Enhancing Student Involvement in a Technologically Connected World

Enhancing Student Involvement in a Technologically Connected World

Joyce B. Boone
Copyright: © 2020 |Pages: 18
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-3583-7.ch002
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Abstract

In the multi-faceted domain of adult online education, administrators, researchers, and practitioners have an opportunity to assist adults who bring unique experiences, talents, challenges, and needs to the online learning environment. The purpose of this chapter is to refresh the reader's awareness about two theories: student involvement and transactional distance. It is the hope of the author that a heightened understanding of these theories will spark new ideas, research, and practices, facilitating successful outcomes. Taken individually or paired as theoretical or conceptual frameworks, these theories are seminal to both adult and distance education domains. Researchers, decision-makers, and practitioners are encouraged to objectively observe their educational environments through the lenses of these two theoretical perspectives and consider what is working and what is not working in the context of today's rapidly changing cultural, socio-political climate.
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Literature Review: Student Involvement Theory

Alexander W. Astin, introduced Student Involvement theory in July of 1984 (Astin, 1984). Often generically referred to as student engagement theory, student involvement involves the psychological and behavioral energy that is expended by a learner in an educational endeavor (Roberts & McNeese, 2010). Five postulates integral to student involvement theory are based on the idea that involvement is a multi-faceted construct, manifesting along a continuum depending on the learner. Therefore, a primary organizational objective should be to facilitate an increase in student involvement (Junco, 2012). Since Astin’s development of the theory, its positive association to desired student outcomes has been empirically established, particularly with regard to student satisfaction, performance and persistence (Elkins, Forrester, & Noel-Elkins, 2011; McGrath & Burd, 2012; Sharkness, & DeAngelo, 2011).

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