UNDERSTANDING CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: AN HOLISTIC EXAMINATION OF ENGINEERING STUDENTS ENGAGEMENT WITH AND MOTIVATION TOWARDS CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

In an increasingly knowledge-based economy, there is a need to examine approaches to improving engagement with learning and developmental activities. This study carried out a holistic examination of engineering students' engagement with Continuous Professional Development (CPD) and motivation towards CPD. It established an understanding of the interaction (relationship and predictability) between Level of engagement with CPD (LECPD) and motivation towards CPD.
An explanatory sequential mixed-method approach was utilised in the study; 510 students were surveyed, and 20 academic and students interviewed across six universities in Southwest Nigeria and the North of England. In-depth analysis of data obtained yielded several findings, including the establishment of a tool that successfully measured LECPD.
The study found that engineering students attach varying importance to aspects of CPD. The study also found that there is a relationship between LECPD and Motivation towards CPD. It showed that some identified and emergent dimensions of motivation had a direct or inverse relationship with LECPD and that a large proportion of variance of LECPD can be explained by motivation towards engagement with CPD. The findings of the study also included the identification of predictors of LECPD among emergent and identified dimensions of CPD and showed that variables representative of the different dimensions of motivation are good predictors of LECPD, with a high level of accuracy. The findings also included successfully expatiating on engagement with CPD from an Interpretivist point of view.
The benefits and impacts of the study potentially cut across many sectors of society including industry, government and education research, policymakers, human resources and teachers. These areas can benefit from research that potentially enables a better understanding of student's engagement with CPD and Motivation towards engaging in CPD, an understanding that would lead to the development of strategies for improving student engagement with CPD.