| On one Marine Corps base, a minimum of 5% of adult enlisted Marines per year lack certain competencies and seek admittance into a high school competency remediation program. The lack of these competencies impedes qualification for many military occupational specialties, the ability to convert from an enlisted Marine to a Warrant Officer, or scoring well on entry-level college-placement tests. Utilizing Lave and Wenger's theory of legitimate peripheral participation through communities of practice (CoP), this mixed-methods, grounded-theory study employed a sequential exploratory strategy utilizing qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey to answer a research question involving understanding what is needed in the area of learning fundamentals and learning assistance from the Marine Corps that would help improve learning and academic success from an adult student perspective. Analysis of the qualitative data entailed coding themes. Analysis of the quantitative data was accomplished by analyzing the measures of central tendency. The most common qualitative findings indicated a lack of dedicated websites providing online training materials, hands-on equipment, updated content, and accommodation of various learning styles. Analysis of quantitative data suggested that the participants embrace technology use and that they desire online communities to aid them in their quest for knowledge and success. Online CoP can provide Marines with just-in-time collaborative learning opportunities to enhance knowledge and student achievement, thus promoting positive social change. Research in this area would be significant to all military services as well as to public and private educators who seek to enhance student learning opportunities and achievement through knowledge-management tools, including the development of online CoP. |
