Effects of personal and instructor goals on MOOC continuance intention

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among MOOC learners’ personal goal achievement, instructor goal achievement, learning experiences measured with perceived learning and course satisfaction, and their continuance intention in a MOOC offered by a research university in the United States. A total of 203 MOOC learners voluntarily participated in the study. The results showed that personal goal achievement was a more powerful predictor than instructor goal achievement in forecasting MOOC learners’ perceived learning and course satisfaction. Conversely, instructor goal achievement negatively predicted continuance intention while perceived learning and course satisfaction positively predicted it. Learners’ personal goal achievement did not significantly predict continuance intention. Our study contributes to the current body of MOOC literature, underscoring the importance of learners’ personal goals in relation to their learning experiences mediating their continuance intention.