Military-Connected Students in Online Learning Programs
Authors:   , Johnson Amy , Phillips Joy C. 
Published: July 2021

Active duty United States soldiers encounter unimaginable stressors and challenges throughout their military career. Many of these soldiers are also simultaneously working to achieve a long-term goal of obtaining post-secondary education, yet they face unique challenges due to the demands of military service that traditional students do not. Active duty soldiers are referred to by Molina and Morse (2015) as military-connected students, defined as "National Guard members, reservists, active duty personnel, and veterans" from the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force" (p. 1). Military students present uncommon challenges to institutions of higher education due to the demands of military service such as frequent deployments and duty assignments that may cause lack of access to their online courses for an extended amount of time (Brown & Gross, 2011). Due to challenges such as these, active duty soldiers have been shown to exhibit more risk factors of non-completion in higher education than other military-connected students; yet, it is unknown if there are additional risk factors that affect their academic perseverance in online learning programs (Molina & Morse, 2015). The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to identify the factors that affect the academic perseverance of active duty soldiers stationed at a large military installation in the southeast region of the United States to determine what relationships, if any, existed between factors related to active duty military service, personal factors, and grit in a sample of military-connected students who were enrolled in or had recently completed an online learning program. The central research question addressed in the study was as follows: What are the factors that affect the academic perseverance of military-connected students in online learning programs? Three sub-questions were addressed within the central research question. Applying the social constructivist stance, the researcher conducted data collection through semi-structured individual face-to-face interviews and administered the Short Grit Scale to eight active duty soldiers at a large military installation located in the southeast region of the United States. Data analysis followed Moustakas' (1994) modified version of the Van Kaam method of phenomenological analysis. Quantitative results from the Short Grit Scale were scored in accordance with the guidance in Duckworth and Quinn (2009). Five themes emerged from participants' shared experiences during eight semi-structured interviews as follows: (1) military-connected students may experience inter-role conflicts between work (military service), family, and school that could affect their academic perseverance in online learning programs; (2) military resources and incentives for higher education reported may positively affect military-connected students' academic perseverance in online learning programs; (3) military service obligations reported may negatively affect military-connected students' academic perseverance in online learning programs; (4) educational experiences in childhood and personal factors in adulthood may affect military-connected students' academic perseverance in online learning programs; (5) grit impact factors may influence military-connected students' work ethic and level of achievement in online learning programs. Results from the study will be used to better understand factors that affect the academic perseverance of military-connected students and to provide recommendations for supporting this population in institutions of higher education.