Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

How Educational Practices Affect the Development of Life-long Learning Orientations in Traditionally-aged Undergraduate Students

  • Published:
Research in Higher Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We investigated curricular conditions and educational practices that influenced the development of life-long learning orientations among 405 undergraduate students. Results suggest that growth in life-long learning orientations was facilitated by instruction that included opportunities for reflection, active learning, and perspective-taking and that provided students with opportunities for positively interacting with diverse peers. Negative diverse peer interactions were found to stifle development. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abukari, A. (2005). Conceptualising life-long learning: A reflection on life-long learning at lund university (Sweden) and middlesex university (UK). European Journal of Education, 40(2), 143–154. Retrieved May 3, 2006, from ERIC database.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alwin, D. F., & Hauser, R. M. (1975). The decomposition of effects in path analysis. American Sociological Review, 40, 37–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Antonio, A. L. (2001). The role of interracial interaction in the development of leadership skills and cultural knowledge and understanding. Research in Higher Education, 42(5), 593–617.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Association of American Colleges and Universities. (2002). Greater expectations: A new vision for learning as a nation goes to college. Washington DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.

  • Belenky, M. F., Clinchy, B. M., Goldberger, N. R., & Tarule, J. M. (1986). Women’s ways of knowing. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cacioppo, J. T. & Petty, R. E. (1982). The need for cognition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42, 116–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cacioppo, J. T., Petty, R. E., Feinstein, J. A., & Jarvis, W. B. G. (1996). Dispositional differences in cognitive motivation: The life and times of individuals varying in need for cognition. Psychological Bulletin, 119(2), 197–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cacioppo, J. T., Petty, R. E. & Kao, C. F. (1984). The efficient assessment of the need for cognition scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 48, 306–307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chang, M. J. (1996). Race identity and race relations in higher education: Fraternity and sorority membership among students of color. ASHE annual meeting paper, California, US, May 8, 2006, from ERIC database.

  • Cohen, A. R., Stotland, E., & Wolfe, D. M. (1955). An experimental investigation of need for cognition. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 51, 291–294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coutinho, S., Wiemer-Hastings, K., Skowronski, J. J., & Britt, M. A (2005). Metacognition, need for cognition and use of explanations during ongoing learning and problem solving. Learning and Individual Differences, 15, 321–337.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crick, R. D., Broadfoot, P., & Claxton, G. (2004). Developing an effective life-long learning inventory: The ELLI project.Assessment in Education Principles Policy and Practice, 11(3), 247–272. Retrieved May 3, 2006, from ERIC database.

    Google Scholar 

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Nakamura, J. (1989). The dynamics of intrinsic motivation: A study of adolescents. In: Ames C., & Ames R. (eds), Research on motivation in education: Vol. 3. Goals and cognitions. San Diego: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Engberg, M. E. (2004) Educating the workforce for the 21st century: The impact of diversity on undergraduate students’ pluralistic orientation. Dissertation Abstracts International, 65(06). (AAT 3138145).

  • Gorard, S., & Selwyn, N. (2005). What makes a life-long learner? Teachers College Record, 107(6), 1193–1216. Retrieved May 3, 2006, from ERIC database.

    Google Scholar 

  • Green, H. (2000). Life-long learning needs life-long motivation. [Press release]. London: Institute of Education.

  • Gurin, P., Dey, E. L., Hurtado, S., & Gurin, G. (2002). Diversity and higher education: Theory and impact on educational outcomes. Harvard Educational Review, 72, 330–367.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayek, J. C., & Kuh, G. D. (1998). The capacity for life-long learning of college seniors in the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. ASHE annual meeting paper, Indiana, US, May 3, 2006, from ERIC database.

  • Hayek, J. C., & Kuh, G. D. (1999). College activities and environmental factors associated with the development of life-long learning competencies of college seniors. ASHE annual meeting paper, Indiana, US, May 3, 2006, from ERIC database.

  • Helms, J. (1990). Black and White racial identity: Theory, research and practice. Westport: Greenwood.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hurtado, S. (2003). Preparing college students for a diverse democracy: Final report to the U.S. Department of Education, OERI, field initiated studies program. Ann Arbor: Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hurtado, S., Engberg, M. E., Ponjuan, L., & Landreman, L. (2002). Students’ precollege preparation for participation in a diverse democracy. Research in Higher Education, 43, 163–186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Josselson, R. (1996). Revising herself: The story of women’s identity from college to midlife. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuh, G. D., Vesper, N., Connolly, M. R., & Pace, C. R. (1997). College student experiences questionnaire: Revised norms for the third edition. Bloomington: Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayhew, M. J., & Engberg, M. E. (2005). Diversity and moral reasoning: How negative diverse peer interactions affect the development of moral reasoning in undergraduate students. Paper to be presented at the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA, April 2006.

  • McClendon, M. J. (1994). Multiple regression and causal analysis. Itasca: Peacock Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCombs, B. L. (1991). Motivation and life-long learning. Educational Psychologist, 26, 117–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mentkowski, M. and Associates. (2000). Learning that lasts: Integrating learning, development, and performance in college and beyond. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

  • Pascarella, E. T., Edison, M., Nora, A., Hagedorn, L. S., & Terenzini, P. T. (1996). Influences on students’ openness to diversity and challenge in first year of college. Journal of Higher Education, 67, 174–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pascarella, E. T., Palmer, B., Moye, M., & Pierson, C. T. (2001). Do diversity experiences influence the development of critical thinking?. Journal of College Student Development, 42, 257–271.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (1991). How college affects students: Findings and insights from twenty years of research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (2005). How college affects students revisited: Research from the 1990’s. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pascarella, E. T., Wolniak, G. C., & Pierson, C. T. (2003). Explaining student growth in college when you don’t think you are. Journal of College Student Development, 44, 122–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pedhazur, E. J. (1982). Multiple regression in behavioral research: Explanation and prediction. NY: Hold, Rinehart and Winston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perse, E. M. (1992). Predicting attention to local television news: Need for cognition and motives for viewing. Communication Reports, 5(1), 40–49. Retrieved April 27, 2006, from ERIC database.

  • Pintrich, P. R., Marx, R. W., & Boyle, R. A., (1993). Beyond cold conceptual change: The role of motivational beliefs and classroom contextual factors in the process of conceptual change. Review of Educational Research, 63, 167–199.

    Google Scholar 

  • Preacher, K. J., & Leonardelli, G. J. (2005). Calculation for the Sobel Test: An interactive calculation tool for mediation tests. Retrieved September, 2005 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department of Psychology Web site: http://www.unc.edu/~preacher/sobel/sobel.htm.

  • Raudenbush, S. W. (2004). What are value-added models estimating and what does this imply for statistical practice? Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, 29, 121–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raudenbush, S. W., & Willms, J. D. (1995). The estimation of school effects. Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, 20, 307–335.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, J. A., Gass, R. H., Wiseman, R. L., & Bruschke, J. C. (1992). Ethnic comparison and measurement of argumentativeness, verbal aggressiveness, and need for cognition. Communication Reports, 5(1), 50–56. Retrieved April 27, 2006, from ERIC database.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, J., & Spurling, A. (2001). Understanding motivation for life-long learning. Leicester: NIACE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tennant, M., & Yates, L. (2005). Issues of identity and knowledge in the schooling of VET: A case study of life-long learning. International Journal of Life-long Education, 24(3), 213–225. Retrieved May 3, 2006, from ERIC database.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, M. E. (1995). The impact of need for cognition on thinking about free speech issues. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 72(4), 934–947. Retrieved April 27, 2006, from ERIC database.

  • Toynton, R. (2005). Degrees of disciplinarity in equipping mature students in higher education for engagement and success in life-long learning. Active Learning in Higher Education the Journal of the Institute for Learning and Teaching, 6(2), 106–117. Retrieved May 3, 2006, from ERIC database.

  • Tuijnman, A. (2003). Measuring life-long learning for the new economy. Compare, 33(4), 471–482. Retrieved May 3, 2006, from ERIC database.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wielkiewicz, R. M., Prom, C. L., & Loos, S. (2005). Relationships of the leadership attitudes and beliefs scale with student types, study habits, life-long learning, and GPA. College Student Journal, 39(1), 31. Retrieved May 3, 2006, from ERIC database.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitt, E. J., Edison, M. I., Pascarella, E. T., Terenzini, P. T., & Nora, A. (2001). Influences on students’ openness to diversity and challenge in the second and third years of college. The Journal of Higher Education, 72(2), 172–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Wabash Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. New York University, 239 Greene Street, Suite 300, New York, NY, 10003-6674, USA

    Matthew J. Mayhew

  2. National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Gregory C. Wolniak

  3. The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA

    Ernest T. Pascarella

Authors
  1. Matthew J. Mayhew
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gregory C. Wolniak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ernest T. Pascarella
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Matthew J. Mayhew.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Mayhew, M.J., Wolniak, G.C. & Pascarella, E.T. How Educational Practices Affect the Development of Life-long Learning Orientations in Traditionally-aged Undergraduate Students. Res High Educ 49, 337–356 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-007-9081-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-007-9081-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation