Self-Directed Learning Readiness and Life Satisfaction Among Older Adults

A Sample Quantitative Research Proposal Written in the APA 6

th

Style

[Note: This sample proposal is based on a composite of past proposals, simulated information

and references, and material I’ve included for illustration purposes – it is based roughly on a

fairly standard research proposal; I say roughly because there is no one set way of creating a

quantitative research proposal. Much of its design is based on the nature of the research, your

Introduction

An important area of emphasis in gerontological research over the past several decades has been

the issue of life satisfaction. Questions about the physical, psychological, social, and economic

status of older adults have served, either directly or indirectly, as the predominant focus of the

aging research (e. g., Maddox and Wiley, 1996). It is these kinds of questions that have increased

understanding of the processes and problems of aging and have led to the development of

strategies designed to maximize the potential of the later years.

learning and age. This was supported by Hassan (1991) and McCoy (1992). Hassan also looked

at the self-directed learning readiness scores of older adults and found a corresponding positive

relationship between age and scores on the SDLRS. However, apparently no published reports of

subsequent research with the older adult exist.

In addition, no one has published accounts of any comparisons between SDLRS and Life

Satisfaction among older adults. If life satisfaction can be improved by learning efforts as shown

by Dowden (2008), it is important to determine if a propensity and readiness for self-directed

learning among older adults has a relationship to measures of life satisfaction. Therefore, the

intent of this proposed research will be to examine such relationships.

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hurdles that can impact their overall state of well-being. Some adults are able to cross these

hurdles through self-learning efforts, while others find themselves less well equipped to cope

with such concerns. The second problem area involves better understanding why some people

turn to learning for meeting personal needs, while others do not.

In essence, life satisfaction varies considerable among older adults, as does personal propensity

to undertake learning efforts. It is these variances that lie at the heart of the problem areas

proposed for this study. If a link can be established between life satisfaction and an attitude

Purpose

directed learners compare with the degree of satisfaction that they ascribe to their lives.

Specifically, the study will focus on two primary objectives:

1. To determine the relationship between life satisfaction and personal readiness for self-directed

learning.

2. To determine the extent to which components of life satisfaction combine with selected

demographic variables to predict a person’s level of self-directed readiness.

In addition, because so little is known about self-directed learning among older adults, a third

objective will complete the research effort:

Hypotheses

Based on a review of literature as noted later in this proposal, two major hypothesis areas will

guide the analysis of data. First, it is hypothesized that perceptions of life satisfaction will be

related to perceptions of self-directed learning readiness among a sample of older adults. Those

persons who report a high degree of life satisfaction will tend to have perceptions of higher self-

directed readiness while low satisfaction will be related to low self-directed readiness. In

essence, this means that it will be possible to predict an individual’s level of self-directed

readiness by knowing their score on overall life satisfaction plus some of the factors sometimes

identified as barriers to participation in adult education among older adults, such as age and

gender. Finally, it is hypothesized that subjects from a community sample will tend to

demonstrate higher self-directed readiness and life satisfaction than those residing in an

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factors such as the nature of one’s social interactions, (c) perceived health, and (d) financial

security.

Older Adult – for the proposed study, older adult is defined as any person who is at least 65 years

of age.

Self-Directed Learning – a process in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the

help of others, in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating learning goals, identifying human

(1997).

Review of Literature

Before considering this body of literature, it is important to point out that research on qualify of

life has not fallen within the exclusive domain of gerontologists. Quality of life is an issue that is

relevant to persons of all ages and has been widely studied as such. Cantrill (1965), for instance,

studied quality of life among persons in more than a dozen nations at different stages of

development. In the U.S., researchers affiliated with the Institute for Social Research at the

University of Michigan have undertaken extensive efforts in studying quality of life (e.g.,

To fully understand the meaning of life satisfaction as it is used in the proposed study, it is

necessary to be familiar with a number of related concepts. The term that probably serves as the

umbrella under which other terms are covered is quality of life. In general, quality of life is a

nebulous term that evades precise definition (Campbell, 1991). Andrews and Withey (1996) have

stated the following about quality of life:

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 A feeling of satisfaction with one's present status and activities

 A feeling of happiness and satisfaction with one's life (p. 60).

Clearly, successful aging bears some relationship to life satisfaction, especially as considered in

the third and fourth definitions presented above. Leonard (1981-82) has addressed the

relationship between life satisfaction and successful aging by viewing the former as "a major

component" of the latter (p. 223).

Another term frequently associated with life satisfaction is well-being. This is sometimes

referred to more specifically as "subjective well-being" (Larson, 1998) or "social-psychological

So, then, just what is life satisfaction? As has been pointed out, life satisfaction is an integral

component of successful aging. George has described life satisfaction as "essentially a cognitive

assessment of one's progress toward desired goals" (1999, p. 210). Lemon, Bengston, and

Peterson (1992) define the concept as "the degree to which one is presently content or pleased

with his general life situation" (p. 513). An important consideration that needs to be taken into

account when conceptualizing life satisfaction is the point of reference from which the concept is

measured. Neugarten, Havighurst, and Tobin (1961), among others, have discussed two

approaches to measuring well-being. The first of these is an examination of the person's external

conditions. Here, well-being is determined on the basis of factors such as income, participation

in social activities, employment and marital status, and health as assessed through a physical

unaccounted for most of what we are trying to explain" (pp. 1-2).

Measuring Life Satisfaction: Different Approaches

Since 1949, a variety of measures have been developed to assess life satisfaction and related

constructs among older people. Four such scales are discussed in the present section. The earliest

of these efforts to measure the well-being of older adults was reported by Cavan, Burgess,

Havighurst, and Goldhammer (1949). The focus of this study was on "personal adjustment,"

which was measured through an instrument referred to as Your Activities and Attitudes. This is a

rather extensive survey of the kinds of activities and concerns individuals devote their energies

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Another early measure of well-being was the Kutner Morale Scale (Kutner, Fanshel, Togo, and

Langner, 1956). This is a seven-item Guttman scale that was administered to 500 persons at least

60 years of age. Here, morale was defined as "a continuum of responses to life and living

problems that reflect the presence or absence of satisfaction, optimism, and expanding life

perspectives" (p. 48). In this scale, subjects were asked to give their responses to each of seven

morale-related questions, with points scored for appropriate responses. A criticism that has been

leveled against this measure is that it views well-being as a unidimensional concept rather than a

combination of interacting factors (Neugarten, et al., 1961).

variable life satisfaction. These factors include:

 self-concept

The LSIA is regarded as a major contribution because it defined life satisfaction as a

multidimensional construct and specified the various factors comprising the construct. As

Salamon and Conte (1991) note, however, reliability figures for the Indexes were at best low to

moderate, with a range of r = -.07 to r = .59. This would indicate an important limitation to the

use of the LSIA.

In response to the limitations of unidimensional life satisfaction scales and the relatively low

reliability scores of the LSIA, Salamon and Conte (1991) developed a new life satisfaction

measure. The Salamon-Conte Life Satisfaction in the Elderly Scale (SCLSES) is a 40-item Likert

satisfaction. These are "perceived health," "financial security," and "social contacts" (p. 6). This

instrument was selected for use in the present investigation for two reasons. First, the reliability

coefficient of .93 reported by the SCLSES developers is considerably higher than reliability

figures for other life satisfaction measures. Second, several of the factors in the scale can be

linked, directly or indirectly, to adult education participation and/or perceptions of self-

directedness. The SCLSES, proposed for use in this study, is discussed in greater detail in a later

section.

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Self-Directed Learning [note: this section has been shorted for purposes of illustration in this

sample proposal – in reality, it would most likely be 1-3 pages longer to make the case for its use

in the proposed research]

Self-directed learning is by no means a new concept to adult education; yet it only began to

emerge as a major research focus in the field since the early 1970's. The foundation upon which

self-directed learning has been supported is generally associated with the principles of

humanistic philosophy and psychology. A variety of approaches have been used to study the

Residence [note: this section has been shorted for purposes of illustration in this sample – in

reality, it would most likely be 1-3 pages longer to make the case for its use in the proposed

research]

Especially relevant to the present investigation is a consideration of the relationship between

residential setting and life satisfaction. Wolk and Telleen (1999) studied life satisfaction

differences between samples from long-term care and retirement community settings. Life

satisfaction was found to be higher among the community sample, where subjects were in a

lower constraint environment. Further, they noted different emphases in life satisfaction

Summary

Life satisfaction has been an important area of study for psychologists and sociologists in recent

decades. Because of its link with quality of life, gerontologists have found it especially fruitful to

explore life satisfaction among older adults. Like self-directed learning, life satisfaction is hard

to define and this has contributed to certain difficulties in studying the concept. Research has

examined life satisfaction variously as a unidimensional and a multi dimensional phenomenon,

an objective and subjective measure, an indicator of present and lifetime well-being, and a social

and psychosocial phenomenon. Learning efforts have been shown to be have a relationship to

life satisfaction, but the exact association is not clear. This proposed research will add to the

literature base by building a rationale for recognizing the importance of both self-directed

learning and life satisfaction in research and theory building in gerontology and adult education.

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the study. In addition, a review of relevant literature related to the two major study variables –

adult self-directed learning readiness and life satisfaction during the aging process – established

a background of support for the study. Both of these variables have been studied extensively, but

not together and with older adults. The proposed research is an effort to examine the relationship

between these variables in a manner that has not been done to date.

The intent of this section is to describe the methodology that is proposed for such a research

effort. Included in the section will be a description of the study setting, proposed research design,

Study Setting

status and other related variables would make for a monumental undertaking. Therefore, it is

necessary to delimit the setting from which a sample for the study will be drawn.

The setting for the proposed study, thus, consists of all individuals residing within two settings.

One setting will be an adult residential home in Syracuse, New York. The adult home is a long-

term care facility for persons who need minimal support. The other setting is a senior citizen’s

housing project located adjacent to downtown Syracuse. Residents living in this facility are all

retired, living on their own, and do not need outside support. Choosing these two settings will

provide for a sample of older adults within a confined geographic area thereby facilitating the

collection of data, while at the same time meeting the requirements of grouping differences as

Therefore, the study plan will involve the gathering of information about life satisfaction and

self-directed learning readiness among older adults living in two different residential settings. No

manipulation of the variables by the researcher will be possible; instead any determined

differences will be ex post facto in nature in that they will stem from differences in results in the

measurement efforts according to age, gender, residential setting, life satisfaction scores, and

self-directed learning readiness scores.

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determined that 271 people, 65 years of age or older, live in this setting. In addition, 346 people

live in the 220 apartments contained within the senior citizen complex. Some tenants may

receive special services based on income and all are eligible for various social and community

activities, but all are independent in terms of transportation, meeting medical needs, and

involvement with others throughout the community.

A random sample will be drawn from the list of residents obtained for both settings. Using a

table of random numbers, the names of individuals will be selected from each setting until a

will result in a good cross section of subjects in terms of gender, age, and residential setting. In

addition, the normal variations in life satisfaction SDLRS scores among at least 190 people will

enable statistical comparisons for the study’s hypotheses that provide new information about

older adults.

In the proposed study, two instruments will be employed to measure one independent variable,

one dependent variable, and three moderator (demographic) variables. These are outlined below.

authors report a reliability coefficient of .93 for the entire scale. They did not talk about the

instrument’s validity. Even given this latter limitation, the SCLSES, it would appear, offers

much potential as an approach to measuring the variable of life satisfaction.

Dependent Variable – The dependent variable in this study is self-directed readiness. It is

measured through the use of the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS). This is a 58-

item Likert scale, developed by Guglielmino (1997) to determine the extent to which subjects

perceive themselves to possess the skills frequently associated with self-directed learning.

Guglielmino reported a reliability coefficient of .87 for the scale. In addition, both internal and

predictive validity of the instrument have been demonstrated to be high. Hassan (1991) used the

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Moderator Variables – In addition to the above independent and dependent variables, three

secondary independent or moderator variables will be considered. According to Tuckman

(1978), a moderator variable is as follows:

distribute and collect the completed instruments. Prior to their distribution an introductory letter

from both the researcher and the respective administrators will be placed in each selected

subject’s mailbox or mail slot asking for their cooperation. The letters will describe the research

and its importance and the support of the administrator. They also will note that a $5 coupon

toward any groceries at the local Wegman’s Grocery (donated by the store’s public relations

office) will be available to each person completing the two instruments and signing a letter of

informed consent related to the research. Finally, they will provide a telephone number for

anyone with questions or who may need assistance in completing the instruments. This

procedure will be pilot-tested with at least 10 volunteers from the Fayetteville Senior center to

refine the data gathering plans.

recording the answers. Each assistant so involved will be provided training by the researcher on

how to read and record the answers in an unbiased manner.

One week after this initial delivery, a follow-up phone call will be made to either thank those

who completed the forms or to remind those who have not yet completed their forms. The

grocery coupons will be mailed to all who have completed the forms with a letter of thanks. If

fewer than 95 people from each of the two settings complete the forms, then the random

sampling and distribution will continue until at least that number of completed forms from each

setting has been received. It is anticipated that all data collection efforts will be completed within

one month.