Abstract

Helping military veterans successfully transition to civilian life is an important issue. Education can help with this transition. No prior studies were found on the general type of undergraduate major United States (US) Chapter 31 veterans enroll in. Chapter 31 provides tuition benefits to help entitled transitioning military veterans, with service-connected disabilities, go to college to obtain a degree. Self-determination theory (SDT) suggests two general categories of majors, intrinsic (I) versus extrinsic (E). Intrinsic motivation emphasizes doing a task for its inherent satisfaction, while extrinsic motivation targets doing the same task to achieve external rewards, such as compensation. Archival data was analyzed using small samples of undergraduate Chapter 31 military veterans in 2016, 2018 and 2020. Overall, the results supported the research question, i.e., Chapter 31 veterans will be more likely to choose intrinsically motivating versus extrinsically motivating college majors. Results, including limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.

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