Capturing the process of academic commitment: a taxonomy and test of post-secondary student academic commitment trajectories

Abstract

How does students’ academic commitment develop over the course of their first term? Process research on students’ early academic experiences has been scarce due to a lack of appropriate high-density-high-frequency research designs. We thus have very limited knowledge on how students become academically committed over time. Drawing on the analogue of workplace commitment, I extracted five process-theoretical accounts regarding how students’ AC might evolve over time: Learning to Love, Honeymoon Hangover, High Match, Moderate Match, or Low Match. I measured 180 students’ weekly levels of commitment across 18 weeks (2,778 observations) of post-secondary education. In line with expectations, I found evidence for the above-mentioned five distinct AC trajectories. These findings illustrate the utility of a more nuanced, temporal approach to the study of commitment, and carry both theoretical and practical implications for student development and learning potential.