Date of Award
Fall 11-1-2024
Degree Type
Dissertation/Thesis
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
School of Instructional Technology & Innovation
Committee Chair/First Advisor
Dr. Tiffany Roman
Second Advisor
Dr. Dabae Lee
Third Advisor
Dr. Jen Wells
Abstract
The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate middle school teachers’ and students’ attitudes toward online learning, and more specifically how they created and experienced social presence. To date, there has been promising research conducted on the achievability and the effects of social presence in postsecondary online learning. However, there is a practical knowledge gap in the literature regarding how middle school students and teachers experience social presence. This is problematic due to the increasing number of K-12 students enrolling in online learning and because strong student-teacher relationships are necessary to meet the emotional needs of middle schoolers and have been shown to be a precursor to academic success (Shin, 2003; Zee et al., 2020). Data collected from five teachers and nine students included interviews, observations, an open-ended questionnaire, and documents. Analysis of the data revealed that both teachers and students felt student engagement and comfortability was positively impacted in the online environment. Several strategies for creating social presence were revealed; the most frequently noted included community building, self-disclosure, and humor. Both teachers and students felt social presence was important for its ability to decrease transactional distance and contribute to stronger student-teacher relationships. This study has implications for practice by uncovering the teacher strategies and behaviors that made the largest positive contributions to perceived social presence. Social presence at the middle school level remains an underexplored context. Therefore, further research should be conducted on this population, by expanding the size, range, and diversity of the study sample.
Comments
Kennesaw State University 2023-2024 Graduate College Doctoral Award