A Study of the Relationship between Student Communication Interaction and Sense of Community

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A Study of the Relationship between Student Communication Interaction and Sense of Community

Shane Dawson

Abstract

This study developed a quantitative methodology to ascertain lead indicators of student sense of community whilst undertaking a course of study. Study participants (N=464) were drawn from students enrolled in undergraduate and postgraduate Education units within a large Australian metropolitan university. Through juxtaposing student online behaviours with an online survey, the data demonstrates that students and study units with greater frequencies of communication interactions possess stronger levels of sense of community as determined by Rovai’s [Rovai, A.P. (2002b). Development of an instrument to measure classroom community. Internet and Higher Education, 5(3), 197–211.] Classroom Community Scale (CCS). As a result of the identification of this relationship utilizing a quantitative process, education practitioners and managers now possess the formative evaluative tools and indicators necessary to gauge student sense of community on an ongoing basis. Therefore, education managers and practitioners have the capacity to monitor and alter the learning and teaching practices designed and implemented to promote community among the student cohort in a just-in-time environment.

Keywords

Sense of community, Communication, Quantitative methodology, Higher education

Annotation

N=25 students were given supplementary communication resources in their online course, then asked to complete a survey regarding their perceived sense of community within the course. “The study … demonstrated a clear linkage between the degree of communication interactions students undertake and their level of sense of community experienced.”

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