An Investigation of Under-Represented MOOC Populations: Motivation, Self-Regulation and Grit among 2-Year College Students in Korea

Educators have raised concerns that massive open online courses (MOOCs) mainly serve the interests of advantaged groups. In response, this study examined underrepresented MOOC learners; namely, 2-year college students in South Korea in terms of their perceptions of MOOCs and learning readiness for MOOCs. A total of 119 Korean 2-year college students participated in the survey and their responses were analyzed. Research findings revealed that approximately 90% of participants were unaware of MOOCs, and few students had previously taken a MOOC. These results indicate that it is necessary to advertise MOOCs effectively to underrepresented learners. Importantly, most participants were optimistic about the effects of MOOCs for individual development. Some learners, however, were concerned about their lack of commitment or low self-regulation to complete MOOCs. In terms of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, grit, and self-regulation, the learning readiness of 2-year college students for MOOCs was moderate. Additionally, 2-year college students preferred MOOCs with practical content offered in short study periods, and they emphasized extrinsic motivators over intrinsic ones.