The purpose of this exploratory study was twofold. One was to identify the entry-level goal commitment in STEM graduate students at the beginning of an academic year and identify change in commitment at the end of an academic year. The other was to identify factors and types of experiences and their impact on commitment in this context. Data came from a sample of 59 graduate students in three universities. Each student completed a self-report goal commitment instrument designed to identify levels of goal commitment for academic and professional goals at the beginning and end of an academic year. The researcher also conducted semi-structured interviews at the beginning and end of an academic year to assess each participant's knowledge, skills, abilities, and graduate school experiences.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this exploratory study was twofold. One was to identify the entry-level goal commitment in STEM graduate students at the beginning of an academic year and identify change in commitment at the end of an academic year. The other was to identify factors and types of experiences and their impact on commitment in this context. Data came from a sample of 59 graduate students in three universities. Each student completed a self-report goal commitment instrument designed to identify levels of goal commitment for academic and professional goals at the beginning and end of an academic year. The researcher also conducted semi-structured interviews at the beginning and end of an academic year to assess each participant's knowledge, skills, abilities, and graduate school experiences.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hurst, Melissa Dawn"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Campus Access Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Educational Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Margaret Gredler"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2010,"date_issued":"2010-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2010-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:37:14Z","subjects":["Education","Educational Psychology","Goals","Motivation","STEM"],"languages":[],"rights":["© 2010, Melissa Dawn Hurst"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/1028","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Margaret Gredler"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Hurst, Melissa Dawn"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Campus Access Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Education","Educational Psychology","Goals","Motivation","STEM"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© 2010, Melissa Dawn Hurst"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/1028"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this exploratory study was twofold. One was to identify the entry-level goal commitment in STEM graduate students at the beginning of an academic year and identify change in commitment at the end of an academic year. The other was to identify factors and types of experiences and their impact on commitment in this context. Data came from a sample of 59 graduate students in three universities. Each student completed a self-report goal commitment instrument designed to identify levels of goal commitment for academic and professional goals at the beginning and end of an academic year. The researcher also conducted semi-structured interviews at the beginning and end of an academic year to assess each participant's knowledge, skills, abilities, and graduate school experiences.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["An Exploratory Study of Goal Commitment Among Graduate Students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Fields"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Margaret Gredler"],"dc:creator":["Hurst, Melissa Dawn"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this exploratory study was twofold. One was to identify the entry-level goal commitment in STEM graduate students at the beginning of an academic year and identify change in commitment at the end of an academic year. The other was to identify factors and types of experiences and their impact on commitment in this context. Data came from a sample of 59 graduate students in three universities. Each student completed a self-report goal commitment instrument designed to identify levels of goal commitment for academic and professional goals at the beginning and end of an academic year. The researcher also conducted semi-structured interviews at the beginning and end of an academic year to assess each participant's knowledge, skills, abilities, and graduate school experiences.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/1028"],"dc:rights":["© 2010, Melissa Dawn Hurst"],"dc:subject":["Education","Educational Psychology","Goals","Motivation","STEM"],"dc:title":["An Exploratory Study of Goal Commitment Among Graduate Students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Fields"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Campus Access Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:37:14Z"}