Sense of Community in Multicultural Blended Learning College Courses and the Relationship to Intercultural Sensitivity
Year: 2014
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This thesis reports findings from an investigation into sense of community developed among 124 students enrolled in 21 blended learning general education courses in one Canadian urban college. Data from an online survey questionnaire, the Classroom Community Scale (CCS), the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS) and online discussion board contributions were analyzed to identify a detailed demographic profile of participants, their sense of classroom community (SoC) and their intercultural sensitivity (IS). This study expands the use of the CCS and the ISS to a new population, multicultural Canadians. A profile emerged which showed the multicultural mix of this population and the intercultural nature of their daily interactions. Half the participants identified a language other than English as their mother tongue and approximately 25% reported completing some or all of their primary and high school studies outside of Canada. This cohort socialize frequently with linguistically and culturally distinct (LCD) friends, have very high IS and are very confident in their communications with LCD others. Through correlational analyses of the survey responses and content analysis of the discussion board postings, relationships among the demographic, course, ability and intercultural variables and participants' SoC were examined. Participants in this study reported a weak SoC but overall course satisfaction, indicating that SoC may not be as important as previously purported. Discussions focus on the factors that affect SoC, the overlap in the constructs SoC and IS, and the appropriateness of using existing scales in the Canadian context. The findings were interpreted within a theoretical mix of sociocultural theory, situated learning theory, sense of community and intercultural communicative competence theory. Individual's cultural schemas, mindfulness, sensitivity and flexibility in the interaction influence both SoC and IS. Data analyses revealed that IS, language skills, confidence using the discussion board and the frequency of socializing with culturally distinct others were related to SoC. An explanation for these findings may center on the nature of the multicultural cohort. The results of confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the CCS and the ISS may not be appropriate metrics for an interculturally savvy context like urban Canada.
Source: TSpace (University of Toronto)
Author: Gloria Dianne McPherson
Language: English
Topic: Online and Blended Learning
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2969911402