Measures of Quality in Online Education: An Investigation of the Community of Inquiry Model and the Net Generation

Abstract

The goal of this article is to present and validate an instrument that reflects the Community of Inquiry Model (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000, 2001) and inquire into whether the instrument and the model it reflects explain variation in levels of student learning and satisfaction with online courses in a higher education context. Additionally this study sought to examine the effects of two other variables—age and students' registration status—on levels of satisfaction and learning in online courses. The issue of age and the “net generation” has generated considerable interest recently with a number of contradictory predictions made for younger students engaged in text-based, technology-mediated learning environments. Previous research indicates that student registration status serves as a relatively reliable predictor of commitment to degree and likely persistence in higher education (Horn & Neville, 2006)—does commitment to degree predict satisfaction and likely persistence with online learning in the same manner? We sought to inquire into the amount of variance these variables predict relative to constructs in the Community of Inquiry Framework. Results indicated that the instrument provides a coherent factor structure that reflects the Community of Inquiry Model. Other findings provide new insight into additional variables that account for variation in students' satisfaction, reported learning, and cognitive presence in text-based, asynchronous online environments.