Doctoral distance education includes complex challenges in persistence. One opportunity consists of addressing the lower levels of integration doctoral students experience. The focus of this quantitative comparative study included investigating the relationship between doctoral student integration scores enrolled in different program phases to recommend strategies to enhance the learning experience.
This session includes interaction and engagement with the audience using polling technology tools capturing trends as well as experiences.
Doctoral distance education includes complex challenges. One problem for doctoral students in online programs includes less desirable levels of connectedness (Bireda, 2019) resulting in challenges during different phases of programs. To contribute to this gap, researchers recommend determining "integration differences of doctoral students in various program stages" (Holmes & Rockinson-Szapkiw, 2020, p. 192). Accordingly, the purpose of this quantitative comparative study was to discover how connected or integrated doctoral students feel at different program phases and degrees by collecting data from a validated survey. The data collection tool used was developed and validated by Holmes and Rockinson-Szapkiw (2020) (Appendix A). The Distance Doctoral Program Integration Scale (DDPIS) includes questions about importance of feeling connected with faculty, staff, fellow students, and overall environment to persist in the program. The theoretical framework for this study is based on Tinto’s Student Integration Model (1993) in which students need integration into formal (academic performance) and informal (faculty/staff interactions) academic systems and formal (extracurricular activities) and informal (peer-group interactions) social systems. The following research questions guided the study: What is the difference between the program phase and doctoral student integration? What is the difference between doctoral integration and students enrolled in different doctoral programs? The focus of this quantitative comparative study included investigating the difference between doctoral student integration scores enrolled in different programs and phases. The study has the potential for positive social change contributing insights into student connectedness and integration. The study’s significance includes recommending unique strategies to enhance doctoral student integration during different program phases throughout the learning experience.
References
Bireda, D. A. (2019). Doctoral student connectedness in open distance learning: A case of students and supervisors. Africa Education Review, 16(5), 16-28, DOI: 10.1080/18146627.2016.1229576
Holmes, J., & Rockinson-Szapkiw, A. (2020). The development and validation of the distance doctoral program integration scale. Online Learning, 24(4). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24059/olj.v24i4.1951
Tinto, V. (1993). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.