The influence of course community and personal community support on learner engagement in online courses

Learner engagement in online courses is impacted by a wide variety of factors. The purpose of this study was to understand to what extent course community support and personal community support influence learner engagement. Students who had recently completed an online course in a small art and design school were surveyed on their level of engagement in the course, experience of the course community of inquiry, and their level of personal social support, with 74 students participating. The survey responses were used in a stepwise multiple regression analysis to create a model that explains to what extent course community and personal community explain variations in learner engagement. 74. 40% of variations in learner engagement could be explained on the basis of course community and personal community support. The results are significant in that they help course designers, instructors, and university support staff understand the interaction between course community, personal community, and learner engagement. That understanding could be used to design both online course content and intervention strategies to maximize learner engagement.