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Video by Michael Tate

Localized Professional Development: Creating Base-Level Solutions to a Military-Wide Problem

Air University Public Affairs

Dec. 8, 2023 | 47:51

Mr. Layton Graves

A quantitative study is being conducted on Freedom Air Force Base (FAFB) (a pseudonym for anonymity), to asses the motivations of active duty Airmen to pursue voluntary education. All Airmen who attend the Air Force Tuition Assistance (AF-TA) seminar over a two-month period (ending 30 June 2023) at FAFB are invited to participate in the study. The study incorporates Boshier’s (1991) Education Participation Scale, a 42-question survey utilizing a four-point Likert Scale, to measure the motivations of adult learners to pursue voluntary education. The results are aggregated by demographic categories (time on station, military rank, gender, education level, etc.) and compared to known perceptions of United States Air Force (USAF) education programs found in academic literature. This study addresses the research questions of, “What are the motivations of Airmen who attend the AF-TA briefing at FAFB?” “Are there any statistically significant demographic trends present for Airmen who attend the AF-TA briefing at FAFB?” and “What are the similarities between the motivations of Airmen who attend professional development (PD) courses at FAFB and the known perceptions of USAF PD?” This study addresses the specific education motivations of Airmen at FAFB and showcases how Airmen at FAFB may have different motivations to pursue education than what may be present at other USAF installations. The benefits of locally developed and managed
PD, tailored to the education motivations of Airmen on an installation, is discussed through examples of what a base-level USAF PD program could incorporate to align with Boshier’s (1991) seven motivations of adult learners to pursue voluntary education.