ERIC Number: EJ1181406
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Jun
Pages: 31
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2472-5749
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Perceptions of the Persistent: Engagement and Learning Community in Underrepresented Populations
Athens, Wendy
Online Learning, v22 n2 p27-57 Jun 2018
In an effort to characterize perceptions of learning community and engagement in relation to success for underrepresented populations of online learners at a public institution in southeastern United States, a survey was conducted in Spring 2016. The results of the survey were paired with institutional data to create a baseline engagement and learning community profile for the online student population, which comprised 22% of total enrollments. The subpopulations of interest were: Age, gender, race/ethnicity, disability, Pell grant eligibility, first-generation, and orphan. For all students, a very strong positive relationship was observed between student perceptions of engagement and learning community and student outcomes (grades). This strong and positive relationship was confirmed across the subpopulations, but there were a few noteworthy exceptions: Hispanic and Black students were more engaged than Whites but earned lower grades. Younger students and students with disabilities were less engaged than their counterparts, but earned equivalent grades. These patterns corresponded to withdrawal statistics, which revealed a higher percentage of young minority males withdrawing from online courses.
Descriptors: Disproportionate Representation, Learner Engagement, Enrollment, Online Courses, Electronic Learning, Instructional Design, Outcomes of Education, Hypothesis Testing, Regression (Statistics), Academic Persistence, Student Attitudes, Communities of Practice, Learning Activities, Conventional Instruction, Mixed Methods Research, College Students, Student Surveys, Multivariate Analysis, Statistical Analysis, Qualitative Research
Online Learning Consortium, Inc. P.O. Box 1238, Newburyport, MA 01950. Tel: 888-898-6209; Fax: 888-898-6209; e-mail: olj@onlinelearning-c.org; Web site: http://onlinelearningconsortium.org/read/online-learning-journal/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Department of Education (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A