Internet Learning Volume 1, Number 1, Fall 2012 | Page 15

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Internet Learning
Table 7.
Adjusted R for the predictors of the criterion variable: cognitive presence
2

Standard error of the
estimate
0.7030779

R2
change
0.002

Model
Ethnicity—Caucasian

R
R2
a
0.039 0.002

Adjusted
R2
0.002

Traditional Student
Status
Gender—Female

0.054b 0.003

0.003

0.7025856

0.001

0.060c 0.004

0.004

0.7023391

0.001

Ethnicity—Black

0.061d 0.004

0.004

0.7023195

0.000

Scholarly Significance
Of all areas tested, analyses of the data showed a significant relationship between student
demographics and CoI presences (social, teaching, and cognitive) in four areas. The variables of
Ethnicity—Caucasian, Age—Traditional student status, Gender—Female, and Ethnicity—Black
were significant. All other variables, Ethnicity—Hispanic, Ethnicity—Asian, Age—Nontraditional student status, and Gender—Male were found to have no significant relationship with
CoI presences.
Specifically, for the Teacher Presence the variables of Ethnicity—Caucasian, Gender—
Female, and Age—Traditional student status were found to be significant. The same three
variables were determined to have a significant relationship for Social Presence. Lastly, for
Cognitive Presence, there were four variables found to have a significant relationship:
Ethnicity—Caucasian, Gender—Female, Age—traditional student status, and Ethnicity—Black.
However, the relevance of significance was limited since variance accounted for by the
predictor variables was so small as to have no practical implication. Even though significance
was found through analysis of the data in certain variables, though with a very small amount of
variance accounted for in the predictor variables (student demographic characteristics), a theme
that is so pervasive in the general literature is not significant in this study.
Review of the literature has shown that student demographics are a factor in a students’
academic success. Engagement, satisfaction, and academic achievement, including persistence
and matriculation, have been tied to certain student demographics, especially age, gender, and
ethnicity (Astin 1993; Gonyea et al. 2006; Kuh 2007; Kuh et al. 2000; Pascarella and Terenzini
1991; 2005; Tinto 1993). The preponderance of the literature stems from research on traditional
brick and mortar institutions. Whereas other colleges and universities, both two- and four-year,
will report a relationship between academically purposeful activities, satisfaction, and
engagement with some set of student demographic variables (i.e., NSSE and CCSSE survey
results), there is no meaningful relationship between variables at this particular institution. This,
in itself, is very significant. No demographic variable, within a large sample, was found to have a
meaningful relationship to any of the three CoI presences, hence no connection to learning
constructs and overall student satisfaction and engagement.
Further research is warranted to investigate these findings. Though the data were derived
from a large sample and taken from the results of classes across curricula, recommendations for a