Journal article
Examining the structure of the revised community of inquiry framework: a multi-level approach
Education and information technologies, Vol.30(5), pp.6785-6807
04/2025
DOI: 10.1007/s10639-024-13090-3
Abstract
Prior research on the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework has a limited amount of work which uses structural techniques to confirm the factorial structure of the CoI. The current study investigates the structural relationships among the three elements of the CoI framework (cognitive presence, teaching presence, and social presence), but extends the prior literature by testing the inclusion of a learning presence factor as well as a unifying higher-order online educational presence factor. Using a hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with data collected from an online survey of 709 students enrolled in online courses across the U.S, we investigated (a) the relationships between online educational experience as a higher-order factor and the three original CoI elements as lower-order factors and (b) conducted a hierarchical model to investigate the relationships and model fit indices with the additional learning presence CoI element. The results of the models suggested adequate fit for a model with a higher-order construct, supporting a model which provides a more comprehensive picture of the CoI constructs. Furthermore, while the higher order online learner’s educational experience most strongly influenced the teaching presence subfactor, it also displayed significant impacts on the other factors. Finally, the addition of a learning presence construct did not decrease model fit and added theoretical depth to the CoI model. The data support the use of a multi-level revised CoI model in future research to better understand online educational success, and suggests that practitioners should develop approaches to enhancing learning presence in online educational settings.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Examining the structure of the revised community of inquiry framework: a multi-level approach
- Creators
- Ahmed A. Alsayer - Taibah UniversityJonathan Templin - University of IowaChris Niileksela - University of KansasBruce B. Frey - University of Kansas
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Education and information technologies, Vol.30(5), pp.6785-6807
- DOI
- 10.1007/s10639-024-13090-3
- ISSN
- 1360-2357
- eISSN
- 1573-7608
- Publisher
- SPRINGER
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 10/12/2024
- Date published
- 04/2025
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Quantitative Foundations
- Record Identifier
- 9984736612602771
Metrics
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