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Academic Communities of Engagement and Their Influence on Student Engagement Kristian Joy Spring Brigham Young University

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Academic Communities of Engagement and Their Influence on Student Engagement Kristian Joy Spring Brigham Young University Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive All Theses and Dissertations 2018-08-01 Academic Communities of Engagement and Their Influence on Student Engagement Kristian Joy Spring Brigham Young University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the Education Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Spring, Kristian Joy, "Academic Communities of Engagement and Their nflueI nce on Student Engagement" (2018). All Theses and Dissertations. 7462. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/7462 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Academic Communities of Engagement and Their Influence on Student Engagement Kristian Joy Kealiiwahine Spring A dissertation submitted to the faculty of Brigham Young University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Charles R. Graham, Chair Jered A. Borup Royce Matthew Kimmons Heather Miriam Leary Richard Edward West Department of Instructional Psychology and Technology Brigham Young University Copyright © 2018 Kristian Joy Kealiiwahine Spring All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT Academic Communities of Engagement and Their Influence on Student Engagement Kristian Joy Kealiiwahine Spring Department of Instructional Psychology and Technology, BYU Doctor of Philosophy Learner engagement is a critical aspect of education. While technology is rapidly developing to act in increasingly personalized, and in some dimensions human, ways, we submit that a human community may uniquely support increased student engagement. This research explored the characteristics and effects of the interactions and relationships that constitute three distinct communities in education and examined their influences on student engagement. In the format of a multiple-article dissertation I present three articles. The first article reviewed relevant literature about interactions, relationships, and communities in education. It focused specifically on online and blended contexts and their connections to student engagement. Interactions, relationships, and community are linked to one another and support student engagement. The second article surveyed students in a blended college preparation program about the relationships they experienced in their academic communities of engagement with online and in-person instructors and peers, family, friends, etc. and how they influenced students’ perceptions of their engagement. The support provided by the in-person community is significantly higher than that provided online (p < 0.001). Support also has a significant impact on perceived student engagement (p < 0.001). The third article examined the students’ supportive academic relationships and their influence on student engagement through semi- structured interviews. Students report more supportive relationships with their in-person communities and higher engagement there. Supportive interactions, relationships, and community promote higher student engagement. Such connections can be forged online, but in the case of this research were more likely to exist in-person. Supportive communities and the interactions and relationships they encompass should be fostered in learning environments, be they in-person, online, or blended, in order to encourage improved student engagement. Keywords: learner engagement, higher education, interpersonal relationship, teacher student relationship, interaction, community ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Charles Graham for mentoring and caring about me at every step of this process; and refusing to let me give up. I would also like to thank my committee, co- authors for their feedback, suggestions, and willingness to help with this dissertation. I would particularly like to think my friend Tarah Ikahihifo who reviewed every draft, encouraged me, and delivered countless IRB forms. I would like to thank the late Dr. Ralph B. Brown for introducing me to the concept of community and, more importantly, showing me the power of a supportive community headed by a warm, inspiring, and reassuring teacher. I would also like to thank my parents and grandparents for teaching and modeling the importance of education all my life. Finally, I would especially like to thank my husband Austin for his enduring support, optimism, and love, and for all the sacrifices he’s made for me, so that I could accomplish this goal. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE ................................................................................................................................... i ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... ix DESCRIPTION OF RESEARCH AGENDA AND STRUCTURE OF DISSERTATION ........... x Article # 1: The Role of Interactions, Relationships, and Educational Communities in Student Engagement..................................................................................................................................... 1 Student Engagement in Online and Blended Contexts ............................................................. 3 Interactions and Student Engagement ....................................................................................... 6 Types of Interaction ............................................................................................................ 7 Teacher Immediacy ............................................................................................................. 8 Relationships and Student Engagement .................................................................................. 10 Alliance ............................................................................................................................. 11 Relatedness ....................................................................................................................... 12 Care ................................................................................................................................... 14 Trust .................................................................................................................................. 15 Community and Student Engagement .................................................................................... 16 Sense of Community ......................................................................................................... 17 Communities of Practice ................................................................................................... 17 Community of Inquiry ...................................................................................................... 19 v Learning Communities...................................................................................................... 21 Conclusions and Future Research ........................................................................................... 22 References ............................................................................................................................... 27 Article # 2: The Impact of Number and Strength of Ties in Academic Communities of Engagement on Perceived Student Engagement: The Case of a Blended Program. .................... 41 Abstract ................................................................................................................................... 42 Introduction and Literature Review ........................................................................................ 43 Method .................................................................................................................................... 47 Research Context .............................................................................................................. 48 Data Collection ................................................................................................................. 49 Data Analysis .................................................................................................................... 52 Findings and Discussion ......................................................................................................... 53 Research Question 1 ......................................................................................................... 54 Engagement................................................................................................................. 54 Ego's degree ................................................................................................................ 56 Average tie strength of supportive relationships ........................................................ 58 Research Question 2 ........................................................................................................
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