From the Editor
Each year doctoral students at Oklahoma’s research universities produce dissertations that advance our understanding of education in the state. To increase the visibility of quality dissertation research being generated in Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Education Journal recognizes one “Dissertation of the Year” every fall. This year the OEJ Editorial Board is pleased to share that Jessie M. Wright’s dissertation, “Secondary Teachers’ Perceptions of and Approaches to Community in Self-Directed Online Learning” has received this recognition.
Completed at Oklahoma State University, Wright’s research explores how Oklahoma’s secondary teachers perceive and foster community in self-directed online learning environments. At a time when virtual instruction continues to expand in K-12 education, Wright’s work offers timely insights into how teachers might begin to cultivate connection and engagement among online learners.
Dissertation Summary
Different forms of virtual learning continue to proliferate in K-12 education systems with growing numbers of students either attending full-time virtual schools or taking classes online to supplement in-person instruction. Despite this growth, critical questions remain about how to sustain student engagement and build student-teacher relationships in virtual learning environments. Jessie Wright’s dissertation explores this issue by examining how secondary teachers describe their efforts to build community in self-directed online courses offered in a district-run public school in Oklahoma. By drawing on Garrison and colleagues’ Community of Inquiry Framework (i.e., comprising teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence), the study investigated the practices, challenges, and supports shaping teachers’ efforts to create meaningful online learning experiences in a K-12 public school district.
Research Methods
This dissertation used a qualitative case study design, drawing from semi-structured interviews with teachers, an online learning program administrator, class observations, and document/artifact analyses (e.g., Canvas course pages, communications, syllabi, and district policy documents). To analyze these data sources, the Community of Inquiry Framework was applied as part of identifying patterns in teachers’ self-reported approaches to fostering community in virtual learning settings.
Key Results
District Culture and Structure. In interviews, teachers emphasized that district culture and program design strongly influence community-building efforts. For example, consistent expectations, norms for communication with students, and administrative support were thought to be critical for success.
Intentional Communication. Teachers highlighted frequent, individualized communication with students and their parent/guardian(s) as essential for establishing trust and maintaining student engagement. Major modes of communication were emails, Canvas messages, video check-ins, and district text messaging software. They also linked teachers’ openness and responsiveness to students as a primary way to ensure strong online learning communities.
Investment in Relationships. In this study, teachers stressed that it took considerable effort and time to maintain both student relationships and student accountability online. Teachers who considered themselves mentors or coaches, as opposed to a mere deliverer of content, were more apt to create stronger connections with students, according to the study’s participants. Findings from the study indicated that effective community building required deliberate attention to social, cognitive, and teaching presence. However, district-based professional learning was often too narrowly focused on technology use for instruction rather than online pedagogy or relationship-building strategies in virtual learning settings.
Student Engagement. Teachers reported that student engagement increased when online learning activities were interactive, personalized, and explicitly structured. Yet, they simultaneously acknowledged that there were often barriers to carrying out such activities effectively, including limited time and training in online pedagogical practices. There was a tension between the strategies required for successful community building and the time available to implement these strategies effectively
Conclusion
By linking theory with classroom practice, this dissertation provides key insights into how teachers might strengthen student engagement and relationships in virtual courses. The findings offer additional understanding of how school leaders and educators might enhance the quality of online courses. This dissertation scholarship further underscores the notion that cultivating a sense of community in online learning environments is neither automatic nor incidental. It requires intentional communication, structured collaboration, effective pedagogical design, and frequent interaction between students and teachers. At the same time, this primary takeaway from the work raises a key tension for teachers operating in online settings. The very work that potentially makes online learning successful is labor-intensive, possibly even more so than the amount of work required to deliver effective instruction in in-person classrooms. Although it remains uncertain how teachers can achieve an adequate balance between intentional communication and workload in online settings, Wright argues that professional learning for teachers on community-building strategies could be helpful.
Author Bio
Jessie M. Wright successfully defended her dissertation under the guidance of Dr. Ashlyn Fiegener in August 2025, receiving her Doctor of Education Degree in School Administration from Oklahoma State University. She is also an Assistant Principal at Jenks Freshman Academy.
