Understanding Satisfaction and Continuing Motivation in an Online Course: An Extension of Social Cognitive, Control-Value Theory*

Using social cognitive, control-value theory as a framework, this study examined how students’ cognitive appraisals (task value and self-efficacy) and negative achievement emotions (boredom and frustration) relate to their overall satisfaction with an online course and their continuing motivation to enroll in future courses. Service academy undergraduates (N = 481) completed a survey that assessed these constructs. Structural equation modeling revealed that task value, self-efficacy, boredom, and frustration were all statistically significant predictors of satisfaction, accounting for 64% of its variance. Task value and self-efficacy had direct effects on satisfaction, as well as indirect effects through boredom and frustration. Moreover, self-efficacy and boredom had both direct and indirect effects on continuing motivation; whereas task value and frustration had only indirect effects through satisfaction. The final model accounted for 41% of the variance in continuing motivation. Educational implications are discussed. Distance learning is hardly a new phenomenon. In the United States, for example, correspondence courses have provided distance learning to students around the country since the creation of the postal service in the 19th century (Phipps & Merisotis, 1999). Today, however, there is little doubt that the Internet has transformed the promise of teaching and learning from a distance (Dabbagh & BannanRitland, 2005; Hill, Wiley, Nelson, & Han, 2004). In fact, even prestigious universities who once shunned distance learning are now making substantial investments in online learning technologies (LarreamendyJoerns & Leinhardt, 2006; Moore, 2003). Concurrently, business and military organizations are attracted to the potential for online learning to provide “anytime, anywhere” access to education and training (Curda & Curda, 2003; Fletcher et al, 2007). Traditionally, research in distance learning, generally, and online learning, more specifically, has been dominated by comparison studies; that is, investigations which compare the effectiveness of online learning with that of conventional classroom instruction. With few exceptions, results from several metaanalyses of these comparison studies have found no statistically significant differences between the learning outcomes of online and traditional students (e.g., Berge & Mrozowski, 2001; Bernard et al., 2004; Russell, 1999; Sitzmann, Kraiger, Stewart, & Wisher, 2006; Zhao, Lei, Yan, Lai, & Tan, 2005). Recently, however, there has been a call for a paradigm shift in online learning research. Specifically, several scholars (e.g., Abrami & Bernard, 2006; Bernard et al., 2004) have encouraged researchers to move beyond between-group studies and to focus instead on within-group differences among online learners. In doing so, the hope is that future research will move the field forward by positively influencing instructional practice and providing policy makers with evidence-based guidance for implementing online learning programs (Bernard et al., 2004). The present study addresses the call to explore within-group differences among online learners. It does so by employing a model of self-regulated learning to understand how students function in highly autonomous online learning situations. Because of its emphasis on learners and their active control of personal and environmental factors, self-regulated learning theory provides an excellent framework for studying online learners (Azevedo, Cromley, & Seibert, 2004; Dabbagh & Kitsantas, 2004; Hartley & Bendixen, 2001; Whipp & Chiarelli, 2004). In particular, this study examined how students’ cognitive appraisals (task value and self-efficacy) and negative achievement emotions (boredom and frustration) relate to their overall satisfaction with online learning and their continuing motivation to enroll in future