that they follow a programme in OBL did not
go and you forget it and you don't come back to it at face-to-face
play a big role in students' decision to enrol. It was the programme itself
moments because it has been too long.
and the opportunities they get in their lives when they successfully
complete the programme. These students also stated that communication skills and being self-
assertive are necessary in OBL.
5.2.4. Costs Lastly, not only social contact required a lot of effort, but also the
As previously mentioned, costs are considered as negative aspects of distance moments. To illustrate, Jelle said: “I think distance education
education or the environment that students experience and are im- is harder because I am easily distracted at home and I'm a procrasti-
portant in order to make positive changes to the environment. It makes nator. I prefer face-to-face education.” Other students confirmed this.
teachers aware of the difficulties that students experience while They said they need a “push to begin”. Therefore, a few students in-
studying in OBL environments and informs about how the environment dicated that they preferred face-to-face education, because they un-
can be adjusted to lower the costs and improve the values. The parti- derstand the content more easily when they see and hear it from a
cipants mentioned a few negative aspects of participating in education, teacher. They said that self-discipline is needed to overcome this ‘cost’
in general. Firstly, they indicated that it takes a lot of work. Three in OBL environments.
participants indicated that they sometimes had to work at night to get These above-mentioned costs can cause concern, but Gorges (2016)
their tasks done. Secondly, participating in education was not always states that people who experience high costs can still succeed in their
good for relationships. Two participants said they sometimes argued education, if the value they attribute to their task is strong enough to
with their partners because they had not got much time for their family. cope with the costs. The situation of Angela illustrates this. She com-
Another participant (Jelle) had a risky relationship with his current plained about her OBL education not being compatible with her work
employer. He stated that: and family. Hence, she lacks time with her son and argues with her
partner. After a few failures, she keeps on persisting because she wants
I have waited a year to enrol in an education programme because
to keep her job and wage. Furthermore, the contraction of students
when I applied for my current job, my boss told me that, if I wanted
encountering ‘costs’ while valuing the flexibility, opens the discussion
to do a training soon, he wanted me to look for another job. So, I
as to whether the students are sufficiently able to handle this flexibility
enrolled without my boss knowing it.
and to what extent teachers are expected to guide and support them in
Both the workload and the relationship issues, sometimes raised this. However, if the teacher intervenes, the flexibility could be re-
doubts in persisting. Some participants indicated that they have “con- duced, which, again, is not satisfactory for the student. Institutions also
stant doubts of persisting” or that their persistence was against their offer these flexible courses to attract students, to receive additional
will. This in turn can raise mental issues and demotivation. resources and compete with other institutions. They should keep in
A notable result from this study is that students still mentioned a lot mind that they need a clear vision on how to guide students in this
of ‘costs’ regarding the specific OBL environment. The least mentioned flexibility, without taking too much control.
are the technological issues. Computers do have technical problems and
some restrictions, as Lucas mentioned, “The first thing I do is print my 5.3. Link between motivation profiles and subjective values to participate
courses and write notes on them. You cannot do that digitally. Yes, you
can but it is not the same”. In this respect, the participants mentioned To link the motivation profiles to the values of the students, clar-
that for students to succeed in OBL environments, some computer skills ification is needed about which students match the profiles. The nine
and the ICT infrastructure are needed. students represented three profiles. Frauke and Lucas are members of
More important costs that were experienced with OBL have to do the self-determined profile; Laurent, Inge and Conny represent the ad-
with wrong expectations and thus insufficient preparation for this en- ditive profile and Thijs, Jeroen, Jelle and Angela are members of the
vironment (Dabbagh, 2007). Firstly, this was reflected in complains of moderate profile.
participants about the fact that the education is not compatible with Both the self-determined students (Frauke and Lucas) and the ad-
other responsibilities and lasts longer than expected. Accordingly, the ditive students (Laurent, Inge and Conny) who have high intrinsic
students had to make personal sacrifices. These personal sacrifices of, motivation to participate, mentioned an intrinsic value to their educa-
for example, spending less time with their families, relating to and tion. Laurent is the only one who specifically attributed an intrinsic
creating relationship issues. To illustrate, Angela said: “It's totally not value to the OBL environment. The moderate students (Thijs, Jeroen,
combinable. I find that my family has suffered from my education”. Jelle and Angela) literally said that they do not follow their education
Also, Lucas said: “It's a disadvantage to combine it all [work, education because it is fun or interesting. Jeroen even said it is boring. They
and family]. It makes it hard for my family situation; it takes too long follow it to have a job alternative or to keep their current jobs.
[the education]”. The students felt as if they had not received honest All students mentioned a kind of attainment value, except for Jeroen
information before they started and, in this way, were not appropriately and Jelle. This corresponds with their profile of moderate students since
prepared. This stresses the importance of thinking about how and what they have a low introjected regulation and this regulation is in line with
to communicate to students. Accordingly, the participants nearly all the attainment value. The other moderate students and the self-de-
indicated that good planning and organisational skills are necessary to termined students, who are both characterised with low introjected
succeed in OBL. Secondly, the participants stated that they put a lot of regulation, did mention this value to some extent. They mentioned it a
effort into getting help. They stated that online interaction was some- little by saying that they are proud to be enrolled in their education
times rare and that group work was difficult to organise. Jeroen even while raising a child or that they would feel guilty if they dropped out.
said: “It [group work] should be avoided in blended learning because The additive students mentioned the attainment value a lot, which
it's really hard to organise it”. Styer (2009) also advocates for less or corresponds to their profile, characterised by an above neutral

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introjected regulation. not experience unnecessary stress or tension to organise their group
The self-determined students are the only ones with a combination work. This can be done by, for example, using the profiles of learners to
of low external regulation and an above neutral identified regulation. make the composition of the groups.
This is somewhat reflected in the values. These students indicated less
utility value for their participation in general. Students in other profiles 5.5. Limitations and future research
emphasised more that they follow their education because they want to
perform the job or get benefits in time or money. The utility value re- A first limitation of the current study is the relatively small sample
garding the OBL environment was mentioned as much by every profile. in the qualitative study. This might pose a threat to the extent to which
Finally, no clear link is found between the three profiles and the the findings can be generalised. It is possible that the results are unique
costs. Independent of the profile, students mentioned the same costs. To to the participants and the specific OBL contexts investigated in this
illustrate: the difficulty of organising group work is mentioned by study. Next to that, OBL can take many forms, regarding the amount of
Frauke (self-determined profile), Conny (additive profile) as well as by distance versus face-to-face moments or the kind of activities per-
Thijs (moderate profile). Another important cost was that online in- formed. Therefore, future research should not only include a larger but
teraction is sometimes considered as a threshold. This was mentioned in also a more diverse sample, to improve the generality and transfer-
two of the three profiles and not by one specific profile. In other words, ability of the findings. Different programmes, modules and institutions
there is no regularity between the mentioned costs and the profiles. should be taken into consideration.
Summarised, the qualitatively-measured values provided more de- Another limitation is the cross-sectional design of this study.
tailed information about the quantitatively-measured motivations to Persisting is an ongoing process and thus, students' motivation and
participate. Specifically, students in the self-determined profile, clearly values they attribute to persist will be dynamic. The current study does
displayed a lot of intrinsic and less utility value. This indicates that they not provide insight into changes in motivation or values due to, for
learn and value learning because they feel ambition, interest and instance, more experience of students in their OBL course. Longitudinal
gratification. The additive students also mentioned a lot of intrinsic research should cover this limitation and could reveal who dropped out.
value but differ in that they also mentioned attainment and utility Knowing what costs and values students mention, who drops out, is
value. These students like learning and value extra, external benefits interesting to compare to the costs and values of persisting students. It
that they can acquire with a successful completion. The moderate could inform teachers in more detail about what costs can cause stu-
profile showed no intrinsic nor attainment values but does display dents to drop out.
utility value. They value their learning because it can benefit them Next, the lack of intrinsic value attributed to the specific OBL en-
externally after successful completion. Conclusively, regarding research vironment can be attributed to the fact that almost none of the inter-
question four, the current study indicates that the profiles are reflected viewed participants chose OBL consciously. Interviewing students who
in the values that students attribute to their education. This confirms consciously chose OBL would provide more information about the
the approach of, for example Chiu and Wang (2008), who associate the specific environment. Furthermore, taking previous experiences with
motivations from the SDT to the values of the expectancy-value theory OBL as a control variable is necessary. Students with more experience
since results showed that students from different profiles mention the might have found ways to overcome costs and could have other kinds of
different, corresponding values. costs and values attributed to OBL than students with little experience.
It would be interesting to measure the values students attribute to
5.4. Implications the specific OBL environment in a quantitative way to back up data
retrieved in a qualitative way. Therefore, future research could focus on
This study yields some practical implications. Overall, findings can developing such a scale. Furthermore, measuring the motivations to
be used by teachers and institutions to lead intake conversations with enrol in qualitative ways to back up quantitatively retrieved data is
their students. In this way, they get to know their students' situations relevant.
and perceptions and can anticipate to their needs when considering the
other implications. Firstly, teachers and institutions should provide 6. Conclusion
realistic information at the start of the programme; they should make
sure the students know they are going to have distance moments and In the current literature, there is a lack of information about the
provide support to schedule time for these moments matching with diversity in motivation between students in OBL environments and the
their personal situation. Secondly, a good balance between face-to-face multiplicity of motivators within one student. Therefore, teachers
and distance moments should be pursued and teachers should make cannot always adjust the OBL environment to the personal needs of
sure the students may find easy guidance during distance moments. students. The present study addresses this gap by exploring the diverse
Preferably, the teachers should be online when the distance moment is reasons to participate and the values and costs attributed to learning in
scheduled, but also be approachable at other times since students get OBL. By addressing the question concerning learning motivation - why
flexibility to work whenever it suits them. Hence, institutions should do students engage in education? - the current research contributes to
develop a vision and guidelines on how to support students without the scientific knowledge on motivation. Most participants in this study
limiting their flexibility. Therefore, the institution should use the pro- did not deliberately choose OBL. Thus, their motivations to enrol were
files to follow up students and get insight in how to improve their not based on reasons specifically related to OBL. However, they valued
education to benefit and support diverse learners. For example, stu- its flexibility because it would be practically unfeasible to persist
dents in the moderate profile are less motivated and attain the least otherwise. Additionally, the students mentioned aspects that could
value to their education. Following up these students can entail sug- possibly create obstacles to persistence such as the unexpected work-
gestions to enhance these students' interest and enjoyment in partici- load that leads to nightwork and family issues. Values and costs men-
pating in online and blended education. For instance, by incorporating tioned in this respect mainly refer to education in general and have less
more personal and authentic anecdotes in the online classes, students to do with the specific online or blended environment. Because students
will feel closer and more connected to the teacher. Thirdly, since the make their decision to persist based on a value-cost balance, the prac-
costs do not differ depending on the profile, teachers will benefit every tical relevance of the current study is that teachers get insight in the
profile when taking into account these costs by making environmental values and costs that are important for the different motivational pro-
and pedagogical decisions. For instance, group work is considered as a files of students in online and blended education in this study. In this
difficult aspect in blended education. Teachers should help with orga- way, teachers can - for every motivational profile - see which values or
nising group work or integrate it in face-to-face moments so students do costs are important to create more favourable balances. In sum,

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