A Multiple Case Study of the Role of Motivation in the Retention of Five Female Community College Students on O‘ahu.

Abstract

This qualitative study was a life history multiple case study investigating the issue of student retention at community colleges in Hawaiʻi using oral interviewing as a primary method of data collection. The purpose of the current study was to investigate what role motivation played in a student’s decision to persist at a community college in Hawaiʻi. The multiple case study was bounded by the following criteria: (a) students in their second year or more, (b) students enrolled in at least one class at a University of Hawaiʻi Community College campus on Oʻahu in Spring 2016, and (c) students met at least two of the seven persistence risk factors (i.e., delayed entry into college, GED or equivalent, financial independence, single parent, dependents other than a spouse, part-time enrollment status, full-time employment) as described by the United States Department of Education (2002). The five students who met the criteria were between the ages of 20 and 39 years old. Two of the five students self-identified as Filipino, and the other three students self-identified as part Native-Hawaiian. The students’ data were examined separately using Tinto’s retention model as well as five motivation theories including Maslow’s hierarchy, the self-determination theory, the expectancy-value theory, the attribution theory, and the self-theory. Using multiple motivation theories and concepts as a framework for analysis resulted in a comprehensive understanding of how motivation influenced the student’s decision to persist or drop out. The findings suggested that the students’ basic needs must be addressed in order for the students to persist in college. They also indicated that counselors and instructors played key roles in meeting the students’ need for relatedness.