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Professional Military Education in the Marine Corps Reserve: A Narrative Inquiry

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Title: Professional Military Education in the Marine Corps Reserve: A Narrative Inquiry
Language: English
Authors: Fullerton, Adam, Hatch-Tocaimaza, Deryl K., Synstelien, Seth S., Meltzer, Aaron
Source: New Horizons in Adult Education & Human Resource Development. Sum 2020 32(3):5-19.
Availability: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 15
Publication Date: 2020
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Adult Education
Descriptors: Military Training, Military Personnel, Professional Continuing Education, Veterans
DOI: 10.1002/nha3.20285
ISSN: 1939-4225
Abstract: While there are numerous qualitative studies exploring civilian experiences in continuing professional education programs, there is a dearth of research on the professional military education (PME) system. These systems, which sustain continuing education and professional development for over two million active and reserve members of the military, are navigated in a myriad of different ways depending on the branch of service, active or reserve status, and ability to go to resident PME courses vice using an online format. This study, using a narrative inquiry framework explores the lived experience of seven reserve staff non-commissioned officers (SNCO) as they navigate the PME process. Through the process of narrative meaning-making, administrators and advocates of varying backgrounds are able to imagine how PME might be navigated in unique contexts and what it means to support those engaging in PME.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2020
Accession Number: EJ1264911
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0145298652;[1cyh]01jun.20;2020Aug27.02:37;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0145298652-1">Professional military education in the Marine Corps Reserve: A narrative inquiry </title> <p>While there are numerous qualitative studies exploring civilian experiences in continuing professional education programs, there is a dearth of research on the professional military education (PME) system. These systems, which sustain continuing education and professional development for over two million active and reserve members of the military, are navigated in a myriad of different ways depending on the branch of service, active or reserve status, and ability to go to resident PME courses vice using an online format. This study, using a narrative inquiry framework explores the lived experience of seven reserve staff non‐commissioned officers (SNCO) as they navigate the PME process. Through the process of narrative meaning‐making, administrators and advocates of varying backgrounds are able to imagine how PME might be navigated in unique contexts and what it means to support those engaging in PME.</p> <p>Keywords: Narrative Inquiry; Student Veterans; Professional Military Education (PME); Continuing Professional Education (CPE)</p> <p>Despite numerous qualitative studies that have explored individuals' experience within continuing professional development education (CPE) programs (Barry, Kuijer‐Siebelink, Nieuwenhuis, & Hann, 2017; Draz & Ahmad, 2017) spanning numerous occupations, this has not been the case in professional military education (PME) programs. PME exists within every branch of the United States Armed Services, involving hundreds of thousands of veterans nationwide each year across hundreds of occupational duties and contexts. The extent and scope of this professional development endeavor thus has many parallels within the civilian sector, but also important differences due to the cultural context of the professional military generally and the highly structured order of command in particular that makes PME obligatory and universal. In contrast to the civilian world where PME is based on assumptions of open‐ended labor markets and individual choice, the experience and impacts of such an intensive professional development regime on individual students in Professional military education (PME) is largely unknown in the research literature.</p> <p>What research does exist regarding PME has largely focused on policy and organizational preparedness for multiple contingencies (Johnson‐Freese, 2013) rather than developing the individual. As PME is required for promotion (Marine Corps Order [MCO] 1553.4B, 2008; MCO P1400.32D, 2012; MCO P1610.7F, 2018), every servicemember interacts with the PME system, which creates one of the largest continuing professional education (CPE) programs in the world. While each experience is different, the requirement of these courses can become, at times, daunting for the individual. There has been research on the failings of the PME system (Johnson‐Freese, 2013), but to better understand how we can improve them to better support the student, an exploration of the student's experience is fundamental and lacking. The experience and success of servicemembers' in PME is crucial from both a practical human resources perspective and broader educational equity perspective, given that for thousands of servicemembers military training and PME constitutes effectively for thousands of servicemembers for whom it is their only postsecondary educational opportunity. Indeed, only 51% of servicemembers that commence education using the GI Bill go on to obtain a postsecondary credential of some kind (Student Veterans of America, 2015), a figure that much effort is dedicated to expand through experiential credit schemes and an abundance of veteran higher education support efforts aimed to build on PME. There is reason to posit that there are parallels with individuals' experiences shown in the CPE literature—given the variety of professional and occupational contexts that correspond directly with the civilian sector. But there are also likely divergences given the dynamics of military social life and the how its operations influence the lives of people involved (Caforio & Nuciari, 2018).</p> <p>So far, research into PME has focused on benefits to the organization, in accordance with an inclination toward human capital theory (Becker, 1993). For instance, Paschal (2006) explored the impact of the military transition to irregular warfare and counterinsurgency operations on PME, and the impact on the evolving scope and aims of PME with a specific focus on law enforcement actions, foreign internal defense (security assistance and training of indigenous forces courses), and interagency and multinational operations including Intergovernmental agencies and Non‐Governmental Agencies (NGOs). A few studies have focused on sub‐populations based on rank levels, such as Green's (2011) programmatic analysis of captains' career courses in the United States Army, which is representative of the predominant attention to officer education. Hasík (2016) included enlisted servicemembers in analyzing the implications for non‐specialty training of competencies for irregular warfare. But the arguments were based on a textual analysis of the military field manuals. What these studies have not attended to are questions of how typical servicemembers experience and make sense of PME in their own lives during and after military service. If PME is meant to be effective and meaningful in the course of servicemembers' duties and lives, research into PME contingency planning, curricular issues, and policy matters does not uncover the type of knowledge embedded in personal experience. Rather, it is essential to ascertain these personal perspectives of servicemembers directly.</p> <p>The exploration of lived experiences, and in particular those lived experiences of individuals as they access PME at different ranks and over many years gives insight into what it means to take these courses, and what benefits they provide from the individuals required to take them. These courses are designed with the active duty component in mind, however, with the Reserve force growing exponentially over upcoming years (United States Navy, 2017) it is imperative to ensure that these programs are set up to support the Reserve population. While a quantitative approach will illustrate the success rate of courses, there are secondary and tertiary causes to developing programs that cause extreme levels of stress on the Reserve population and their ability to meet requirements. Whether there are obligations to family, to employers, or to any pursuit outside of the Reserves, creating courses that are time intensive creates a disincentive for continuation within the organization. It is only when making meaning from these shared experiences that one can understand complications faced from this population in pursuit of PME, such as the debate to attend PME in person rather than online, an issue further complicated by the fact that the Marine is paid to attend a resident course, but is not reimbursed for their time if they pursue the online option.</p> <p>In this study, a narrative inquiry approach (Clandinin, 2013; Kim, 2016; Polkinghorne, 1995) is used to explore the lived experiences of staff sergeant United States Marine Corps reservists within the PME programs of the Marine Corps University. There are many sub‐populations within the different branches of service, as well as many idiosyncrasies between their educational systems. By focusing on the experience of these individual veterans, one can gain insight into needed practices to support individuals in their particular PME programs, as well as when they continue on to civilian higher education. Narrative inquiry as a framework enables us to explore the stories of the participants, understanding the social, cultural, and institutional experiences (Clandinin & Rosiek, 2007) that occur within these stories. Focusing on the stories of the individuals is not done to derive generalizations per se, even if the servicemembers may be representative of their counterparts, but to reveal broader issues and patterns in the embedded social and institutional contexts that the stories illuminate.</p> <hd id="AN0145298652-2">Situating PME within Continuing Professional Education</hd> <p>Just as CPE is critical to individuals' efforts to maintain relevance in numerous fields, the CPE systems themselves continue to evolve to meet modern workforce challenges. Cervero (2000) states that the continuing education systems that we recognize today could be found in their infancy in the 1960s. Over the next several decades they evolved, developing into certification and licensing courses, accredited courses, and formal degrees. While these courses have continued to develop over time Cervero and Daley (2016) postulate that CPE is lagging behind other portions of adult education in forming systemic approaches to fostering learning for practice in many fields. The challenge of making CPE relevant and responsive as it grows warrants, thus, systematic investigations of how they operate in the broader workforce context and, as we argue below, in the particular experiences of individuals pursuing continuing education.</p> <p>As professions continue to become more specialized, there is a current demand to expand the educational opportunities that exist with CPE (Daley & Cervero, 2018). Referencing what to focus on in creating the path forward Thibault (2013) stated that the following steps would be critical:</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> Interprofessional and interdisciplinary education,</item> <p></p> <item> New models of clinical education,</item> <p></p> <item> New content to complement the biological sciences,</item> <p></p> <item> Competency‐based education,</item> <p></p> <item> Increased efficiency and individualization of education, and</item> <p></p> <item> Incorporation of new educational and information technologies.</item> </ulist> <p>While much of the research efforts in this regard have been conducted with a focus on medical education, the implications can be applied to professional military education (PME), including—in particular in relation to the issue at hand in this study—the latter steps of balancing efficiency with individualization in light of new technologies.</p> <p>The Marine Corps University (MCU), the primary driver and provider of PME for the Marine Corps, was founded with one goal in mind, to further the education of Marines in their profession as warfighters, and also within their specific primary military occupation specialty. While the PME experience in each branch is different, the history of the Marine Corps PME system can be traced back to the late 1980s when courses started out initially following civilian standards, with resident courses being required, and then evolving into correspondence courses. On this evolution, Hampson and Taber (2020) state that military education is an ever‐continuing process of professionalization where one learns not only what it means to be a servicemember, but also how to serve in their institution.</p> <p>As the MCU has continued to evolve, a recent change has come in the form of required PME, starting at the rank of Corporal. Thus, PME in the Marine Corps has evolved in scope, audience, teaching methods, and learning methods, but without some of the fundamental assumptions about its role in the lives of servicemembers questioned or reviewed in light of modern realities. To this end the purpose of this study is to explore the roles of PME in the lives of servicemembers by turning to servicemembers themselves to systematically study how PME unfolds and impacts them in their own words. This purpose is focused through the research question: What are the lived experiences of those reservists pursuing PME?</p> <hd id="AN0145298652-3">Methods</hd> <p>Narrative inquiry is a methodology that operates both as a theoretical and conceptual framework. By using this methodology, we acknowledge the nesting of the lived experience of the participants into a three‐dimension concept. By exploring their experience in relation to the spatial, temporal, and social dimensions, the audience is able to understand more of the context behind the experience than if the experience where not tethered to a specific time, location, and specific group. In narrative inquiry (Clandinin, 2013), it is important to understand that narratives are explored in one of two ways. Either the living narrative is being recorded, or the participants are retelling their experience. It is relevant to understand that.</p> <hd id="AN0145298652-4">Procedure</hd> <p>There is a precedence for utilizing narrative inquiry in the pursuit of knowledge regarding adult education. Taber (2011) utilized this methodology to explore the lived experience of adult education and social constructs. Narrative inquiry as a research method is arguably inseparable from the use of narrative inquiry as a conceptual framework according to Clandinin (2013). Though the procedure initially entails in a seemingly straightforward fashion the interviewing of participants, it is imperative to understand that in this exchange, the researcher collaborates with the participant in exploring the experience through guided questions. Questions and responses jointly construct a naturalistic narrative that can be understood as exploring temporal, spatial, and societal dimensions of experiences (Clandinin, 2013). These dimensions informed the overall emphasis of an otherwise open‐ended interview protocol and later provided a heuristic structure for the reconstruction and analysis of the narratives. Thus, the unfolding of narrative inquiry is conceptually grounded from the outset of data collection through to data analysis.</p> <p>In order to best develop an open and trusting space for participants to tell their stories, interviews were conducted by fellow veterans who share the sometimes liminal spaces between civilian and military lives and identities (Herman & Yarwood, 2014). Specifically, the interviewing research team members were U.S. Marine Corps University adjunct faculty members who were also serving in the Marine Corps Reserve. One of these researchers has served for four years in a Reserve capacity in the Marine Corps. The other researcher had served in a Reserve capacity for 13 years. A third team member served in the Marine Corps as a reservist for eight years, and the final team member, who is not a military veteran, did not participate in interviews but rather was involved in data analysis, debriefing, and writing. Participants were invited to participate in two interviews lasting an hour each, and one follow‐up member check session. Interviews were conducted to elicit information regarding three essential dimensions of an inquiry space: social and personal interaction, temporality, and location (Clandinin, 2013; Clandinin & Connelly, 1994, 2000; Kim, 2016). The research protocol and activities were approved and overseen by the Institutional Review Board of the primary author's affiliated university.</p> <hd id="AN0145298652-5">Participants</hd> <p>Because each branch of the uniformed services of the United States structures its PME procedures and policies differently, this study was delimited to just one branch to establish a common contextual reference across participants' narratives. The study if further delimited around the experiences of those with the rank of staff sergeant since, as non‐commissioned officers, these individuals have the perspective of having experienced the realities of enlisted Marines, while at the same time benefitting from the experience of leadership and staff protocol allow for these servicemembers to fully comprehend the implications of PME. By focusing on the stories of staff sergeants, the study is simultaneously narrowly tailored, rending it feasible, and as expansive as possible across PME contexts.</p> <p>While the larger study into reservists that these interviews are drawn from had 12 participants, this study draws on the experiences of eight of the participants. The reason for this selection is based exclusively off of rank. Those holding staff non‐commissioned officer ranks of Staff Sergeant or above have had the opportunity to take multiple levels of PME, allowing for the audience to draw on a vast wealth of experience. Those participants in the overarching study that were Sergeant or below did not necessarily have their PME complete for rank, or had not dealt with any of the more nuanced PME programs that come with developing human capital starting around mid‐career.</p> <p>Participants were recruited from among U.S. Marine Corps reservists across the country using professional</p> <p>networks of research team members. For feasibility and to enhance personal trust within a group that can rightly distrust researchers' motives (Strom et al., 2012), researchers utilized snowball sampling (Allen, 2017) across a relatively broad, nationwide sampling frame. Participants were eligible if at least 18 years old, directly affiliated with the Reserves, and—to ensure sufficient exposure to PME experiences—had served a minimum of six months of active duty outside of initial training. Furthermore, participants needed to have been currently enrolled in a U.S. regionally accredited two‐year or four‐year postsecondary institution or have been enrolled during their time in the Reserves. For this study, Marines currently affiliated with the Marine Corps Reserve were eligible for participation. Individuals who have since departed the military were also eligible for the study if they served time in the Select Marine Corps Reserve (SMCR) during their time of service and had an honorable discharge. Those that served in the SMCR but are now on active duty were ineligible for participation due to constraints on interviewing active duty servicemembers.</p> <p>Researchers sent email invitations through multiple civilian, non‐military, professional channels associated with SMCR units. Within the one‐year data collection time frame envisioned by the approved protocol, seven eligible individuals, referred to here using researcher‐assigned pseudonyms, participated in the study. Their basic demographic characteristics, summarized in Table 1, shows that the participants have served a wide‐range of active service time, as well as Reserve time. Important to note is that Sally, Ron, Spurgeon, Joseph, and Tony, received all their active duty time while as reservists. The Marines in this study have served between nine and nineteen years, with only one participant, Joseph, having what is considered broken time in their service record. This means that they dropped into an inactive status and did not receive satisfactory retirement credits for, at minimum, one year.</p> <p>1 TableParticipants at a Glance</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><tbody valign="top"><tr><td><graphic href="" /></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <hd id="AN0145298652-6">Data Analysis</hd> <p>In between the initial and second interviews, researchers conducted first‐cycle, open‐ended descriptive coding (Saldaña, 2013) and wrote analytical memos that served as the basis for elaborating follow‐up questions to ensure sufficient coverage of the conceptual narrative dimensions needed for analysis. The third member‐check session was designed to ensure collaborative meaning‐making by researchers and the participants. The primary investigator reviewed findings with participants and elicited further reflection and observations around an individual's narrative.</p> <p>Ultimately, these transcripts, field notes, and analytical memos compose the overall analytical data set, which were analyzed following the recommendations of Clandinin (2013) and Kim (2016) to reconstruct the narratives longitudinally and accounting for the narrative dimensions of each. This included qualitative coding for phrases, ranks, level of education, and level of PME that had been obtained at the time of interviews. To further help ensure trustworthiness, research team members collectively deliberated findings to triangulate conclusions and rule out extraneous explanations (Suter, 2012). Beyond thematic analysis that aided in meaning‐making, the focus was on identifying compelling narrative arcs that appear amongst the participants' stories that provided the sought‐after glimpse of social and institutional experiences useful to researchers, practitioners, fellow servicemembers, and other stakeholders. Therefore, true to narrative inquiry that respects individuals' stories, we present these first, followed by a section reporting on themes we derived from across their lived experiences. Since the purpose of this study is to establish the contours of servicemembers' PME experiences in their own terms, and without deficit comparisons to civilian contexts that too often characterize veteran education research (Phillips & Lincoln, 2017), we draw comparisons with lived experiences reported in the CPE literature only in broad terms.</p> <hd id="AN0145298652-7">Narratives as Findings</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0145298652-8">Sally</hd> <p>Sally joined the Marine Corps, directly affiliating with the Reserve component, after completing high school. Once her initial training was completed, she deactivated and began attending a postsecondary institution. While attending college, she realized that she did not receive all of her educational benefits and was able to become a reservist on active orders, on which she worked as a recruiter. In order to rate her full benefits, she accepted voluntary orders, which she renewed three times over the course of four years. Throughout these four years, during which she remained a reservist. Upon completion of orders she returned to college and receive a four‐year degree in political science and peace as well as war and defense, during which time she worked towards PME requirements. Following her graduation, she began going to an online college for her graduate degree. This program was decided on specifically as it would allow her the flexibility to work while attending to drill.</p> <p>Having four years of active duty as a reservist created an interesting experience for Sally where, though she was a reservist, she was able to experience and pursue PME through a more traditional route. This meant that she was able to attend a regional, condensed version of the Corporals course, which was the equivalent of a two‐day seminar. She was also able to use a program that no longer exists to take her Sergeants Course, which allowed her to essentially watch a PowerPoint presentation and then take a proctored exam.</p> <p>While she was on active duty when she took the Sergeants Course, she believes that one of the most difficult issues she experienced with regard to continuing education in her field was finding a qualified proctor once she returned to the Reserve component. She stated that though there were many people at her unit that outranked her and thus were able to proctor her test, none of these individuals were located in close proximity to her when they were not in a drilling status. This required her to often have to wait until drill periods to find someone to proctor her test. Waiting until drill weekends further complicated her attempts, as there was a limited amount of time in which the unit can train, and the unit could often not allow for its capability to be degraded by losing a staff sergeant for an hour or more to take a test. When discussing the online course portion of the Career Course requirement, Sally expressed she found it beneficial in the online format,</p> <p>...I guess it is just now becoming a requirement to go to resident PME. I did the non‐resident portion, which was easier for me just because I could do it online. You know, because I was able to go my own pace for the most part, other than the proctored test...</p> <p>So, as Sally found the online portion of PME beneficial and easily accepted into her daily routine, she still had to wait until the summer for the two‐week reservist residency portion to occur.</p> <hd id="AN0145298652-9">Ron</hd> <p>Ron joined the Marine Corps directly following high school. After completing his initial training, he was immediately sent on back‐to‐back deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Upon returning to the United States, Ron started going to college immediately following the deployment while also working seasonal construction jobs in North Dakota.</p> <p>During the course of his deployments, Ron was promoted and had to meet PME requirements while in an active combat zone. Upon returning to reservist status, Ron faced a severe limitation with finding proctors in his region. Living in North Dakota, the closest Marines that would be able to proctor his Sergeants course tests would have been approximately four hours away. This created a severe limitation on his ability to complete requirements for the rank of Sergeant. His PME experience was further complicated, however, with the creation of the residency requirement for all PME courses.</p> <p>Ron did not finish his college degree and, instead, began to excel in a managerial position on construction sites. Living in a rural area and an area in which can severely restrict the ability for construction projects to continue, Ron found himself in a precarious position. He was already required to attend his two‐week annual training (AT), which occurred during the height of construction season in North Dakota. By taking him out of his job for another two weeks, he was concerned at his ability to continue on with his job, as well as his ability to provide for his family.</p> <p>With the resident's school they only offer to Staff Sergeants twice a year, and they are back‐to‐back in the middle of summer all trying to do school. I mean obviously that doesn't bother school as much as work, but when I'm a seasonal worker working as a boss you can't really, it's hard to take two weeks off and do it. 'Go ahead do your own thing while I am gone for two weeks.' So, they really don't give working professionals an opportunity at the staff level to do it if those dates don't work with them.</p> <p>While he acknowledges that there is an importance to the knowledge shared in these courses, he felt that there was little to no value in how they are structured currently.</p> <hd id="AN0145298652-10">Spurgeon</hd> <p>Spurgeon is a man of many roles. Spurgeon is a Reserve Marine, a preacher, a teacher, a father, and a husband. Having obtained a bachelor's degree, he understands the importance of education, and believes strongly in continuing education as a source of empowerment. Spurgeon took his Sergeants Course while working towards his degree and felt that it was essentially adding a fourth course to his load that particular semester, leaving him little time for anything else. With that stated, he felt the largest limitation on his ability to complete the Sergeants Course was the ability to find a proctor. He described it as hard work and time‐consuming to have to track down someone that is qualified to proctor for him that was also available to do so. A primary issue with regard to proctoring in his opinion was that proctors were required to sign into the website via common access card (CAC) authentication, which limited the ability of the proctor to using a military computer or their personal computer, if they were able to set it up to accommodate the correct certifications. While the potential proctor could access the website via their phone or tablet, the ability to proctor would not be available. Recalling issues with this, Spurgeon stated,</p> <p>I think getting the proctor codes should be easier. And for whatever reason it's not. Even with CAC readers being issued out to senior personnel. I was helping a young Marine get a proctor code, getting a proctor code today actually. I'm the only one that responded to him and he reached out to lots of other senior leaders and you can't get anybody but me.</p> <p>He was fortunate, in his opinion, in that his Career Course Seminar residency portion lined up with a summer break in his course load, which afforded him the opportunity to not miss class or work as a teacher, for him to attend. With that said, he was dismayed at not being able to receive transfer credits for the courses he took, even though they were accredited. He had not always been as fortunate, however, and was required to balance PME the summer prior while also working an internship required by his degree program, making it difficult to fully focus his attention on either course.</p> <hd id="AN0145298652-11">John</hd> <p>John joined the Marine Corps shortly before the events of September 11, 2001. At this time, there was less access to online programs, and faced the limitation of being able to find individuals to proctor online exams. He further stated that, with regard to his Sergeants Course, Career Course Seminar, and his Advanced Course (for Gunnery Sergeants) that once he was at this level of PME it became far more stressful. Between working full time, studying for his graduate degree, working as a reservist, and taking care of his family, it became very difficult to add the PME courses to his list of obligations. While PME was found to be stressful, John was ecstatic at the amount of credits that he was able to be transfer for his civilian degree, "I want to say it was in the 20s. It was a pretty good amount. Back then we were doing smart transcripts. All my electives were taken care of. Let's say 20." Stating that over 20 credits were applied from his professional military education towards his four‐year degree.</p> <p>John felt it important to note, with how stressful it was to complete the PME requirements, that it was possible, and that individuals simply needed to work toward it. He reiterated numerous times that the onus fell completely on the individual and whether they were committed to continuing their career development. It was this attitude, in his opinion, that made him able to eventually find balance between these multiple obligations.</p> <hd id="AN0145298652-12">Joseph</hd> <p>Joseph enlisted in 1997 as a reservist as a ground radio technician and, during the five years it took him to earn his bachelor's degree, he was drilling out of a Mid‐Atlantic state. He then dropped to the individual ready reserve (IRR) for three years prior to rejoining as a reservist intelligence analyst. Due to his desire to drop to the IRR initially, there had been little focus on his PME experience prior to rejoining. Instead, he pivoted his focus towards a graduate degree, which he felt ironically, was essentially continuing education towards his future in the intelligence field.</p> <p>Once he rejoined in the intelligence field, PME became an essential part of his career progression. He decided to attend both the Sergeants Course and the Career Course Seminar in person, fulfilling the resident obligation that can plague so many reservists. Joseph, however, has a unique PME requirement due to being in the intelligence field that the other participants did not have. Specifically, he was required to attend the National Intelligence University for a master's degree in order to continue with career progression. This required him, as a reservist, to commute six hours a day, once a week, every month for weekend classes at the university. This PME obligation occurred while he was also required to take online PME courses for rank (and not his MOS). He found this extremely difficult to balance, and found it challenging to juggle which obligation was a priority.</p> <hd id="AN0145298652-13">Nathaniel</hd> <p>Nathaniel joined the Marine Corps following graduation from high school and completed a single active duty contract prior to transferring to the Reserves as a corporal, at which time he also began to go to college. Due to the difficulties balancing his civilian occupation, the Reserves, family, and college, he dropped out of college after only two years. This difficulty of balancing his obligations is important to his experience in taking PME courses as he felt he had very little time to commit to course work and would have a hard time pursuing any PME, let alone any courses once the residency requirement was put into place.</p> <p>I'd say it was very tough, you know, I think I got out of ever having to do Corporals Course...they never made me do any kind of Corporals Course. But in order to be eligible for the Career Course Seminar, I had to do a Sergeants Course. It took me forever...you know work, college, doing regular Marine stuff, and trying to complete the PME, it just took forever and nowadays, there is a resident course!</p> <p>Nathaniel felt that, in order to maximize the benefits of the PME programs that exist, they should all be made optional or, at a minimum, waiverable. By allowing individuals the option of taking the course, he felt it would afford him the opportunity to focus on PME courses that were more relevant to his occupation, and less generalized.</p> <hd id="AN0145298652-14">Tony</hd> <p>Tony joined the Marine Corps in 2007, as a direct affiliate to the Reserves. After three years in the Reserve, he was able to get active orders as a recruiter (while still being a reservist). These orders were in one‐year increments, and were authorized seven times, for a total of eight years of recruiting. Due to a lack of security, and never knowing if his orders would be renewed, Tony decided to leave recruiting for the private sector. While he found it fairly easy to balance PME while on active duty orders, as he was paid to attend courses, he found it immensely difficult to attend these courses as a reservist. As a welder in the Midwest, it was imperative that he focused on his civilian career full time during the summer, which limited his ability to work toward PME requirements at the two‐week long reservist Career Course Seminar offered in Virginia. When discussing the Career Course Seminar, and issues he faced with attending the resident course, Tony stated that,</p> <p>"It is a balancing act. I work right now. I work six days a week, 10‐16 hours a day. I just lost my shop... it burned down right after Christmas. I have six kids, and I support my mom who is a full‐time caregiver for my stepdad."</p> <p>He further elaborated that, due to these issues, he had not even been able to fulfill the non‐resident requirement that is a prerequisite for the resident course attendance.</p> <hd id="AN0145298652-15">Discussion</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0145298652-16">Systemic Boundaries Obstructing PME for the Reservist</hd> <p>While many of the participants found balance difficult, those that claimed to have had the smoothest experience with regard to completing PME chose to schedule their courses for times that they were able to reduce other life requirements. These individuals often had jobs in fields such as education, which afforded them flexibility over the summer months. Several participants, working in skilled labor fields, were less flexible.</p> <hd id="AN0145298652-17">Ron</hd> <p>With the resident's school they only offer to Staff Sergeants twice a year, and they are back‐to‐back in the middle of summer all trying to do school. I mean obviously that doesn't bother school as much as work, but when I'm a seasonal worker working as a boss you can't really, it's hard to take two weeks off and do it. 'Go ahead do your own thing while I am gone for two weeks.' So, they really don't give working professionals an opportunity at the staff level to do it if those dates don't work with them.</p> <hd id="AN0145298652-18">Spurgeon</hd> <p>For resident PME, that was simple because it was during a college break anyway. For non‐resident PME, probably the biggest challenge is the way they have the test you need a proctor code from another Marine and a lot of the senior enlisted that are supposed to be able to give you codes are not available. And that was probably the biggest problem and working and finding the time to do it. You know, working part‐time and attending classes full‐time. It didn't leave a lot of extra time to do things, so it was tough to do. And then, you know, drill weekend would take one more weekend away from doing homework or other work‐related activities so I would have less time than not to try to get online and do my PME.</p> <p>Cervero & Daley (2016) discuss the importance of collaboration among providers of CPE and of the consumer of CPE. Though PME lacks the capability of multiple CPE providers like the civilian structure has, there is a benefit to studying a single provider platform. In a structure where only one provider exists, there is a need for an in‐depth understanding of the professional environment, needs, and culture, as well as the potential barriers a professional might experience within the military.</p> <hd id="AN0145298652-19">Proctoring Non‐Resident Courses</hd> <p>Non‐resident PME is required prior to all required resident PME courses. Each module has a test upon completing it, and each of these tests must be proctored by someone of a higher rank. Spurgeon stated,</p> <p>For non‐resident PME probably the biggest challenge is the way they test you, you need a proctor code from a senior Marine, and a lot of the senior enlisted that are supposed to be able to give you codes are not available.</p> <p>The current structure of the non‐resident requirements for PME courses, as discussed by Spurgeon, put the onus on the individual for finding a proctor that has time available. While some commands will certainly have more opportunities for the individual to find someone to proctor their tests, this leaves many Marines that are at more rural sites with difficulties in completing their PME requirements, an issue that aligns with studies, for instance, regarding the impact of access to continuing medical education (CME) on health outcomes (Crenshaw et al., 2010).</p> <hd id="AN0145298652-20">Lack of Consistency in the Accredited Value of the Courses</hd> <p>Every participant had a different educational trajectory in the Marine Corps and were all working to meet their PME requirements in order to be promotable. Many of them were also working, outside of the Marine Corps, on their own college degrees in order to make them more marketable to the organization, as well as to increase their own capabilities. While all of the PME courses are regionally accredited, when it came time for the participants to transfer those credits to public four‐year institutions, there was no consistency.</p> <p>Attending college in a Southern state, Nathaniel stated that, "I was excused from taking any sort of physical education system, like gym class or whatever." While Nathaniel was given six physical education credits for his Marine Corps transcripts, in a New England state, Nathaniel had a different experience. When asked how many he was able to transfer he stated, "Yeah quite a few I'd say, at least 30, high 30s in credits. Thirty something. They all transferred over to electives obviously." At a Mid‐Atlantic college, John said, "it was in the 20s. It was a pretty good amount...All of my electives were taken care of." Finally, while attending college in the Mid‐West, Ron stated,</p> <p>Yeah, they wouldn't recognize it. You know what I've said because it was like you can't even give me wellness credit. I get it and then I ended up doing wellness online, so it was kind of a joke. That's the best way that I could explain. It blew my mind.</p> <p>The variability and inconsistency for PME credit transfer is reflective of findings from the literature on community college transfer. In the case of military PME though, reservists' narratives reveal gaps beyond articulation to barriers that stem from vastly different worldviews undergirding how civilian and military institutions operate. This knowledge can be used to develop programs within both CPE and PME to ensure credit value, and illustrate to the professional that the institution they work for values them and their time by willingly developing human capital that is not only beneficial within the institution, but also externally.</p> <hd id="AN0145298652-21">Juggling Responsibilities Between Part‐time Employment and Full‐time Obligations</hd> <p>The reality of working in the Reserves is the feeling of obligation to a cause that is part of your primary identity while not typically being a primary source of income. To this issue Ron stated,</p> <p>That's a lot to stack on top of everything but I mean the commitment with being in the Reserves for PME, as far as EPME, it's a lot and it's not something we are getting paid for. Generally, I am more apt to get my civilian life in order because that's where my money is, versus, unfortunately, the Marine Corps does take a back seat there, and that is just financial. If I cannot pay my bills and I am living on the street, then how am I going to do my PME? I have to live.... It's a struggle. I'm going to be completely honest because luckily this year I was in the below zone and I am not PME complete. What I had done is expired. I don't know if it is good for more than a year now. It's a struggle trying to mash all those things together. You know, have a family and go to school and have a real life and it is not, it's a struggle. I don't know how to put it in more eloquently.</p> <p>Ron had to live and he had to make decisions on what he could or could not do for his part‐time career, and these decisions led to him putting off his PME requirements. At the time of these interviews he had one final opportunity to take his PME course for rank or he would be ineligible for promotion. Ron was not, however, the only participant to feel these strains. Joseph stated,</p> <p>I have a very demanding full‐time civilian career, and you know, not to mention the wife and the kids and everything that goes on with home life and responsibilities as a father and as a husband. But when you have the PME, and you know, you are attempting to on top of all of that, another master's degree, and everything that comes along with it. 20‐Page papers, thesis level research, the commute three hours back and forth each way once a week every month, to university for weekend classes. It becomes a challenging juggling act that priorities are straight, and you are managing what matters most.</p> <p>One concern that Joseph brought up during the interviews was the time obligation. As his quote attests to, his PME obligations consume substantial amounts of his time. Those obligations, one of which comes from his specific MOS requirements, necessitates the prioritization of his part‐time job over full‐time responsibilities.</p> <p>Finally, when discussing balance and the inability to prioritize professional development for his part‐time career, Tony stated,</p> <p>Fortunately for me my corporal course in the Marine Corps Reserves is actually offered as a local course. At that time, I lived local to the Reserve center so it was very easy for me to do. For my Sergeant course it was actually easy as well. I was on active duty orders at that time. So again it was simple for my command to orchestrate that. It honestly did not have a huge impact on my life because I was only balancing personal life and the Marine Corps, which is a stressful position, but relatively simple... I have not done staff so far. Right now it is a balancing act. You know what? It is a balancing act. I work right now, I work six days a week, 10‐16‐hour days. I just lost my shop. It burned down right after Christmas. Trying to put that back together, six kids again, as well as having a mom who is full‐time caregiver for my stepdad for the last year, so I try to help there as much as I can. I mean a lot here.</p> <p>The issue that arises here in the story that Tony shares is how the courses are orchestrated, in essence, for those that serve in a full‐time capacity. The requirement to complete the same educational courses as their active‐duty counterparts while in a part‐time capacity marginalizes the reservist and their efforts to continue to serve. This experience can inform discussion in other fields as well, where individuals that work on a part‐time basis are required to meet minimum CPE requirements. By ensuring that many of these issues are mitigated, an institution could develop programs to retain those part‐time employees already trained, reducing the burden of recruitment and retraining, while also developing a more robust workforce.</p> <hd id="AN0145298652-22">Understanding the Pathway Towards PME Attainment</hd> <p>The participants in this study were all, at a minimum, in the middle of careers within the Marine Corps Reserve. When asked initially to discuss PME Sally stated,</p> <p>Well I guess it's just now becoming a requirement to go to resident PME. I did the non‐resident one which was easier for me just because I could do it online. You know my own pace for the most part other than the proctored test, but I know now, since the Reserve has to go through with the courses during the summer and obviously I have to try to get stuff done as non‐resident prior to going.</p> <p>Sally, as a fully qualified and motivated staff non‐commissioned officer, was not fully aware of the requirements or options for PME as they existed for her, though she had been in for over 10 years. She is not the only one that did not have a solid grasp on the system, however. Joseph discussed with us having to balance attending the two‐week Reserve resident course for Sergeant and Staff Sergeant PME due in large part to not having been aware that the distance program was offered.</p> <p>Throughout these shared experiences, none of the participants had any connection with the Marine Corps University that made them aware of all of the possible requirements and options for PME. The participants did have training offices within their command structure that were responsible for signing Marines up for resident PME courses, however, the command must approve the PME course for each individual Marine. The training office (S‐3) is not, however, responsible for signing Marines up for the online resident course, with the onus for finding out about the option and signing up for it falling directly on the Marine attempting to further themselves.</p> <hd id="AN0145298652-23">Lack of Perceived Value</hd> <p>Several of the participants described a perception of little value within the courses, though they acknowledged the relevance of the materials that were presented. To this point Ron stated,</p> <p>They have done good things with online stuff so I guess that is the route I will be going down, with EPME [Enlisted Professional Military Education] being like taking a four‐credit course. I do not have any suggestions because it is a necessary evil as far as the content and the information that we have to have. I do not see any value in how it is structured right now.</p> <p>His complaint is echoed in the story of others, with systemic limitations causing the concept of PME to become a "check in the box" as opposed to an opportunity for personal development. Spurgeon and John both discuss this same issue when discussing the structure of the non‐resident requirements and the strain on accomplishing these prior to being eligible to participate in the resident courses and the time obligation for those courses when, despite the level of effort, those courses are not accredited but act "solely as a primer" for the resident course.</p> <hd id="AN0145298652-24">Motivations</hd> <p>All of the participants commented on the desire to complete PME in order to be eligible for promotion so that they could eventually retire or stay in long enough to pass benefits on to their dependents. Ron was thankful that, at the time of the interviews, he was not up for promotion which afforded him one more year to focus on PME so that he would be able to get promoted and continue on in his career. Tony, on the other hand, saw PME as a chance to remain in and renew his contract, enabling him to share his G.I. Bill benefits with his wife and, possibly, with his children.</p> <p>While it might seem that the motivation of retention is implied in the pursuit of PME, there were several participants that also expressed the importance of the potential knowledge gained from the course and how it would be beneficial for the Marines working for them, as well as strengthening leadership abilities. Nathaniel established that, despite what he saw his peer do, he felt it was essential to read and re‐read every document shared with him so that he fully understood the material. Nathaniel believed that this was the best way to support his command and his Marines.</p> <p>The pursuit of knowledge regarding motivations is especially relevant within the context of discussing social and professional agendas (Cervero & Daley, 2016). The professional that is experiencing professional learning will always have their own motivations for doing so, and those participating in PME face a similar range of motivations. The benefits for those studying CPE understanding the motivations of the professional participating in PME are numerous. By exploring the motivations of these individuals, there is an opportunity to see not only what motivates the professional, but one can further see how these motivations develop into CPE specific choices through the opportunity offered by the military to pursue resident, online, or hybrid options of the same courses. Whether it is Ron discussing that he is going to need to pursue online coursework based on his obligations, or Tony stating he has only previously pursued resident courses, these choices are nested within secondary and tertiary motivations that also exist within the civilian sector.</p> <p>Finally, there is the motivation of the title of Marine. As many of the participants point out, their motivation for PME completion was nested in their desire to uphold the traditions of the Marine Corps. Participants, such as Nathaniel, spoke about the importance of PME in making him a better leader of Marines. This desire to be a better leader is a trait all the participants shared and is at the core of the Marine Corps values of honor, courage, and commitment. For these Marines PME is a commitment to their Marines, to the Marine Corps, and to their nation. By professional development through PME, these individuals illustrated a desire to maintain the Marine Corps reputation as an elite fighting force.</p> <hd id="AN0145298652-25">Implications</hd> <p>The narratives in this study revealed that Marines were not able to ascertain their preparation for resident programs. Cranston's (2016) study regarding CPE revealed a way around the issue of distance evaluations that suggests an improvement for military PME. Cranston posits that students are entrusted with their own evaluations. Specifically, she has the course participants assign their own grades, while reflecting on the learning requirements of the course.</p> <p>Several participants from the Midwest expressed a lack of knowledge of online opportunities to progress through PME, which shows a lack of communication about resources to those that most clearly are at need of them. One in particular, living in rural North Dakota, was not aware online PME existed, and expressed frustration at the difficulties of going to the in‐resident course, "Career Course takes seven weeks. Which would require me to leave my job for 7 weeks, my family for seven weeks." This is not an issue unique to PME, however, as Crenshaw (2010) found similar results with CME and rural doctors.</p> <p>Further elaborating on the online perspective for PME, there is still a cultural stigma that there are negative repercussions for pursuing education online in relation to PME. Joan Johnson‐Freese (2013), a professor at the Naval War College, stated that a servicemember being told to enroll in an online course at all would be the clearest signal that their education was not valued. This mentality, of an online or distance path towards continuing education being negative, leaves individuals afraid to access education this way and unable to pursue it in resident. By understanding that both education pathways meet the same standard requirement for PME progress, these professionals are given access to education that might otherwise be denied to them.</p> <p>Returning to the concept of motivations (Cervero & Daley, 2016) there is a need for fully understanding the "why" behind a student's pursuit of continuing education in their field. The understanding of motivation enables those that are developing programs to more closely align programs to meet desired outcomes of both the institution and the individuals. With regard to meeting desired outcomes of the institution, the review of a system of CPE that has one originator of content allows one to explore what it looks like to see consolidated materials and access to programs. Despite this seeming ease of access, students were unaware of program offerings, how to access them, or whether they met requirements for PME in grade. This knowledge lends itself to the need for development in outreach regarding programming, which in turn would further develop access for students.</p> <p>Overall, the narratives of the reservists in this study show that to accomplish the goal of improving transferability of credits requires much more than institutional agreements. It may require, just as importantly, mutual cultural understanding to make sense of differing institutional assumptions that are readily revealed, as shown in this study, through personalized narratives. Several researchers in CME (Davis et al., 2011; Davis et al., 2013; Hayes, 2016) have explored similar issues, however, the focus was on aligning the organization structure of individual medical schools and hospitals around the country.</p> <hd id="AN0145298652-26">Conclusion and Recommendations for Future Research</hd> <p>This study explores the lived educational experience of seven staff sergeants to provide educators and administrators in PME the ability to visit participant stories and consider implications of social and institutional experience on program participants. Through ensuring that the individual's education through PME is maximized, administrators and educators continue to ensure that the organization is held socially accountable (Fleet et al, 2015).</p> <p>While research into student veterans in the civilian sector has gained momentum in the past decade, research into the institutional education that occurs for servicemembers is lacking. Future research is needed on this topic, expanding beyond a single branch, and exploring the policies of all branches, as well as the joint PME policies of the Department of Defense. The differences in PME between branches can be drastic, such as the existence of the Air Force Community College to support enlisted Airmen, and the JPME policies create a unique educational requirement and opportunity for officers. Finally, quantitative research into credit value in the civilian sector is needed, to further clarify the value of PME for the servicemember, if they are expecting to leverage their military education upon exit from the service.</p> <p>With over 50% of the United States discretionary spending being on the military (Department of Defense, 2017), it is imperative that the leaders within these organizations maintain proficiency in their field and maintain an understanding of what society expects of them as ethical leaders in combat. 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Synstelien and Aaron Meltzer</p> <p>Reported by Author; Author; Author; Author</p> </aug>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Fullerton%2C+Adam%22">Fullerton, Adam</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hatch-Tocaimaza%2C+Deryl+K%2E%22">Hatch-Tocaimaza, Deryl K.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Synstelien%2C+Seth+S%2E%22">Synstelien, Seth S.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Meltzer%2C+Aaron%22">Meltzer, Aaron</searchLink>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22New+Horizons+in+Adult+Education+%26+Human+Resource+Development%22"><i>New Horizons in Adult Education & Human Resource Development</i></searchLink>. Sum 2020 32(3):5-19.
– Name: Avail
  Label: Availability
  Group: Avail
  Data: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: Y
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 15
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2020
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
– Name: Audience
  Label: Education Level
  Group: Audnce
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Adult+Education%22">Adult Education</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Military+Training%22">Military Training</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Military+Personnel%22">Military Personnel</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Professional+Continuing+Education%22">Professional Continuing Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Veterans%22">Veterans</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1002/nha3.20285
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 1939-4225
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: While there are numerous qualitative studies exploring civilian experiences in continuing professional education programs, there is a dearth of research on the professional military education (PME) system. These systems, which sustain continuing education and professional development for over two million active and reserve members of the military, are navigated in a myriad of different ways depending on the branch of service, active or reserve status, and ability to go to resident PME courses vice using an online format. This study, using a narrative inquiry framework explores the lived experience of seven reserve staff non-commissioned officers (SNCO) as they navigate the PME process. Through the process of narrative meaning-making, administrators and advocates of varying backgrounds are able to imagine how PME might be navigated in unique contexts and what it means to support those engaging in PME.
– Name: AbstractInfo
  Label: Abstractor
  Group: Ab
  Data: As Provided
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2020
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: EJ1264911
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=EJ1264911
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        Value: 10.1002/nha3.20285
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      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 15
        StartPage: 5
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Military Training
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Military Personnel
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Professional Continuing Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Veterans
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Professional Military Education in the Marine Corps Reserve: A Narrative Inquiry
        Type: main
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            NameFull: Fullerton, Adam
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          Name:
            NameFull: Hatch-Tocaimaza, Deryl K.
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            NameFull: Synstelien, Seth S.
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            NameFull: Meltzer, Aaron
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            – D: 01
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              Type: published
              Y: 2020
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              Value: 32
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              Value: 3
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            – TitleFull: New Horizons in Adult Education & Human Resource Development
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