An investigation of the factors that influence engagement with CPD within e-portfolios used for accredited Higher Education course

Engagement with Continued Professional Development (CPD) e-portfolios has been shown to
improve graduate employability, but when e-portfolios are un-assessed they traditionally lack student commitment. This research proposes to identify and analyse the factors which may influence engagement with CPD within e-portfolio, focusing on two fundamental disciplines, technology (eportfolio) and education. In particular the level of engagement with formative CPD and the choices students make are explored, with the study developing and using a theoretical model which integrates the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Task Technology Fit (TTF) constructs, student's Self-Efficacy (SE), Intrinsic Motivation (IM), Extrinsic Motivation (EM), and Social Influence (SI) factors.
The model focuses on 5 different technology engagement aspects that may affect the use of eportfolios for CPD, including student's perception about the e-portfolio, fit between CPD tasks and the e-portfolio functions, individual differences in self-efficacy, students’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivations and social influences. Hypotheses are proposed, based on prior research and the model's constructs which can then be used to undertake a study of sample students.