Student Engagement: Perspectives of Online Students in Higher Education

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dc.contributorHeggem, David
dc.contributorMcMath, Juanita
dc.contributorRice, Margaret
dc.contributorWright, Vivian
dc.contributor.advisorMajor, Claire H.
dc.contributor.authorBlakey, Carla Hugg
dc.contributor.otherUniversity of Alabama Tuscaloosa
dc.date.accessioned2021-11-23T14:34:46Z
dc.date.available2021-11-23T14:34:46Z
dc.date.issued2021
dc.descriptionElectronic Thesis or Dissertationen_US
dc.description.abstractThe number of students enrolling in both online programs and online courses is continuing to rise. Accordingly, educators want to know how these students can learn and succeed in this environment. The notion of student engagement has been connected to student learning, determination, and gratification. While research on student engagement is plentiful, there is no one explicit consensus of what student engagement is, or is not, among the findings. Similarly, studies on student engagement have yet to provide a distinct understanding of what student engagement is in online education. Remedying this is critical as educators must understand exactly how to create, augment, and advance engaging experiences for online students.This dissertation is an investigation into the concept of student engagement and online learning in higher education. The purpose of this qualitative, three-article dissertation was to discover and understand features and experiences of student engagement as described by online students. Two descriptive qualitative studies, paired with a qualitative synthesis of literature, found that online students value and desire engagement, although it may be experienced differently in online settings. This dissertation presents student engagement from four different angles: behavioral, cognitive, emotional, and agentic. The studies, collectively, provide a clearer understanding of student engagement from the perspective of online education’s key beneficiaries: the students. This dissertation offers several implications relevant to educators, administrators, and policymakers, and suggests several areas of consideration for future research on student engagement in online education.en_US
dc.format.mediumelectronic
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.otherhttp://purl.lib.ua.edu/181537
dc.identifier.otheru0015_0000001_0003976
dc.identifier.otherBlakey_alatus_0004D_14582
dc.identifier.urihttp://ir.ua.edu/handle/123456789/8208
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Alabama Libraries
dc.relation.hasversionborn digital
dc.relation.ispartofThe University of Alabama Electronic Theses and Dissertations
dc.relation.ispartofThe University of Alabama Libraries Digital Collections
dc.rightsAll rights reserved by the author unless otherwise indicated.en_US
dc.subjectDistance education
dc.subjectHigher education
dc.subjectOnline courses
dc.subjectOnline education
dc.subjectStudent engagement
dc.subjectTeacher presence
dc.titleStudent Engagement: Perspectives of Online Students in Higher Educationen_US
dc.typethesis
dc.typetext
etdms.degree.departmentUniversity of Alabama. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
etdms.degree.disciplineEducational technology
etdms.degree.grantorThe University of Alabama
etdms.degree.leveldoctoral
etdms.degree.namePh.D.

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