Can factors in the educational environment influence cognitive appraisals of control and value in chiropractic medical students?



Wiles, M
(2019) Can factors in the educational environment influence cognitive appraisals of control and value in chiropractic medical students? Doctor of Education thesis, University of Liverpool.

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Abstract

Can factors in the educational environment influence cognitive appraisals of control and value in chiropractic medical students? Michael Wiles Pekrun and co-workers have described a theoretical construct and continuum by which elements of the educational environment are posited to influence cognitive appraisals of control (over one’s academic performance) and value (of one’s education). These appraisals are said to influence what Pekrun called achievement emotions, or emotions that are tied to educational outcomes. This construct suggests that educational outcomes, the worthy goal of any educational program, could be influenced at the onset by the educational environment. This would be of interest to educators in order to manipulate the environment to influence cognitive appraisals, which in turn influence achievement emotions. Chiropractic medical students were surveyed and interviewed to assess their perceptions of the educational environment, control and value. The survey instrument consisted of the fifty questions of the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure, and ten questions measuring cognitive appraisal of control and value. These latter ten questions had been previously developed and used in several studies investigating appraisals of control and value. Forty-three students (67.2%) completed the survey instrument and six students were interviewed. The qualitative and quantitative data showed that cognitive appraisal of control was strongly correlated with a wide range of elements of the educational environment, in agreement with Pekrun’s construct. However, the findings also showed that cognitive appraisal of value had little to no correlation with the educational environment and is possibly an intrinsic and independent characteristic of these students. These findings are of specific importance to chiropractic educators by supporting the need for a positive educational environment, and of a more general importance to health science educators by demonstrating the importance of personal and social elements in the learning process. These findings also suggest the need for further research into the nature of the perception of value in chiropractic medical students, and whether the strong correlation of the educational environment and perception of control is due to a cause-effect relationship.

Item Type: Thesis (Doctor of Education)
Divisions: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 22 Aug 2019 13:26
Last Modified: 19 Jan 2023 00:39
DOI: 10.17638/03047396
Supervisors:
  • Gough, Martin
  • Gray, Morag
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3047396