Western Kentucky University TopSCHOLAR® Dissertations Graduate School Spring 2020 Life Factors Affecting U.S. Army Junior-Enlisted Soldiers in Reaching Their Educational Goals Irina Rader
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/diss Part of the Adult and Continuing Education Commons, Educational Leadership Commons, and the Military, War, and Peace Commons Recommended Citation Rader, Irina, "Life Factors Affecting U.S. Army Junior-Enlisted Soldiers in Reaching Their Educational Goals" (2020). Dissertations. Paper 178. https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/diss/178 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by TopSCHOLAR®. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TopSCHOLAR®. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. LIFE FACTORS AFFECTING U.S. ARMY JUNIOR-ENLISTED SOLDIERS IN REACHING THEIR EDUCATIONAL GOALS A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Educational Administration, Leadership, and Research Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, Kentucky In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education By Irina Rader May 2020 PREFACE The purpose of this study is to gain insight into the United States (U.S.) Army’s Voluntary Education (VolEd) Tuition Assistance (TA) Program’s dynamics in the context of usage, to expand the understanding of patterns in an adult’s participation in learning, and to identify barriers within the U.S. Army junior-enlisted soldier population serving on active duty in Regular Army (RA) in the rank of specialist (E-4). U.S. Army specialists represent the largest sector of the U.S. Army soldier population, yet have the lowest participation in the VolEd Program, specifically TA.