Graduation Year

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ph.D.

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Degree Granting Department

Educational and Psychological Studies

Major Professor

Lisa M. Lopez, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Jennifer R. Wolgemuth, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Tony Tan, Ed.D.

Committee Member

Jennifer Bleck, Ph.D.

Keywords

Adult Learners, Coaching, Goals, Professional Development, Reflection, Self-Determination Theory

Abstract

Through a Critical Reflective Self-Study, this dissertation explores adult learning and development with a focus on the psychological construct of mindfulness and its role in goal attainment. The self-study places me as the subject and centers on my reflections, insights, and lessons learned through my doctoral professional development journey at a large public research university. My experience began with a research focus on mindfulness and mindfulness training for cognitive performance and adult learning and development, and later in my doctoral program, I gained further insight into the facilitation of goal attainment when I studied, practiced, and worked in university student success and wellness coaching. Inquiry into direct connections between mindfulness, motivation, and goal attainment is a relatively new area of research (Donald et al., 2020; Ryan et al., 2021); this dissertation adds to this area of the literature. Furthermore, this work introduces my qualitative design, the Critical Reflective Self-Study, which augments the self-study method and may be utilized by professionals in any field to study and critically analyze their practice through an intensive professional development exercise. Through the theoretical lenses of self-determination theory, self-efficacy theory, Kabat-Zinn and Hanh’s nine mindful attitudes, and developing learning, I explore mindfulness, goal attainment, and ideas for enhancing the learning and development journey. Through the Critical Reflective Self-Study, I found that mindfulness can be cultivated and may improve goal attainment by potentially increasing motivation quality, resulting in more autonomous actions. My result mirrors Richard Ryan and colleagues’ (Donald et al., 2020; Ryan et al., 2021) findings, which link mindfulness with motivation quality. In my experience, I witnessed and identified facets of the goal attainment process that may cultivate mindfulness, which may improve motivation quality, leading to improved goal attainment outcomes. In my experience, this cultivation may have been achieved, in part, through what I define as Mindfulness in Action, which is being in a heightened state of mindfulness while engaged in the intentional pursuit of a goal. Additionally, through my experience in peer-to-peer coaching for goal attainment, I found that cultivation of mindfulness may have been achieved, in part, through what I define as Reflective Peer-to-Peer Learning and Reciprocal Inquiry, both potentially active forms of mindfulness due to their mindful, reflective nature. Also, I found that mindfulness practices were, in my perception, among the most powerful tools for the evolution of my learning and development. Directions for future research lean towards measuring the observed phenomenon. Furthermore, building on the results of the study, I introduce and discuss Mindfulness in Action, my conceptual model for enhanced goal attainment, and Agile Environments for Learning and Development, a new concept that adapts the business practice of Agile to demonstrate an Agile Mindset for creating educational environments that promote growth and success. Furthermore, I consider the future of adult learning and development and the beneficial promise of artificial intelligence. Moreover, I passionately advocate the importance of mindful, reflective practices to succeed in higher learning, one’s career, and beyond.

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