Beyond Beliefs: Examining Online Self-efficacy and Learner Engagement in Distance Education
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to measure engagement in an online course over a semester by three groups of students with varying levels of self-efficacy with the online medium (low, moderate, or high) in order to determine whether self-reported engagement differed among the groups over time. Participants for this study consisted of 59 undergraduate learners who were enrolled in an undergraduate online course offered by a public research university in the Midwest. The study employed a survey research design to collect data at the beginning of the semester to measure self-efficacy levels with the online medium and weekly surveys throughout the semester to measure engagement (using a composite score of four rating matrix items: content/activities, media/technology, instructor/teaching presence, and classmates/social presence). Descriptive statistics are reported along with the results of the one-way between-subjects ANOVA for each week and a split-plot (mixed design) ANOVA for all weeks.
Presider: Dale Foster, Memorial University, Faculty of Business Administration