An Exploration Into the Importance of a Sense of Belonging for Online Learners

Fostering a sense of belonging and a personal connection is seen as fundamental by many educational researchers, regardless of the learning environment. Online learning certainly provides flexible learning opportunities but comes with notable issues. For online learners, nurturing a sense of belong...

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Autores principales:	Susi Peacock, John Cowan, Lindesay Irvine, Jane Williams
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Athabasca University Press 2020
Materias:	sense of belonging online learning online group work online discussions interaction tutoring Special aspects of education LC8-6691
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/adbe9319dc7e49dda03e7c54bfea300c
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:adbe9319dc7e49dda03e7c54bfea300c2021-12-02T18:02:58ZAn Exploration Into the Importance of a Sense of Belonging for Online Learners10.19173/irrodl.v20i5.45391492-3831https://doaj.org/article/adbe9319dc7e49dda03e7c54bfea300c2020-04-01T00:00:00Zhttp://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/4539https://doaj.org/toc/1492-3831 Fostering a sense of belonging and a personal connection is seen as fundamental by many educational researchers, regardless of the learning environment. Online learning certainly provides flexible learning opportunities but comes with notable issues. For online learners, nurturing a sense of belonging may present a way of improving their experiences and attainment, as well as reducing attrition rates. Research specifically exploring sense of belonging and online learning is limited. This article addresses that gap and reports on a small-scale exploratory study using qualitative data-collection and analysis methods to investigate the importance, or not, of sense of belonging for postgraduates’ online education by exploring the origins and nature of their lived experience of online learning and their sense of belonging therein. Our initial findings emphasise its importance for them as online learners and have identified three significant themes: interaction/engagement, the culture of the learning, and support. These early findings highlight the importance of these three themes in promoting a sense of belonging and in ensuring that there are opportunities for meaningful group and peer interactions; they will be of interest to all engaged in online education. Susi PeacockJohn CowanLindesay IrvineJane WilliamsAthabasca University Pressarticlesense of belongingonline learningonline group workonline discussionsinteractiontutoringSpecial aspects of educationLC8-6691ENInternational Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, Vol 21, Iss 2 (2020)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	sense of belonging online learning online group work online discussions interaction tutoring Special aspects of education LC8-6691
spellingShingle	sense of belonging online learning online group work online discussions interaction tutoring Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Susi Peacock John Cowan Lindesay Irvine Jane Williams An Exploration Into the Importance of a Sense of Belonging for Online Learners
description	Fostering a sense of belonging and a personal connection is seen as fundamental by many educational researchers, regardless of the learning environment. Online learning certainly provides flexible learning opportunities but comes with notable issues. For online learners, nurturing a sense of belonging may present a way of improving their experiences and attainment, as well as reducing attrition rates. Research specifically exploring sense of belonging and online learning is limited. This article addresses that gap and reports on a small-scale exploratory study using qualitative data-collection and analysis methods to investigate the importance, or not, of sense of belonging for postgraduates’ online education by exploring the origins and nature of their lived experience of online learning and their sense of belonging therein. Our initial findings emphasise its importance for them as online learners and have identified three significant themes: interaction/engagement, the culture of the learning, and support. These early findings highlight the importance of these three themes in promoting a sense of belonging and in ensuring that there are opportunities for meaningful group and peer interactions; they will be of interest to all engaged in online education.
format	article
author	Susi Peacock John Cowan Lindesay Irvine Jane Williams
author_facet	Susi Peacock John Cowan Lindesay Irvine Jane Williams
author_sort	Susi Peacock
title	An Exploration Into the Importance of a Sense of Belonging for Online Learners
title_short	An Exploration Into the Importance of a Sense of Belonging for Online Learners
title_full	An Exploration Into the Importance of a Sense of Belonging for Online Learners
title_fullStr	An Exploration Into the Importance of a Sense of Belonging for Online Learners
title_full_unstemmed	An Exploration Into the Importance of a Sense of Belonging for Online Learners
title_sort	exploration into the importance of a sense of belonging for online learners
publisher	Athabasca University Press
publishDate	2020
url	https://doaj.org/article/adbe9319dc7e49dda03e7c54bfea300c
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An Exploration Into the Importance of a Sense of Belonging for Online Learners

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