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Sense of belonging in an online high school: looking to connect

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1

Sense of Belonging in an Online High School: Looking to Connect

by

Karina Momary

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

August 2020

Copyright 2020 Karina Momary

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Dedication
To my parents, Bill and Mercy:
Thank you for your love and support and always believing in me. Thank you for
encouraging me to be Dr. Momary.
To the rest of the familia (in alpha- no favorites), Ari, Ben, Billy, Cami, Janelle, Jules,
Juan, Marly, Mari, Marissa, Mono, Mimi, Nat, Rocky: I can't wait for you to call me Dr. Ka.

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Acknowledgments
Thank you to everyone who has supported me as I wrote this dissertation. It would truly
be impossible to thank everyone who had a role in my doctoral journey. This 130+ pages took
my entire village.
Thank you to my family for always encouraging me and pushing me to continue growing
and learning. Thank you for leading by example that big things require hard work. Thank you for
making sure that I never gave up. Thank you for making sure I was always ok. I couldn't have
done it without you.
Thank you to the friends who are like family for doing anything you had to do to help get
this done.
To Rebecca and the Williams family, thank you for feeding me, doing my laundry,
watching Kenson, pouring nice wine at every milestone, taking me on "writing retreats" to the
beach and generally making sure I didn't die. This doesn't even capture all that you did and thank
you will never be enough.
To "The Family," thank you for always being in my corner.
To "The Group Chat," thank you for letting me complain to you every day. Thank you for
counseling me to focus on the good instead of piles of trash. Thank you for finding the articles I
needed and always chipping in. Thank you for letting me sit with you. Thank you for singing
Lizzo with me.
To Emily, thank you for dragging me across the finish line.
To Corey, thank you for being on my team. Thank you for your 5am coffee runs, finding
the cards I needed, your willingness to stay at home so I can work on my dissertation, constant

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encouragement, and pushing me when I needed it. I am so excited for the next chapter of our life
together that is dissertation-free.
To my chair Dr. Ekaterina Moore, thank you for your guidance and mentorship. I
appreciate your willingness to answer panicked text messages and your calm nature
throughout this entire process. Thank you to Dr. Crispen and Dr. Crawford for serving on my
committee and sharing your wisdom with me. Your detailed feedback and support were
invaluable.

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Table of Contents
Dedication ....................................................................................................................................... ii
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iii
List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... viii
List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ ix
Abstract ............................................................................................................................................x

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................1
Introduction to the Problem of Practice ...............................................................................1
Organizational Context and Mission ...................................................................................1
Organizational Goal .............................................................................................................4
Related Literature.................................................................................................................5
Importance of the Evaluation ...............................................................................................6
Description of Stakeholder Groups ......................................................................................7
Stakeholder Groups’ Performance Goals.............................................................................8
Stakeholder Group for the Study .........................................................................................8
Purpose of the Project and Questions ..................................................................................9
Methodological Framework .................................................................................................9
Definitions..........................................................................................................................10
Organization of the Project ................................................................................................10

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE .................................................................11
Literature on the Problem of Practice ................................................................................11
Community ............................................................................................................11
Imagined Communities ..............................................................................11
Communities of Practice ............................................................................12
Virtual Communities ..................................................................................14
Sense of Belonging ................................................................................................15
Online High Schools ..............................................................................................16
Online Classroom Difficulties ...................................................................18
Clark and Estes’ (2008) Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational
Influences Framework ...........................................................................................20
Stakeholder Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Influences ...............................21
Knowledge and Skills ............................................................................................21
Procedural Knowledge ...............................................................................22
Conceptual Knowledge ..............................................................................23
Motivation ..............................................................................................................24
Expectancy Value Theory ..........................................................................25
Self-Efficacy Theory ..................................................................................26
Organization ...........................................................................................................27
Cultural Settings and Models .....................................................................27
Conceptual Framework: The Interaction of Stakeholders’ Knowledge and
Motivation and the Organizational Context ...........................................................28
Conclusion .........................................................................................................................31

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CHAPTER THREE: METHODS ..................................................................................................32
Participating Stakeholders .................................................................................................32
Interview Sampling Criteria and Rationale............................................................33
Interview Sampling Strategy and Rationale ..........................................................34
Qualitative Data Collection and Instrumentation ..............................................................36
Interviews ...............................................................................................................36
Interview Protocol ......................................................................................36
Interview Procedures .................................................................................37
Data Analysis .....................................................................................................................38
Credibility and Trustworthiness .........................................................................................39
Ethics..................................................................................................................................39
Limitations and Delimitations............................................................................................41

CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS .....................................................................................................44
Participating Stakeholders .................................................................................................44
Findings for Knowledge Causes: How Do Knowledge Influences Affect
SOS Student Sense of Belonging and Peer Connections? ....................................46
Procedural Knowledge ...........................................................................................46
Activities Types .........................................................................................46
Quality of Connections ..............................................................................51
Summary ....................................................................................................53
Conceptual Knowledge ..........................................................................................53
Connections with Peers ..............................................................................54
Connections with Teachers ........................................................................55
Summary ....................................................................................................56
Findings for Motivation Causes: How Do Motivation Influences Affect
SOS Student Sense of Belonging and Peer Connections? .....................................56
Expectancy Value Theory ......................................................................................56
Knowing You’re Not Alone.......................................................................57
Likeminded People ....................................................................................58
Summary ....................................................................................................60
Self-Efficacy Theory ..............................................................................................60
In-Person Events ........................................................................................61
Making an Effort ........................................................................................62
Summary ....................................................................................................63
Findings for Organizational Causes: How Does SOS Organizational
Culture and Context Interact to Promote Sense of Belonging and Peer
Connections Among SOS Students? ......................................................................64
Cultural Settings ........................................................................................64
School Social Platforms .................................................................65
School-Run Online Assemblies .....................................................67
Access to In-Person Events ............................................................68
Summary ........................................................................................71
Cultural Models .........................................................................................71
Value of Academics .......................................................................71
Summary ........................................................................................73

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Synthesis Summary and Gap Identification .......................................................................73

CHAPTER FIVE: RECOMMENDATIONS AND EVALUATION ............................................77
Purpose of the Project and Questions ................................................................................77
Introduction and Overview ................................................................................................77
Recommendations for Practice to Address KMO Influences ............................................78
Knowledge Recommendations ..............................................................................78
Motivation Recommendations ...............................................................................82
Organization Recommendations ............................................................................83
Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan ................................................................87
Implementation and Evaluation Framework ..........................................................88
Organizational Purpose, Need, and Expectations ..................................................88
Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators ................................................................89
Level 3: Behavior ...................................................................................................90
Critical Behaviors ......................................................................................90
Required Drivers ........................................................................................92
Organizational Support ..............................................................................94
Level 2: Learning ...................................................................................................94
Learning Goals ...........................................................................................94
Program ......................................................................................................94
Evaluation of the Components of Learning ...............................................95
Level 1: Reaction ...................................................................................................96
Evaluation Tools ....................................................................................................97
Immediately Following the Program Implementation ...............................97
Delayed for a Period After the Program Implementation ..........................98
Data Analysis and Reporting .................................................................................98
Summary ................................................................................................................99
Future Research .................................................................................................................99

References ....................................................................................................................................102

Appendix A: Interview Protocol ..................................................................................................112
Appendix B: Informed Consent for Research ..............................................................................117
Appendix C: Immediate Post-Program Assessment Tool ...........................................................121
Appendix D: Delayed Post-Program Assessment Questions.......................................................122

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List of Tables

Table 1: Knowledge Influence and Knowledge Type ...................................................................24
Table 2: Motivational Indicators and Motivational Influence .......................................................27
Table 3: Interview Participant Demographics ...............................................................................45
Table 4: Summary Table of Influences ..........................................................................................75
Table 5: Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations ...........................................80
Table 6: Summary of Motivation Influences and Recommendations ...........................................82
Table 7: Summary of Organization Influences and Recommendations ........................................84
Table 8: Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes ..........................90
Table 9: Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Evaluation .................................91
Table 10: Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors ............................................................93
Table 11: Evaluation of the Components of Learning for the Program ........................................96
Table 12: Components to Measure Reactions to the Program .......................................................97

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List of Figures

Figure 1: Interaction of Stakeholder Knowledge and Motivation within
Organizational Cultural Models and Settings ........................................................30
Figure 2: Attendance Report Snapshot ..........................................................................................99

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Abstract
The purpose of this evaluation study was to identify the knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences affecting the sense of belonging and community of high school
students at Success Online School. Sense of belonging and feeling of community is linked to
academic achievement and emotional development of students. This is a challenge in online
education because online courses often provide limited opportunities for building community
and relationships. Online learning environments can provide a sense of belonging and
community. Previous studies have focused on asynchronous K-12 education or
synchronous graduate courses. This study focuses on sense of belonging and community in a
synchronous high school. Applying the Clark and Estes (2008) gap analytic framework, this
qualitative study sought to evaluate the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences of
sense of belonging in an online high school. Interview data from seventeen students was
collected and analyzed to identify performance gaps. This study found one knowledge influence
and two organizational influences that may have negatively influenced students' sense of
belonging. Evidence-based recommendations is presented, along with an implementation and
evaluation plan using the New World Kirkpatrick model.

Keywords: online classroom, sense of belonging, online community

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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Introduction to the Problem of Practice
This dissertation addresses the problem of the limited sense of belonging in online high
school learning environments. Sense of belonging is defined as the amount students feel
personally accepted, respected, included, and supported by others, especially instructors and
other adults in the school environment (Goodenow & Grady, 1993). This is a challenge in online
education because online courses provide limited opportunities for community building and
relationship building (Borup, Graham, & Drysdale, 2013; Rovai, 2002; Rovai, Wightining, &
Liu, 2005). Online learning environments can provide a sense of belonging and community. This
online community and coherence exist between its members even if they have never met
(Adamczyk, 2011; Anderson, 1991; Kavoura, 2014). Numerous studies have highlighted the
importance of sense of belonging within the school community and the difficulty of creating
sense of belonging in an online classroom (Abdollahi & Noltemeyer, 2018; Chiu, Chow,
McBride & Mol, 2016; Hawkins, Barbour, & Graham, 2011; Rovai 2002; Rovai et al., 2005).
Rovai et al. (2005) state that social integration of students into the community has the potential
to strengthen student-institution fit and sense of community among online students. This is
important because sense of belonging is vital to students’ academic achievements, motivation,
and emotional development (Lam, Chen, Zhang, & Lian, 2015; Abdollah & Noltemeyer; 2018;
Ma, 2003). This dissertation evaluates sense of belonging and community at Success Online
School.
Organizational Context and Mission
Online high schools provide new opportunities and flexibility for students in the current
technology-focused environment. A leading university founded Success Online School (a
pseudonym) in 2006 as a global online education program for gifted and talented students.

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Success Online School (SOS) currently offers grades 7-12 and serves 804 students. Students at
SOS can choose from three levels of enrollment. They can be full-time SOS students with the
intention of graduating from the school, part-time at SOS taking 2-3 classes, or single-course
students to supplement the local brick and mortar school curriculum. The graduating class of
2018 included 74 students (school website, n.d.)1. SOS offices are located on the university
campus, but the global student population represents 47 states and 32 countries. The student
body is comprised of 404 females and 400 males. Thirteen percent of students receive financial
aid. The school does not disclose any additional demographic data.
Courses at SOS are conducted as college-style seminars where instructors and students
engage in discussions of the course materials. These courses meet twice a week as synchronous
courses using Adobe Connect video conferencing technology. Each course has an average of
twelve students in each course (school website, n.d.). SOS is accredited by the Western
Association of Schools and Colleges as well as the State Association of Independent Schools.
SOS graduates attend top universities around the country (school website, n.d.).
SOS prides itself on the rigorous curriculum and expert professors while focusing on
inspiring talented students who are academic risk takers (school website, n.d.). The mission of
SOS is “to create a worldwide learning community of diverse, intellectually passionate students
and teachers” (school website, n.d.). Also, SOS states that “through vibrant seminars, the
rigorous curriculum challenges students to reason analytically, think creatively, and argue
critically” (school website, n.d.). The SOS mission statement continues that the “school’s
supportive environment fosters independence, strength of character, and a lifelong pursuit of
knowledge” (school website, n.d.).

1 School website omitted from references to protect anonymity

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SOS values its worldwide learning community and offers a variety of opportunities for
students and families to connect with each other outside of the classroom. SOS hosts four
significant in-person events each year. The first event offered to students is a two-week
residential summer program. Newly admitted students and returning students can live in the
university dorms and take courses from the SOS instructors. This allows students to form bonds
with each other and instructors in person prior to the school year. The second in-person
opportunity is the homecoming event in November. This event includes a community dinner, a
Q&A with the Head of School, and a homecoming dance. The third event is held in February,
where students can participate in a student showcase, fun mini-courses with instructors, and a
winter formal dance. The fourth event is the largest event of the school year. Every June, over
600 members of the greater school community join together on the university campus for the end
of year celebration. This event includes the Middle School Promotion, Graduation Ceremony,
student showcase, the high school prom, and many other culminating events to celebrate the
success of the year. Since SOS recognizes that parents are a valued part of the community and
are traveling with their students to these events, there is programming for parents in addition to
the events listed for students at each in-person event.
In addition to these four key in-person opportunities offered by the school, the SOS
Parents Association coordinates a variety of local meetups for students and families in each
region. The regions are divided each year based on the student population. On average, there are
about eighteen regions, each with parents who are the designated Regional Coordinator. They
work with local families to put together events for the SOS students to meet with each other.
These can be as simple as a picnic in the park and can be as extravagant as a weekend at a ski
lodge or theme park. Other events include a travel program for students to participate in
educational trips with instructor chaperones over spring break and summer.

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Finally, SOS offers numerous online activities for students to engage with each other and
adults at the school to build community. SOS courses meet Monday through Thursday, so
Fridays are open for optional student life activities. These activities include club meetings for the
40+ clubs and circles at the school, guest speakers, Student Government led activities, and
school-wide assemblies. Each Friday morning, the students receive an email titled TGIF (Thank
Goodness It’s Friday), which serves as a guide for that day’s activities. The TGIF features
information about the school clubs that are meeting and any school-wide events that are
happening that day. The newsletter includes the day, time, and link to access the online event.
Every Monday, the school sends a weekly newsletter called the Eagle Weekly with information
for parents and students about school events, deadlines, and additional upcoming events.
Organizational Goal
SOS seeks to increase student sense of belonging to the school community. In a recent
school climate survey administered to SOS students by Panorama Education in 2018, SOS
students assessed their sense of belonging 20% lower than other independent schools within the
state. In the spring 2018 survey, 36% of students responded favorably when asked how
connected they felt to adults at the school. Similarly, 35% of students responded favorably when
asked how much they felt they mattered to others at the school (Panorama Education, 2018).
These results indicate that SOS is not upholding its mission to create lasting relationships among
students and teachers. While the other institutions surveyed were brick and mortar schools, SOS
seeks to address student sense of belonging and further enhance opportunities for community
building to decrease the gap between the SOS students and the statewide average. There
currently is no specific organizational goal to address this issue however SOS seeks to target
overall increased sense of belonging and peer connections. This evaluation of current practices

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will allow SOS to assess current practices, formulate a specific goal, and design and implement
programs to improve student feelings of sense of belonging.
Related Literature
Online schools create a unique opportunity to develop a sense of belonging through
technology (Rovai et al., 2005). Rovai (2002) states that a school community is not created by
geography or school campuses but rather by the connectedness, interactivity, common
expectations, and shared values and goals of the adults and students. Online courses can offer
opportunities for students and faculty to share personal connections, and this sense of community
is essential in a virtual classroom just as it is in a face-to-face class (Southard, Cranford, &
Woods, 2005). A 2015 study of K-12 online courses found that participants reported relatively
low mean scores when examining the establishment of community such as trust,
interdependence, or a community/family feel. The teachers surveyed felt they had limited
opportunities to prevent student isolation, build trust, or create a family feel in the classroom
(Wilkens et al., 2015). Similar studies have been done to better understand student experience in
online courses. These studies found that students in online courses reported high levels of
isolation and loneliness (Borup, 2016; Lee & Choi, 2011; McInnerney & Roberts, 2004; Yuan &
Kim, 2013). A study of high school students enrolled at an online school found that the online
classes can sometimes isolate the social presence for students (Kumi-Yeboah, Dogbey & Yuan,
2017). The participants shared feelings of isolation and frustration with the lack of physical
presence of peers and teachers. One participant shared that this lack of social presence negatively
affected grades in the class (Kumi-Yeboah, Dogbey, & Yuan, 2017).
Moreover, teacher and student relationships play a role in developing a sense of
belonging among students (Southard, Cranford, & Woods, 2005; Hawkins et al., 2012). Online
classrooms can provide limited opportunities for teacher-student interactions such as facilitating

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discourse with, nurturing, and motivating students (Borup, Graham, & Drysdale, 2014). A case
study conducted by Hawkins et al. in 2011 at Electronic High School located in Utah found that
instructors’ social interactions with students were the least common form of interaction in an
online classroom. Teachers were often limited to learning about students from the “about me”
assignment at the start of the semester (Hawkins et al., 2011). Hawkins et al. (2012) argued that
teachers felt that they could not establish a connection with their online students nor have a
personal relationship with them. Specifically, they struggled to find meaningful ways to build
rapport with students in an online format. For example, one teacher interviewed indicated that
the online classroom was nameless and faceless. The disconnection between students and
teachers can affect student sense of belonging.
Importance of the Evaluation
When this study began, SOS was one of the only synchronous online high schools. Due
to coronavirus and the subsequent shelter in place guidelines, SOS quickly became the model for
synchronous online education throughout this study. It is important to evaluate SOS's
performance in increasing student sense of belonging within the school community, as enhancing
sense of belonging at SOS is vital to the academic achievement and emotional development of
students. Velasquez et al. (2013) found that teachers caring for students beyond academic needs
improves the students’ general well-being, self-confidence, and quality of life. Connections
formed in the classroom encourage positive emotions, self-confidence, academic resilience, and
trust (Borup et al., 2013; Hawkins et al., 2012; Lam, Chen, Zhang, & Liang 2015; Velasquez et
al., 2013; Abdollahi & Noltemeyer, 2018). Students with a strong sense of belonging tend to
engage and put forth additional effort when faced with difficult academic challenges (Abdollahi
& Noltemeyer, 2018); when students feel accepted and connected in school, they experience
more positive emotions and have greater engagement and academic achievement (Lam et al.

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2015; Ma, 2003). Students who possess strong feelings of community are more likely to persist
and engage in the classroom than those who feel isolated or alone (Rovai, 2002).
Description of Stakeholder Groups
When examining sense of belonging at SOS, three distinct groups are heavily involved in
the process. The teachers and staff, leadership group, and student body regularly develop and
create opportunities for students to build connections with each other and feel valued within the
community.
The teachers and staff at SOS actively engage with students daily. Teachers and staff
facilitate classroom instruction, homeroom, clubs, lead assemblies, and hold office hours
meetings throughout the week. SOS seeks to improve the students’ feelings of being understood,
respected as individuals, and connected to adults. Focusing on the interactions and relationships
between instructors and staff and the students is an essential component in the improvement
process.
The leadership group at SOS is comprised of the head of school, assistant heads of
school, academic division heads, and directors of administrative groups (school website, n.d.).
The leadership group plays a key role in major financial decisions that affect the creation and
formation of online and in-person opportunities. Additionally, members of the leadership group
play an important role in forming bonds with students and enhancing relationships with the
students.
The SOS student body is comprised of about six hundred high school students and two
hundred middle school students led by the student government. The diverse student population
provides numerous voices and interests that are important to facilitate organic peer-to-peer
connections and ensure that programs and touchpoints in place at the school are aligned to the
needs of the student population. The students serve as both leaders and participants in school-led

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community activities. In addition, the students often have their own online forums and chats
outside of the school that foster peer-to-peer connections and discussions.
Stakeholder Groups’ Performance Goals
The mission of SOS is to create a worldwide learning community of diverse,
intellectually passionate students and teachers. Through vibrant seminars, the rigorous
curriculum challenges students to reason analytically, think creatively, and argue critically.
Beyond the classroom, collaborative extracurricular activities cultivate lasting relationships
among students and teachers. The school’s supportive environment fosters independence,
strength of character, and a lifelong pursuit of knowledge. While SOS has a robust mission
statement, it does not have a specific or measurable goal with respect to sense of belonging and
community within the school. The target is to have a strong school community that students feel
like they belong within. Because the organization does not have a measurable goal with
deadlines, that guides the school’s community building activities, this creates a significant barrier
for key stakeholders to act and improve sense of belonging and community within the school.
Stakeholder Group for the Study
In order to address the problem of student sense of belonging, collaboration among the
stakeholders is necessary. For practical purposes, this study will focus on SOS students. This
study will evaluate the current sense of belonging as well as feelings and practices of community
among SOS students. This evaluation is important to help guide the organization in creating a
clear goal to assess growth and progress in the sense of belonging within the school community.
This evaluation of current students is necessary to understand the reality the students are
currently facing. The school climate survey that students took in 2018 asked four questions
which focused on respect and care to assess sense of belonging levels. This survey did not
provide adequate information to understand the online student experience and feelings of

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belonging and community. Once there is a strong understanding of the current student
experience, the other stakeholders can collaborate and act to set goals and improve.
Purpose of the Project and Questions
The purpose of this project was to conduct a gap analysis to evaluate and understand the
knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that affect students’ sense of belonging at
SOS. The analysis began by generating a list of possible or assumed interfering influences that
were examined systematically to focus on actual or validated interfering effects. While a
complete gap analysis would focus on all stakeholders, for practical purposes this study focused
on SOS students.
As such, the questions that guide this study are the following:
1. How do knowledge influences affect SOS student sense of belonging and peer
connections?
2. How do motivation influences affect SOS student sense of belonging and peer
connections?
3. How does SOS organizational culture and context interact to promote sense of belonging
and peer connections among SOS students?
Methodological Framework
This study implemented a Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis, a systematic analytical
method that helps to clarify organizational goals and identify the gap between the actual
performance level and the performance goal within an organization. Assumed interfering
elements were generated based on personal knowledge and related literature. Those elements
were validated by literature review and interviews. Research-based solutions are recommended
and comprehensively evaluated.

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Definitions
Sense of Belonging: The amount that an individual feels personally accepted, respected,
included, and supported by others within their community.
Online Classes: This study will focus on synchronous online classes conducted through an
Adobe Connect platform.
Community: Community is a group of individuals who share a mutual interdependence among
members, sense of belonging, connectedness, interactivity, common expectations, shared
values and overlapping experiences among members.2
Organization of the Project
Five chapters are used to organize this study. Chapter One introduced the reader to the
organization’s mission, direction, and stakeholders and reviewed the key concepts and
terminology commonly found in discussing community and sense of belonging in online schools.
Chapter Two provides a review of current literature surrounding the scope of the study. Topics of
online education, sense of belonging, and community will be addressed. Chapter Three details
the methodology of the study, including participant selection, data collection, and analysis.
Chapter Four discusses data analysis and Chapter Five presents recommendations for the
organization.

2 This definition is derived from Rovai (2002), Rovai et al. (2005), and Vogel (2012)

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CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Social integration of students into the online learning community and sense of belonging
are essential to student academic achievement, motivation, and emotional development. This
chapter first reviews literature on community, sense of belonging, and online high schools. Then
the chapter provides an explanation of the Clark and Estes (2008) knowledge, motivation and
organizational influences’ lens used in this study. For SOS students to close performance gaps
related to increasing sense of belonging, an assessment of the knowledge influences,
corresponding knowledge types, and methods to assess any gaps is vital. In addition,
understanding motivational influences related to sense of belonging is important in achieving an
increased sense of belonging and peer connections. SOS student values and self-efficacy will be
explored, and the application of the corresponding theories will be used to assess the motivation
levels of SOS students to achieve the peer connections and sense of belonging. The
organizational culture and settings will also be assessed. The chapter ends with a presentation of
the conceptual framework guiding this study.
Literature on the Problem of Practice
Community
When examining sense of belonging within a school community, it is essential to
understand what forms a community and the role community plays. This discussion of
community draws on three complementary conceptualizations of community: Anderson’s (1991)
view of imagined communities, Lave and Wenger’s (1991) research on communities of practice,
and recent literature on virtual communities.
Imagined Communities
Anderson (1991) describes nation-states as imagined communities “because the members
of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them, or even

12
hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion” (p. 6). Imagined
communities refers to groups of people who despite not being physically connected feel
connected through the power of imagination (Kanno & Norton, 2003). In imagining oneself
bonded with others across space and time, one can feel a sense of community with people you
have not yet met but might hope to meet one day. Norton (2010) found that these imagined
communities are no less real than the ones in which learners have daily engagement and might
even have a stronger impact on their current actions and investment in the learning process.
Palloff (1996) found that communities today are not necessarily place-based but rather formed
around issues of identity and shared values. Pavlenko and Norton (2007) state that if we do not
acknowledge the imagined communities of learners, we may exacerbate their non-participation
and impact their learning trajectories in negative ways.
Online learning environments provide imagined communities that facilitate a sense of
belonging to a community where a coherence exists between its members even if they have
never met (Adamczyk, 2011; Anderson, 1991; Kavoura, 2014). The power to bond with people
from around the world, having never met in person, is a unique trait to these online and imagined
communities (Gradinaru, 2010). Members of the online classroom might never know most of
their fellow members, yet they feel a bond to their online learning community (Adamczyk, 2011;
Barab 2003, Gradinaru, 2010). While the online classroom experience may pose unique
challenges in establishing these connections (digital divide, isolation, information overload, no
face-to-face connections), community can be established in an online environment.
Communities of Practice
Communities of practice are groups of individuals who share a common concern or
passion who deepen their knowledge in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis (Wenger,
McDermott, & Snyder, 2002). Wenger and Snyder (2000) found that those in communities of

13
practice share their experiences and knowledge in ways that foster resilience and new approaches
to problems. Lave and Wenger (1991) state that learning is not just a cognitive process of
acquiring knowledge but is part of evolving participation patterns in communities with shared
practices. Communities of practice can be found in school clubs focusing on interests and some
forms of the online classroom. As members and learners become more comfortable and
knowledgeable about community practices, they increase their responsibility in the community
and become more active participants. This concept emphasizes practice and community equally
(Rovai, 2002). Wenger (1997) states that the value of education is in social participation and that
education should be framed in terms of the identities of the participants and the means of
belonging to the group. The learning community in an online course or school club allows for
mutual exploration of ideas, a safe place to reflect on and develop those ideas, and a
collaborative, supportive approach to academic work (Palloff & Pratt, 2007). Linton (2017) finds
that people who interact and learn together build relationships and, in the process, they develop
sense of belonging and mutual engagement. This shared domain creates a sense of accountability
and continued engagement among members as they share strategies, tools, routines, and
language. Learning represents the common purpose of the community as the members value
learning and feel their educational needs are being fulfilled through active participation in the
community (Rovai, 2002). The online classroom provides a participatory environment where
classrooms can create communities of practice through low barriers to engagement and strong
support of sharing ideas with others (Berge, 2006; Jenkins, 2006).
Establishing mutual relationships is a valuable component of cultivating community in an
online learning environment (Dolan et al., 2017). Online learning environments offer
opportunities for ongoing, continuous interaction which is one of the paramount bases for the
creation of community (Rotman & Wu, 2010). Interaction brings together members of the group,

14
which allows them to strengthen bonds between each other and with the larger community.
Palloff and Pratt (2007), in their book Building Online Learning Communities, find that an
important element that sets online learning apart from the tradition classroom is the interactions
amongst students themselves, the interaction between faculty and students, and the collaboration
in learning that results from these interactions. They assert that interaction and collaboration are
critical to community development and that without them, there would clearly be no community.
Including collaborative activities and team projects positively affects the level of communication
and interaction within the class. Through creating an online learning community together,
students are likely to create an environment that is honest, responsive, relevant, respectful, open,
and empowered (Palloff & Pratt, 2007).
Virtual Communities
Virtual communities are groups of people, often geographically dispersed and with
shared interests or needs, who connect through online platforms (Rotman & Wu, 2010). Virtual
communities disturb the traditional understanding of community, sociability, and commitment
(Acquisti & Gross, 2006, Gradinaru, 2010). A loosely defined common interest is often enough
to bring people together to create “hubs of interaction” in virtual communities. A virtual
community is a virtual meeting place in which a community has emerged from a set of
community-like behaviors and processes (Blanchard & Markus, 2002; Jones, 1997).
Community-like processes and virtual community are not guaranteed and require people to enact
them and continue enacting them over time. Rotman and Wu (2010) found that since traditional
etiquette guidelines do not tend to apply to virtual communities, the expectations from online
interactions may be different as well. Rotman and Wu provide an example that a person posts
content to a virtual community; not all other members who view this content are obligated to
respond, while in a physical interaction, it would be considered extremely impolite to ignore the

15
speaker (Rotman & Wu, 2010). Students at SOS are forming various communities within class
and outside events. By examining the various types of applicable communities, one can better
understand the unique community formed in online education.
Sense of Belonging
McMillan and Chavis (1986) describe a sense of community as a feeling that members
have of belonging, mattering to one another and the group, and a shared faith that members’
needs will be met through their commitment to be together. Belonging in a virtual community
can be measured by the level of computer-mediated interaction, the proportion of communication
and active members, and the presence of affective bonds among the members (Blanchard &
Marcus, 2002; Jones 1997). Blanchard and Marcus (2002) found that sense of virtual community
came from the recognition of other members, identification of themselves and others, the giving
and receiving of support, relationship with other members, emotional attachment to the
community, and obligation to the community. Vogel (2016) writes that individuals appreciate
communities because they do not have to explain themselves. People desire to feel seen and
understood without explaining the parts that outsiders don’t get. This baseline understanding
improves people’s level of comfort and feelings of safety.
These findings are consistent with Godenow and Grady's (1993) study on sense of
belonging in a school setting. Goodenow and Grady (1993) define sense of belonging as the
amount students feel personally accepted, respected, included and supported by others, especially
instructors and other adults in the school environment. Moore (1973) found that the quality of
interactions among students and the instructor relates less to geographical separation and more to
the degree of dialogue and interactions that take place within it. Sense of belonging is not tied to
the number of relationships a person has but rather to the perceived quality of those relationships
and whether people believe that others care about their welfare and happiness (Ma, 2003). Vogel

16
(2016) writes about the crisis of belonging in many highly selective or elite communities. In this
crisis of belonging, members become convinced they do not belong and the community becomes
a crowd of individuals, each one lonely and convinced that they do not belong.
Nyunt et al. (2017) studied sense of belonging and its contributing factors in graduate
education. This study found that relationships between students and other members of the school
improved sense of belonging. A 2016 study found that relationships between members of the
school community that were enduring, positive, encouraging, warm and empathetic fostered
sense of belonging for students (Sanders & Mumford). Mclaren, Schurmann, and Jenkins (2015)
studied gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth and found that higher levels of sense of belonging to a
community youth group were associated with higher levels of school, teacher, and peer
connectedness. This connectedness was positively associated with lower levels of depressive
symptoms, while lower levels of peer connectedness predicted higher levels of depressive
symptoms. St-Amand, Girard, and Smith (2017) found that belonging is a basic need that leads
people to build social bonds and affiliate with members of the group. They conclude that
belonging involves maintaining positive relations with his or her peers and teachers. These social
relations are accompanied by encouragement, acceptance, support, respect, valorization, and
warmth. Finally, an individual must demonstrate energy and a willingness to get involved in a
meaningful way within a group both in-class or through extracurricular activities in order to
maintain positive relations with peers and teachers (St-Amand, et al., 2017; Palloff & Pratt,
2013).
Online High Schools
The number of online K-12 schools continues to grow due to the increased availability of
the Internet in private homes and widespread availability of free or inexpensive programs
(Sprague et al., 2007). Online schools also provide an answer for families searching for

17
innovative education solutions such as solutions for scheduling conflicts, access to hard-to-find
courses, and accelerated options for college-bound students (Hawkins et al., 2012; Watson et al.,
2015). Cavanaugh, Borup, and Clark (2009) conclude that crowded schools, a shortage of
courses for remedial or accelerated students, lack of access to qualified teachers, and the
challenge to accommodate students who learn at a different pace contribute to the rise of online
programs. Gill et al. (2015) found that online high schools might be attractive to various kinds of
students and families such as homeschool families, rural students, students with disabilities,
highly mobile students, students with social difficulties, and students with various learning
styles. A 2014 study indicates that 2,254,000 individuals participated in online education or
attended an online K-12 school in the previous school year (Watson et al., 2015). The research
on online K-12 schools focuses on the popular asynchronous model of education. The
organization of study is one of the few synchronous K-12 schools in the nation.
Clark (2001) categorized seven different types of virtual K-12 schools (state-sanctioned,
college and university-based, consortium and regionally-based, local education agency-based,
virtual charter schools, private virtual schools, and for-profit providers of curricula, content, and
infrastructure). These seven categories are a combination of asynchronous and synchronous
options. Asynchronous online teaching involves students working on curricular materials on their
own time with the guidance of a teacher (Murphy, Rodriquez-Manzanares & Barbour 2011).
Students are separated in time and space and function independently. They use email, content
material, discussion forums, blogs, and other materials to engage with the course content and
their instructor. Students in synchronous programs are in various locations but are connected
through videoconferencing. Students and teachers are temporarily dependent as they all attend a
video conference at the same time and have live engagements with each other. This option is
most like an in-person classroom setting. Discussion between peers and teachers is often through

18
text-based chat, dialogue, video conferencing, whiteboards, and application sharing.
Synchronous courses require students to be present in the same digital space at the same time
creating a unique opportunity for connections.
Online Classroom Difficulties
While the facilitation of sense of belonging and inclusivity within the virtual environment
is possible, previous studies have demonstrated various issues with fostering community in these
environments and discussed improved practices to enhance community. Cavanaugh, Borup, and
Clark (2009), in their meta-analysis of K-12 online learning articles, found that the research into
online learning communities is almost exclusively focused on adult populations and that there is
a shortage of research exploring the development of K-12 online learning communities and
specifically K-12 synchronous online learning communities. Virtual schools offering
supplemental courses may experience difficulty establishing meaningful relationships as their
interactions are transactional and often last only as long as the student is enrolled in the course.
This temporary relationship makes it difficult to support learning and engagement (Hawkins,
2011; Hawkins, Graham & Barbour, 2012).
Rovai, Wighting & Liu (2005) conducted a study of online university students, which
found that online students score lower on both classroom social community and school social
community than on-campus peers. Online students feel a weaker sense of connectedness and
belonging than on-campus students who attend face to face.
Shackelford and Maxwell (2012) studied an online graduate program and found that the
development of community is an important factor for maximizing student satisfaction. They
conclude that online learning communities should be designed to minimize student isolation and
allow the students to share personal information and learn about each other. Zhao et al. (2012)
studied the best practices in cultivating sense of belonging and motivating user participation in

19
virtual communities. They found that perceived similarity, familiarity with, and trust in other
members of the community were all positively related to members feeling a sense of belonging.
Palloff and Pratt (2007) write that simply getting students to talk to one another is not sufficient
and instead there needs to be a focus on establishing human-to-human contact before interaction
involved with the course content begins which allow students to establish their social presence.
In online education, special attention should be placed to developing a sense of community in
within the group of participants in order for the learning process to be successful (Palloff and
Pratt, 2007). Nipper (1989) discussed the need to create a sense of “synchronous presence” and
reduce the social distance between participants. Presence is defined as the degree to which a
person is perceived as “real” in an online environment. Nipper (1989) states that the need for
social connection almost supersedes the content goals for the course. Palloff and Pratt (2007)
state that students should gather online like they do on a campus and should establish a sense of
presence online to allow their personality to come through to others in the group. Connections
can be made through the sharing of thoughts and ideas.
Borup (2006) studied Cyber High School, an asynchronous online high school, and found
that students there felt that physical separation was a major obstacle to building close
relationships. Cyber High School offered in-person events which students reported helped their
feelings of belonging as they were able to meet face-to-face and then continue to connect online.
Online interactions were found to be less social than in-person interactions. Borup (2006) also
found that some students did not seek out opportunities to connect with each other. Palloff and
Pratt (2007) write that an online learning community cannot be only created by instructors and
students also have a responsibility to make community happen. Borup et al. (2014) interviewed
online high school instructors and found that all teachers indicated some difficulty in engaging
reluctant students, which they attributed to physical separation and absence of visual cues.

20
Oviatt, Graham, Borup, and Davies (2016) conducted a survey of virtual high school students
and found a perceived need for a proximate community of support.
Barbour and Plough (2012) found that the addition of a closed social network for
members of Odyssey Charter Online School fostered opportunities for interest groups or clubs to
form and for students to engage with each other in a way that previously did not exist.
Discussions regarding academic support, group projects, social engagements, and general
nonacademic topics began on the social network. Because all of the students enrolled at the high
school shared a common context and were provided clear opportunities for engagement through
the platform, they were able to come together around specific interests, attitudes, and/or desired
activities. The pilot program demonstrated that students could benefit by having other students to
discuss coursework with and by making contacts so they could get help when needed. The pilot
saw an increase in student engagement within the school community. This study seeks to explore
the synchronous classroom experience and the knowledge, motivation, and organizational
influences at Success Online School.
Clark and Estes’ (2008) Knowledge, Motivation and Organizational
Influences Framework
Clark and Estes (2008) provide an evaluation framework that allows researchers to better
understand performance improvement in organizations. This process clarifies performance goals
and points to the gap between the organization’s performance level and goal. The framework
provided by Clark and Estes (2008) examines the stakeholder knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences that may be affecting the performance gaps. When examining
knowledge influences, it is necessary to determine whether stakeholders know how to achieve
the stated performance goal (Clark & Estes, 2008). If the stakeholders have not achieved this
goal or a similar goal recently, they will likely need more knowledge to achieve the goal. When

21
examining motivational influences, the researcher must examine the instigation and sustainment
of motivation through internal and external factors (Rueda, 2011). Finally, the researcher must
evaluate the organizational influences that may be affecting the performance gap. These can
include a lack of efficient and effective organizational work processes and resources (Clark &
Estes, 2008).
The knowledge, motivational, and organizational influences contributing to sense of
belonging among students at SOS will be addressed in this research. The first section will be a
discussion of assumed knowledge and skill influences. Next, the motivational influences will be
considered. Finally, assumed organizational influences on achievement regarding peer
connections and sense of belonging will be explored.
Stakeholder Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Influences
Knowledge and Skills
There are various knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences for SOS students
to achieve an increased sense of belonging and feelings of community. SOS students must have
the knowledge of how to achieve community and sense of belonging in the unique online school
environment. Clark and Estes (2008) state that the stakeholders require knowledge and skill
enhancement when they do not know how to accomplish their performance goal. Effective
training must provide a specific process that shows stakeholders exactly how to accomplish the
performance goal.
An evaluation of the knowledge influences, corresponding knowledge types, and methods
to assess any gaps is vital. Krathwohl (2011) organizes knowledge into four categories. Factual
knowledge includes facts, details and terminology while procedural knowledge includes how to
perform a task. Furthermore, conceptual knowledge is the connection of elements of knowledge
while metacognitive knowledge is the self-knowledge or awareness of one’s own cognition

22
(Anderson et al.; 2001, Bloom et al., 1956; Krathwohl, 2002). Based on a review of recent
literature, two knowledge influences of SOS students will be discussed in the next section
followed by a categorization of these influences into one of the knowledge types previously
reviewed. This categorization will help determine the methodology needed to assess any
knowledge gaps of SOS students.
Procedural Knowledge
The first knowledge influence that will be evaluated is the SOS students’ procedural
knowledge on how to participate in opportunities in and out of the classroom to increase
connections with other students. Students possessing the tools, time and strategies to develop
these additional connections are vital to improve student sense of belonging. Furthermore,
students must understand how to engage with others in the class setting to build community and
foster sense of belonging. Online classrooms provide limited opportunities for teacher-student
interactions such as facilitating discourse with, nurturing, and motivating students (Borup,
Graham, & Drysdale, 2014). Strategies to increase sense of belonging and peer connections in
the classroom can include class discussions, small group communication, peer introductions, and
offline chats (Rovai 2002; Rovai et al, 2005). The instructor can provide opportunities to develop
a sense of community in the course by encouraging collaboration, requiring trust, and fulfilling
students’ academic needs. These instructor-directed, peer-centered pedagogical practices can
help online students develop a sense of community (Alvarez, Espasa & Guasch, 2012; Berry,
2017; Wolsey, 2008). Students may also connect with each other regarding class content or other
interests outside of the classroom using new information and communication technologies such
as social networks (Casey & Evans, 2011). This knowledge influence is categorized as
knowledge because it focuses on how the students can build connections in and out of the
classroom (Anderson et al., 2001).

23
Conceptual Knowledge
Students need the conceptual knowledge to understand the interrelationship between
academic success and sense of belonging. This knowledge influence is categorized as conceptual
knowledge as it focuses on the understanding that all students must have to solve the
performance goal (Anderson et al., 2001). The students must understand the effect of sense of
belonging on their academic success. Online students feel a weaker sense of connectedness and
belonging than students who attend in-person courses (Borup et al. 2013; Hawkins et al. 2011;
Rovai et al. 2005; Velasquez, Graham, & Osguthorpe, 2013). Students who have a high sense of
belonging are more likely to be motivated and academically engaged than those with a low sense
of belonging (Goodenow & Gradey, 1993; Ma, 2003; Chiu et al., 2016). In addition, teachers and
administrators regularly interact with students and are in a powerful position to influence
students’ sense of belonging to the school (Ma, 2003 & Chiu et al. 2016). Enhancing a sense of
belonging at SOS is important to academic achievement and emotional development of students.
Table 1 (on the following page) describes the knowledge influence and knowledge type.

24
Table 1
Knowledge Influence and Knowledge Type
Organizational Mission
The mission of SOS is to create a worldwide learning community of diverse, intellectually
passionate students and teachers. Through vibrant seminars, the rigorous curriculum
challenges students to reason analytically, think creatively, and argue critically. Beyond the
classroom, collaborative extracurricular activities cultivate lasting relationships among
students and teachers. The school’s supportive environment fosters independence, strength of
character, and a lifelong pursuit of knowledge.
Knowledge Type Assumed Knowledge Influence
Procedural Students have the tools and time needed to
develop increased connections with their
peers
Conceptual Students understand the importance
connections with peers and teachers and the
interrelationship between academic success
and sense of belonging

Motivation
Motivation is the second component required for SOS students to achieve increased sense
of belonging and peer connections. Mayer (2011) defines motivation as an internal state that
initiates goal directed performance. Motivation is then further described as personal, activating,
energizing and directed (Mayer, 2011). The instigation and sustainment of motivation are
influenced by internal and external factors (Mayer, 2011; Rueda, 2011). Clark and Estes (2008)
share a similar definition that motivation to increase performance involves active choice,
persistence, and mental effort. Accordingly, SOS can work to achieve increased sense of
belonging and peer connections by addressing the motivational performance gaps of the students.
Understanding motivational influences related to sense of belonging is vital to achieving the
stakeholder goal. SOS student values and self-efficacy will be explored and the application of the

25
corresponding theories will be used to assess the motivation levels of SOS students to achieve
the increased sense of belonging and peer connections.
Expectancy Value Theory
Wingfield and Eccles (2000) divide the expectancy value theory into two main
motivational questions: “Can I do the task?” and “Do I want to do the task?” People are more
likely to be engaged in a task if they have confidence in their ability to do well and place a high
value on the task (Eccles, 2009; Wingfield & Eccles, 2000). Expectancy value theory can be
used to assess intrinsic value, attainment value, utility value and perceived cost in engaging in
the activity. Attainment value refers to the importance one attaches to doing well on the task
while intrinsic value refers to the enjoyment one experiences in a particular task (Eccles, 2009;
Rueda, 2000). Utility value refers to how useful one believes a task or activity is for achieving
some future goal (Harackiewicz, 2012; Rueda 2011). Cost value is the perceived cost of the
activity in terms of time or effort (Rueda 2011). These values in combination comprise the
overall value one assigns to a task.
Students at SOS must see the utility value of fostering sense of belonging and the
significant impact sense of belonging has on academic achievement and student experience.
Students at SOS must understand the utility value of participating in school activities to increase
their sense of belonging within the community. Velasquez et al. (2013) found that when students
feel accepted and connected in school, they experience more emotions that are positive and have
greater engagement and academic achievement (Lam et al. 2015). This is consistent with the
school’s findings as SOS students who are involved in clubs scored higher in the sense of
belonging score on the Panorama survey issued by SOS. O’Keefe (2013) found that sense of
belonging improves student retention. When a student feels cared for by the teachers and
community it leads to improved performance and prevents attrition. Connections formed in the

26
online school offer high intrinsic value as these connections encourage positive emotions, self-
confidence, and trust (Borup, 2016). Students at SOS have the ability to build lasting
relationships with each other and with their teachers. Understanding the value of these
relationships may cause students to have the motivation to attend school events or cultivate
friendships.
Self-Efficacy Theory
Bandura (1977) describes that self-efficacy beliefs help foster the outcome one expects.
Self-efficacy is linked to persistence and performance. Self-efficacy can also be understood as
one’s judgements of their ability to organize and execute the actions required to achieve the goal
(Bandura, 1997; Rueda, 2011). Self-perceptions of efficacy are an important element of human
behavior and influence the level of engagement in activities, the amount of energy invested, and
the effort and perseverance provided to reach goals (Bandura, 1997; Vayr & Vonthron, 2017).
Individuals with higher self-efficacy, confidence in their own competence, and beliefs for
positive outcomes will be more motivated to “engage in, persist at, and work hard at a task or
activity” (Rueda, 2011, p 25). Students at SOS must believe that they have the ability to
positively affect their own sense of belonging. Through attending student life activities and
active participation in class, students have the ability to develop connections in an out of the
classroom setting. High self-efficacy is found to increase enjoyment and enthusiasm whereas low
self-efficacy can trigger boredom and frustration, decreasing student engagement (Goetz et al.,
2008). Rovai (2002) stated that a community involves spirit, trust, interaction and commonality.
Borup (2016) found that a close relationship between students’ ability to form friendships with
their peers and their motivation to academically engage in learning activities. Inversely, the study
found that when students had not formed relationships with their peers, they felt like they were

27
working on a faceless computer and participating in a “boring course.” Table 2 shows the
motivational indicators and influences.
Table 2
Motivational Indicators and Motivational Influence
Organizational Mission
The mission of SOS is to create a worldwide learning community of diverse, intellectually
passionate students and teachers. Through vibrant seminars, the rigorous curriculum challenges
students to reason analytically, think creatively, and argue critically. Beyond the classroom,
collaborative extracurricular activities cultivate lasting relationships among students and
teachers. The school’s supportive environment fosters independence, strength of character, and
a lifelong pursuit of knowledge.

Motivational Indicator(s)
SOS students must actively work to engage their peers in and out of the
classroom through a variety of school programs.

Assumed Motivation Influences
Utility Value Students need to see the value of having a
sense of belonging and the significant impact
sense of belonging has on academic
achievement and student experience
Self-Efficacy Students need to believe that they have the
ability to affect their own levels of sense of
belonging

Organization
Cultural Settings and Models
The third possible cause of the performance gap is the lack of effective work processes,
resources, and organizational culture (Clark & Estes, 2008). Organizational culture affects most
attempts to address performance gaps. The culture of an organization can be examined based on
the cultural settings and cultural models within the organization (Gallimore & Goldenberg,
2001). Cultural settings are often visible or concrete aspects of the community. They are
described as the who, what, when, where, why and how of the routines that make up the

28
organization (Rueda, 2011). The cultural settings include the school structural supports such as
enrollment levels of students, the platforms they communicate on, the attendance at the various
events, and the process in which online students go through in building connections with their
peers. The cultural setting influences include time in class to build relationships with peers in an
online environment and the need for the administration to facilitate opportunities for students to
connect with each other.
Cultural models represent the shared ways of perceiving, thinking, and responses to
events within the workplace that are often invisible. The shared mental schema within the
organization is often unnoticed by those within it (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001; Rueda, 2011).
The cultural model influences include the acceptance and willingness among students to develop
community and sense of belonging. The culture of the organization has immense power as these
assumptions are shared and mutually enforced (Schein, 2017). Work culture is present in the
organization’s conscious and unconscious understanding of values, purpose, and direction (Clark
& Estes, 2008). This is important to the study because the culture of the online high school can
contribute towards the ability for students to engage with each other outside of the classroom.
The overall culture of the school can impact students’ ability to connect with each other and
cultivate a sense of belonging.
Conceptual Framework: The Interaction of Stakeholders’ Knowledge and
Motivation and the Organizational Context
A conceptual framework must be identified in order to best discuss the relationship
between Success Online Students’ knowledge, motivation, and organizational gaps contributing
to sense of belonging. Maxwell (2013) defines conceptual framework as the convergence of
concepts, assumptions, expectations, beliefs, and theories that guide the research. The conceptual
framework examines the experiential knowledge of the researcher, existing theory and research,

29
initial exploratory research, and thought experiments (Maxwell, 2013). This framework will
function as the lens to study sense of belonging and assists to justify the research and identify the
proper methods to explore the research (Maxwell, 2013; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The
conceptual framework of this study considers previous research on sense of belonging and
community and online schools. The framework includes awareness of the broader concepts of
sense of belonging at an online high school and the achievement of increased peer connections at
SOS. This conceptual framework will also assist the researcher to identify and understand the
methods most appropriate for evaluating sense of belonging among SOS students.
While the assumed knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences are discussed as
separate elements affecting sense of belonging at SOS, these three elements do not operate in
isolation. This conceptual framework discusses the ways in which knowledge and motivation
interact and work together within the organizational context at SOS. The knowledge, motivation,
and organizational influences must be evaluated together in order to effectively study sense of
belonging and evaluate SOS students’ sense of belonging and peer connections. Figure 1 (on the
following page) illustrates this conceptual framework.

30
Figure 1
Interaction of Stakeholder Knowledge and Motivation within Organizational Cultural Models
and Settings

This figure displays the relationship between factors influencing sense of belonging
among SOS students. The figure outlines the relationship between the knowledge and
motivational influences with each other and within the organizational context. The orange square
represents the organization of study, SOS, and the cultural models and settings that exist within

31
the school. The cultural influences are comprised of both cultural model influences and cultural
setting influences (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001). The knowledge influences are illustrated in
the orange circle. The knowledge influences include the procedural and conceptual knowledge
needed for students to achieve the stakeholder goal (Krathwohl, 2002). The motivation
influences are illustrated by the green circle. The motivation influences include utility value and
self-efficacy (Rueda, 2011). These influences also interact with one another in order for the
stakeholders to achieve the generalized goal and vision. The blue arrows in the diagram
symbolize this interaction.
Conclusion
The purpose of this study is to evaluate and understand the knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences affecting student sense of belonging at SOS. This chapter reviewed
current literature regarding online high schools, online classroom experience, sense of belonging
and community, and sense of belonging at online schools. In addition, the Clark and Estes (2008)
gap analysis lens was discussed. Furthermore, this chapter presented the perceived knowledge,
motivation, and organizational influences affecting SOS students and the conceptual framework
guiding this study. Chapter Three will discuss the study’s methodological approach.

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CHAPTER THREE: METHODS
This project employed a qualitative method of data gathering and analysis. Interviews
were conducted with SOS students to better understand their experience and the knowledge,
motivation, and organizational influences contributing to their sense of belonging and
community. The interviews were conducted over video chat as a person-to-person encounter in
which one person would ask questions to gather information from another (Merriam & Tisdell,
2016). Detailed information was gathered from participants and sorted thematically. These
themes were then developed into theories and compared to existing literature on the topic
(Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Student perceptions and practice of sense of belonging and
connections with the community were assessed using interviews.
Participating Stakeholders
While there are many individuals involved in establishing and promoting sense of
belonging in a school setting, this study sought to better understand the student perspective and
student experience. The study used purposeful sampling. The research sought to discover,
understand, and gain insight so a sample was selected in which the most can be learned (Merriam
& Tisdell, 2016). Students at SOS were contacted for interviews to provide their responses to a
series of open-ended questions administered by a proxy researcher. Since the researcher holds an
active role in the school, the interviews were conducted by a proxy researcher. The proxy
researcher is a colleague in the doctoral program and is familiar with the KMO framework. She
obtained CITI certification and has experience working with minors in her role as a school
principal.
This study examined the perspective of seventeen students in grades 9-12 at SOS.
Furthermore, the interviewees were enrolled full-time at the school and had already completed
one full school year at SOS. Of the 800 students enrolled at SOS in the 2018-2019 school year,

33
about 350 of them are full-time. The research was conducted over winter break so any students
attending in the 2018-2019 school year who returned for the 2019-2020 school year were
eligible.
Interview Sampling Criteria and Rationale
Criterion 1
SOS students participating in the study were enrolled in grades 9-12. SOS offers a middle
school program in addition to its high school courses. The middle school program is a small
percentage of students within the overall population. Less than 20% of SOS students are enrolled
in the middle school program. Focusing on high school students allowed the researcher to target
the larger population as well as the population in contact with the most number of teachers and
extracurricular offerings.
Criterion 2
SOS students participating in the study were enrolled full-time at the institution. This
study seeks to explore the knowledge, motivation, and organizational elements related to
achieving increased sense of belonging within the school community. Students enrolled full-time
at the school make up a majority of the population and are the focus of many activities within the
school. Single-course and part-time students likely have other communities in which they are
engaged and might not be seeking to belong to the SOS community. Single-course students are
supplementing their primary high school with SOS coursework.
Criterion 3
Students participating in this study had completed at least one full school year with SOS.
This study was conducted during winter break of 2019. Because many of the community
building events are spread out throughout the year, it is important that any interview participants
had already experienced or had the opportunity to experience these activities. Interviewing a

34
student who has been at the school for less than two months might yield rich comparisons
between brick-and-mortar and online schools rather than an evaluation of the individual’s sense
of belonging at SOS.
Interview Sampling Strategy and Rationale
SOS students selected for the study represented the maximum variation sample of willing
participants. Maximum variation focuses on recruiting wide-varying instances of the issue being
studied (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The researcher’s preference to achieve maximum variation
was for participants to have varying levels of participation within SOS school activities and
outside extracurricular activities. In addition, the researcher sought to interview students who are
from various states within the United States and include the international student perspective.
Interviews with people who are geographically diverse would increase the variation in the
student perspective on sense of belonging and the importance of in-person events. SOS maintains
a balanced gender distribution. As a result, the researcher sought to also find a gender-balanced
interview population. Finally, the preference was for students from a variety of grade levels to be
participants. SOS student experiences vary by grade level as they continue to become more
comfortable in the online environment. The researcher sought to explore the student experience
for each grade level.
The focus on varied participant experience allowed the researcher to explore the
perceptions of sense of belonging from students who are actively involved in the school
community and those who do not engage with classmates or SOS activities outside of the
classroom. Through this purposeful selection of participants, the researcher sought to adequately
capture the heterogeneity of the SOS population and the varying types of student experience
(Maxwell, 2013).

35
In order to evaluate the research questions through the lens of knowledge, motivation,
and organizational influences related to the problem of practice, the researcher sought out a
minimum of twelve interviewees. Specifying a particular number of interviews takes into
account the feasibility and access of data collection for the study. The goal for the researcher was
to recruit three to four participants from each grade level (full-time, high school students, in at
least second year of SOS). In addition, due to the global online nature of the school as well as the
participants being minors and requiring parental permission, seeking up to eighteen interview
participants would allow for a full pool to select from in case of any issues securing interview
times and parental permission. This allowed for varying perspectives on the school’s support of
sense of belonging, the students’ own motivation to enhance their feelings of sense of belonging,
and their knowledge on how to address the issues. It was anticipated that having 3-4 students
from each grade level would allow the researcher to better find themes regarding the
interconnectedness of the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences. Moreover,
having at least two students from each grade level would allow for students of different ages,
gender and grades to share their personal experience. Students in the ninth grade did not
volunteer to participate in the study. The proxy-researcher interviewed three females in the tenth
grade, one male in the 11th grade, 6 females in 11th grade, four males in 12th grade and three
females in 12th grade.
In order to recruit individuals for the study, an announcement was placed in the weekly
school newsletter regarding the study for three weeks. The researcher also requested the SOS
principal authorize sending an email to all eligible students regarding the study. Interested
students indicated they were willing to participate in the interviews by completing an email to
the proxy researcher that lists their name, grade, enrollment status, and activities in and out of

36
school. Finally, the proxy researcher connected with students and parents to ensure all
appropriate permissions were in place prior to scheduling and administering the interviews.
Qualitative Data Collection and Instrumentation
The data gathering process focused on interviews because the researcher seeks to
understand feelings, thoughts, and intentions which cannot be observed (Merriam & Tisdell,
2016; Weiss 1994). The researcher also sought to understand behaviors that took place at a
previous point in time, as the students were discussing their past social interactions within the
online school. Merriam and Tisdell (2016) write that interviewing is necessary when one cannot
observe behavior, feelings, or how people interpret the world around them. Weiss (1994) writes
that a qualitative interview study is best when the researcher wants to integrate multiple
perspectives and develop detailed descriptions about participant experience. Interviews allowed
for students to share their views on the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences.
The students were asked questions focusing on their past experiences at SOS and the knowledge
they have regarding social connections at the school.
Interviews
Interview Protocol
The interviews were conducted in a semi-structured format. This allowed for interviews
to be continuous and flow with a variety of student responses. In a semi-structured interview
there is a mix of more structured questions and less structured questions. Neither the exact
wording nor the order of the questions is determined ahead of time (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
This format allowed the interviewer to thoughtfully respond to the experiences that the SOS
student shared. The researcher developed an interview guide as described by Patton (2002)
which listed the basic lines of inquiry to be discussed in the interview. This allowed the

37
interviewer the opportunity to explore, probe, and ask questions that help developed the students’
description of a particular experience. The interview questions are included in Appendix A.
Interview Procedures
Students who attend SOS are located all over the world. As a result, interviews were
conducted over video chat using the Zoom platform. Students were already familiar with this
platform, as it is used for many school meetings. In addition, the researcher and interviewer were
familiar with this technology, as it was used for their online classes. The interviews were
conducted in December 2019 and January 2020 over winter break to align with the time that
students had available. This timing allowed several weeks for participant recruitment, parent
approval, and scheduling of interviews. The interviews were about one hour in length, which was
intended to keep the interviewer and participants engaged and be mindful of their other time
commitments (Weiss, 1994). If the participant had full responses to each question, the interview
lasted longer so that the interviewer could allow the respondent to provide their fullest report
(Weiss, 1994). In order to effectively gather participant quotes, Patton (2002) suggests recording
the conversations. The interviewer recorded the audio of the conversation and the researcher
used a transcription service to gather transcripts of each of the interviews for analysis. In
addition, the interviewer was taking notes of key themes heard during the interview process to
share with the researcher.
The interviews occurred over Zoom and students were instructed to change their name upon
entering the room so their name was not listed. Following this, the researcher named each
participant Student 1, Student 2, and so on in the time order that students participated in the
interviews prior to analysis. Qualitative data collection concluded when the proxy researcher did
not receive additional participation from the sample pool after the second email. Qualitative data
analysis began when the researcher received de-identified transcripts from the proxy researcher.

38
Data Analysis
After each interview, the researcher began the data analysis process. She reviewed each
transcript and wrote notes regarding her observations. She then coded the interview data into
prevalent themes presented across the interviews (Harding, 2013). In the first phase of analysis,
she used open coding, looking for empirical codes and applying a priori codes from the
conceptual framework. The codes were used to retrieve and categorize similar data together so
the researcher could cluster the response relating to a particular research question or theme
(Miles, 2014). A second phase of analysis was conducted in which empirical and a priori codes
were aggregated into analytic/axial codes. These codes provided an opportunity to explain the
relationships between different parts of the data (Harding, 2013). In the third phase of data
analysis pattern codes were identified as were themes that emerged in relation to the conceptual
framework and study questions.
This study was informed by interviews. The information presented in Chapter Four
applies the conceptual framework discussed in Chapter Two and is guided by the research
methodology identified in this chapter. Interviews were evaluated to determine whether the
assumed knowledge, motivational, and organization influences were present and to asses if the
gaps were a need or a strength. A need means that the analysis of data confirms that the gap
exists in the organization and that a solution is required to close the identified performance gap.
A strength means that the assumed gap identified in the conceptual framework as a barrier to
achieving the organization’s performance goal was not confirmed by the evidence or students
spoke of it as a quality they currently demonstrate. The criteria used throughout the study was
64%, or 11 out of 17 students had to agree in order for an assumed gap to be considered a need.
Chapter Four includes a detailed discussion for each section and includes the quotes obtained
from the interview participants supporting the researcher’s findings.

39
Credibility and Trustworthiness
In qualitative research, the researcher is often the research instrument, and this can cause
inherent bias (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The researcher sought to minimize bias and maintain
the credibility and trustworthiness of the study through various strategies. The first strategy was
through designing the methodology so as to maximize the likelihood of capturing rich data.
Maxwell (2013) points to capturing detailed and varied data that provide a full and revealing
picture of the student experience. Data was captured through multiple interviews that included
probing questions that allowed students to describe their experience in detail. In this way,
collected data was as rich as possible. In addition, the researcher sought to triangulate the data.
By collecting data from varied groups of students, the researcher was able to analyze consistency
of data from multiple sources not just one friend group (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). In addition,
given the role of the researcher within the school community, discussed in the ethics section, the
interviewer developed credibility, so participants understood that their engagement in this study
was confidential. Confidentiality can lead to increased credibility and trustworthiness providing
honest responses and rich data (Creswell, 2014).
Ethics
The researcher is the Director of Student Life and Community at SOS. A strong school
community is part of the mission statement and a primary goal of the Office of Student Life. The
Director of Student Life oversees all events and activities outside of the classroom. This includes
in-person and online events as well as all discipline cases. This research was inspired by the
difficulties the Office of Student Life faces in providing programming that effectively builds
relationships in this online environment while also having low attendance at the events that are
occurring. All of these experiences shape the outlook and frame of the research being conducted
(McEwan & McEwan, 2003; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Given the dual role of the researcher as

40
both the researcher and Director of Student Life and Community, the research was conducted by
an outside researcher to avoid relational ethics conflicts (Glesne, 2001; Merriam & Tisdell,
2016).
To avoid as many relational ethics situations as possible, the researcher trained an
interviewer/transcriber and reviewed all questions and probes with the interviewer. The proxy
interviewer is a colleague in the USC Rossier Doctorate of Organizational Change and
Leadership program. She completed the same coursework and CITI training as the researcher
and has extensive knowledge of the field of education as a school administrator. She also
conducted her own IRB approved study with the researcher as her proxy researcher. Her
education, training, and background assisted her in conducting the interviews successfully and
ethically. The data was stored on a secure digital storage website that requires two-factor
identification in order to be accessed. In addition, the data was be anonymized by the interviewer
prior to analysis. Transcriptions were completed by third party transcription services. Only the
researcher and the interviewer/transcriber had access to this file. The researcher destroyed all the
files following transcription and stored all data temporarily outside of SOS databases during the
analysis phase.
Researchers have an obligation to ensure that no harm is done to their participants
because of participating in the study (Glesne, 2001). The University of Southern California
Institutional Review Board process reviewed and confirmed that there was no risk of harm to the
participants. Participation in the study was voluntary. Students and parents saw a call for
participants in the school’s weekly newsletter and received a direct email. Students did not
receive any bonus, reward, or benefit from participating in the study. Interested students shared
their willingness to participate and disclosed their enrollment status and home city and state to be
used for sampling purposes. In addition, all interested parties received an informed consent

41
document for review. This informed consent document was sent to students and their parents or
guardians to be sure that they approved their child’s participation in this study. The consent
document informed the parents and students of the voluntary nature of their participation and
their ability to withdraw at any time. See Appendix B for the informed consent document.
Informed consent documents were distributed by email to the student’s school email and parent 1
and parent 2 emails on file with the school. The informed consent document also notified
students and parents that the interviews were recorded. Each participant could stop involvement
in the study at any time. This information was on the informed consent form as well as verbally
stated at the start of the interview by the interviewer.
Limitations and Delimitations
While interviews allowed the researcher to learn about the student experience, there were
limitations and delimitations to the study. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and
understand the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences affecting student sense of
belonging at SOS. Due to the online environment and design of the study, several limitations
presented themselves. First, conducting interviews provided information that is filtered through
the view of the interviewees (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). While a separate researcher conducted
the interview itself, the students and parents of the participants knew that the interview data will
contribute to the Director of Student Life’s research. In addition, the students spoke about past
experiences, filtered them through their own lens and reflected their own emotional connections
to the experience. The truthfulness of respondents and the urge for participants to seem like they
have more friends than they do could have posed a factor.
Second, interviews provide information in a designated place rather than observing in a
natural field setting (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Since the school is online, social interactions

42
often occur over private instant messenger chats and group telephone chats. This limits the
ability of the researcher to view the interaction of students in their natural field setting. The
researcher was unable to view any social interactions and peer-to-peer connections. The students
interviewed reflected on their own experiences and their perceived experiences of their peers
when discussing sense of belonging and connections.
Additionally, the number of respondents and variations among them provided a limited
perspective. Since no ninth-grade students agreed to be in the study, this study does not capture
the full experience of all students in attendance. Students were on winter break at the time of the
interviews and some may have been reluctant to take time from their break to participate in the
study. The researcher anticipated a low response rate to the call for participants as well as limited
variation among those who did choose to respond. Those who responded had all re-enrolled in
the school and were willing to share their experiences. Those with poor experiences and poor
social connections from the 2018-2019 school year would have already left the school and their
voices wouldn’t be captured. In addition, with only seventeen responses total, the students
interviewed represent a small portion of the stakeholder group.
Finally, since the interviewer was a proxy researcher, students spent a significant amount
of time in the interview educating the researcher about the school as a precursor to their answers
which limited the reflection and sharing of experiences. For example, one student interviewed
spent a significant amount of time introducing the interviewer to the several in-person events
available at the school prior to their answer about their experience at one of the events.
In addition, the design of the study and stakeholders offer delimitations. First, the
researcher is a member of the administration at the organization and has full access and deep
understanding of all past efforts and future plans to improve sense of belonging at the school.

43
This allowed for unique tailoring of questions and probes and the analysis of results as all of the
terms and events are familiar. In addition, a platform that the students were active users of was
chosen over another online meeting platform. The researcher, interviewer, and the students use
the online platform that was used for the interviews regularly in their school day. The familiarity
with the online environment and the platform lead to additional ease for the participants and
potentially improved their comfort level during the interview. Finally, the researcher chose to
interview SOS students rather than teachers, administrators, or parents for the study.

44
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND FINDINGS
The purpose of this evaluation study was to identify the knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences affecting the sense of belonging and community of high school
students at Success Online School. This study used qualitative interviews to answer the research
questions. The data were collected in December of 2019 and January of 2020 to accommodate
the students’ class schedules and availability. This chapter outlines the following elements of the
study: participating stakeholders, interview findings of the study, summary, and a synthesis of
identified influences. The findings and summary are sequentially categorized under knowledge,
motivation, and organization influences using Clark and Estes’ (2008) gap analytic framework.
The questions that guided this study are:
1. How do knowledge influences affect SOS student sense of belonging and peer
connections?
2. How do motivation influences affect SOS student sense of belonging and peer
connections?
3. How does SOS organizational culture and context interact to promote sense of belonging
and peer connections among SOS students?
Participating Stakeholders
Seventeen high school students participated in the interviews. During data collection,
students and parents of the 253 eligible students were sent an introductory email and an
invitation to participate was featured in the school weekly newsletter. The students were
completing their finals and beginning their winter break, so only four students responded to the
email in December. Once school reopened in January, the researcher sent another email to the
same 253 families encouraging students to participate in the interviews. After the January email,
13 students responded to the proxy researcher and scheduled interviews. Of the 17 students

45
interviewed, 12 self-identified as females and five self-identified as males. Students in the ninth
grade did not volunteer to participate in the study. The proxy-researcher interviewed three
females in the tenth grade, one male in the 11th grade, 6 females in 11th grade, four males in 12th
grade and three females in 12th grade. While this was not the intended demographic pool of the
study, these were the only students willing and able to participate. Table 3 demonstrates the
demographics of those interviewed.
Table 3
Interview Participant Demographics
Male Female
9th Grade 0 0
10th Grade 0 3
11th Grade 1 6
12th Grade 4 3

One student interviewed indicated that she lived internationally during her interview.
Twelve students mentioned that they lived close to the SOS offices or can easily travel to them
frequently for activities. All interview participants confirmed they were full-time students in at
least their second year at SOS with the proxy researcher prior to scheduling the interview.
A need means that the analysis of data confirmed that the gap exists in the organization
and that a solution is required to close the identified performance gap. A strength means that the
assumed gap identified in the conceptual framework as a barrier to achieving the organization’s
performance goal was not confirmed by the evidence, or students spoke of it as a quality they

46
currently demonstrate. The criteria used throughout the study was that 64%, or 11 out of 17
students, had to agree in order for the assumed need to be considered a confirmed need.
Findings for Knowledge Causes: How Do Knowledge Influences Affect SOS
Student Sense of Belonging and Peer Connections?
Procedural Knowledge
The first knowledge influence is the SOS students’ procedural knowledge of how to
participate in opportunities in and out of the classroom to increase and maintain connections with
other students. Students possessing the tools, time and strategies to develop these additional
connections are vital to improve student sense of belonging. Furthermore, students must have the
understanding of how to engage with others in the class setting to build community and foster
sense of belonging.
To assess the students’ procedural knowledge of how to participate in opportunities in
and out of the classroom, responses from three main questions were analyzed. Students were
asked about overall sense of community, how they build relationships, how they meet people in
and out of class, and how they would describe to a new student how to make friends. Two
overarching themes emerged during data analysis: (a) activity types and (b) quality of
connections.
Activities Types
Three questions allowed the interviewees to share the activities they are engaged in at
SOS that facilitate sense of belonging and peer questions. Questions 6 and 7 (see Appendix A)
asked students how they met people outside of their classes and how they would describe to a
new student how to make friends at SOS. The probe in Question 5 asked students what in-class
activities have helped them get to know their peers and instructors. Codified data analysis
showed that all students interviewed indicated that an important element to creating peer

47
connections at SOS involved making an effort or taking initiative. This will be discussed in the
below sections focusing on self-efficacy. This question points to the procedural knowledge as
students possessing the tools, time, and strategies to develop connections would report several
in-class and in-person activities that have allowed them to facilitate connections with their peers
and feel a sense of belonging within the school.
In-Class Activities. Students at SOS spend a significant amount of time in class with
their peers and instructors. Full-time students take an average of five classes that meet two times
a week for 70 minutes. Given the flipped classroom and seminar style of teaching, students are
often engaging in discussion with their instructors and peers over course content.
Of the 17 students interviewed, 13 students responded that the synchronous online
classroom and specific in-class activities provide opportunities for students to build connections
with each other and their instructors. Student 4 shared that classes were the main way she got to
know others at SOS. She said that classes “are when you actually see people face to face. I mean,
online virtually but you still get to see their faces and hear them talk.” Students shared that the
discussion-based classes open up the door to becoming friends and creating community through
in-class activities or assignments. Breakout rooms and peer review assignments were mentioned
by nine and eight students respectively as specific in-class activities that facilitate peer
connections.
In the online classroom, breakout rooms are digital rooms where small groups of students
can work together in a group setting. The findings suggest that these small group opportunities to
discuss the coursework allow students to build connections with each other. Student 1 stated that
breakout rooms allowed him to “get a sense of how people are and who you want to spend time
with” through casual banter in the small group. The other participants expressed support for
breakout rooms by stating that they allow for casual interaction without an instructor, split the

48
class into small groups for manageable discussion, and provide a space for open and natural
discussion.
Eight students mentioned assignments with peer review components as beneficial for
connecting with others in their classes. The findings suggest that the opportunity to focus on a
class assignment or topic with a peer in an informal setting allows students to get to know each
other and learn more about their peers. Student 8 shared that “the easiest way for me to reach out
to someone was by asking them if they wanted to swap essays or something like that and then
eventually grew into a real friendship.” Student 9 stated that peer reviewing other students’
papers “help us get to know each other because […] it’s still like academic, but it allows us to
kind of get an insight into how we think.” The students shared that peer reviews provide an
opportunity for connection outside the class and lead to additional friendships. These findings
further support the literature that online courses can be designed to offer opportunities for
students and instructors to share personal connections (Shackelford & Maxwell, 2012; Southard
et al., 2005; Zhao et al., 2012)
Alternatively, four students said that the class format did not allow time for opportunities
to facilitate peer connections. The four students agreed that there are not many opportunities to
talk with each other in class. They reported that the focus on academics and course materials did
not provide an opportunity for students to get to know each other. Student 6 commented that
“There isn't really much time, honestly though, during class discussion to really get to know a
student or an instructor. So it's really best to get to know them over Skype or email.” Student 5
described that there are icebreaker activities for class; however, they only occur at the start of the
school year. The findings suggest that there are students at SOS who do not feel that the current
in-class opportunities to interact with peers and form bonds to the community.

49
Bonds Formed Outside of the Classroom. SOS students have several opportunities
outside of the classroom to connect with their peers both online and in-person. Of the 17
interviewed students, 13 mentioned specific school activities outside of the classroom that have
assisted them in feeling a sense of belonging within the community and fostering connections
with their peers. The three specific activities mentioned were clubs and circles, meetups, and the
two-week residential summer program.
Twelve students interviewed highlighted clubs and circles as a way that they build
connections with their peers and feel connected to the community. This is consistent with the
literature on communities of practice. The learning community in the school club allows for
mutual exploration of ideas, a safe place to reflect on and develop those ideas, and a
collaborative, supportive approach to academic work (Palloff & Pratt, 2007; Rovai, 2002). The
findings suggest that clubs and circles are an effective way to find others and build connections
online with individuals who have similar interests. Student 11 described the numerous clubs at
SOS and stated that they are beneficial because one can “just kind of like express all these
different sides of who you are, even beyond school stuff and like, that's another really nice thing
because it's like with kids all over the world.” Students shared that clubs are the primary way
they make friends who share similar interests. The findings described that club meetings allow
students to communicate informally with people every week for several hours and be united by a
common interest.
Conversely, Student 14 shared that many clubs start off strong the first few weeks of
school and are beneficial to meet new people but tend to die out throughout the school year, the
findings suggest that the opportunity to find others with similar interests spurred friendships
outside of the club itself. This is consistent with the literature that an online learning community
can serve as a community of practice that develops sense of belonging and encourages

50
participation and engagement (Wenger et al., 2002; Wenger & Snyder, 2000; Rovai, 2002;
Palloff & Pratt, 2007; Berge, 2006; Jenkins, 2006). Students who possess strong feelings of
community are more likely to persist and engage in the classroom than those who feel isolated or
alone (Rovai, 2002).
SOS offers in-person meetup opportunities on the university campus throughout the year
as well as informal meetup opportunities hosted by regional coordinator parent volunteers around
the world. Meetups were mentioned by 12 of the 17 students interviewed as an opportunity to
make connections within the school. The students agreed that it was a component of building
connections in an online environment. Student 2 stated that meetups were “a big part of student
life” and that the meetups “really helped bolster relationships that would last throughout the
whole year.” Student 4 shared that meetups allowed them to create “that initial connection with a
person, and then from there on, it’s much easier for it to be online. But if you don’t have that
initial in-person connection, it is really difficult to get started.” Students shared that in-person
meetups allow the students to feel connected to the school and that these in-person events
influence the feelings of connection with the school community. The findings suggest that in-
person meetup activities give students the opportunity to build connections with people who they
had seen in class or at other online events through shared experiences. By attending the meetups,
students reported that they were able to feel comfortable talking to more students (Student 12)
and that these events helped students get through the school year (Student 14). Student 15 said
the in-person meetups allowed them to build a bond with other students “in some type of like
emotional level.”
The in-person activity most mentioned by students was the two-week residential summer
program known as Summer Session. The Summer Session was mentioned by 13 of the 17
students interviewed. The 13 students discussed that they built a strong community and lasting

51
friendships after attending the program. Two additional students interviewed mentioned Summer
Session as a community building activity offered by the school but had not attended the program
themselves. Students attributed the length of the program and the opportunity for informal and
casual discussions as the primary way they created bonds. Student 14 shared that through the
summer program they were able to create lasting friendships in person and then transfer those
friendships online. Student 5 stated,
[Summer Session is] by far is the best place to actually make friendships because even at
some of the in-person meetups you might meet people, but then you’re only with them
for like a couple hours like a day or something. So it’s kind of hard to grow something
out of that. But with Summer Session, you’re like living with people for two weeks and
so you actually like get to like interact with each other, more than like just once.
Student 6 explained that Summer Session is one of the highlights of their year because of the
community developed during the summer program. Summer Session was described by the
students as allowing them to make friends, feel appreciated for who they are, and feel as though
they belonged to the school community. In-person opportunities came up frequently throughout
the interview data as a source of effective community building and will be further explored
within organizational influences.
Quality of Connections
Question three asked students to describe the sense of community at the school and if
they had close relationships with anyone at the school. This question points to the procedural
knowledge as students possessing the tools, time, and strategies to develop connections would
report a strong connection to the community and close relationships with others in the
community. All seventeen students interviewed indicated that they felt there was a community at
SOS, although three participants described SOS as being a community with shallow connections.

52
Fourteen students reported that they felt a strong sense of community within the school.
After describing the various online and in-person activities that they knew of and participated in,
the students responded that they felt strong bonds and community at SOS. Student 1
acknowledge that social aspects are a clear challenge; however, he continues that the “whole
online bit of it doesn’t really like ruin things or make anything worse,” and reported that he has
close relationships with several people at SOS. Several students confirmed that they have solid
friendships at SOS with both close friends and a larger network of peers they feel comfortable
with. Student 17 added that “it is not necessarily a large quantity of people, but I have some
really good quality friendships that I’ve developed.” Student 13 shared that he felt “like we’re
part of each other’s lives. We know what is going on in each other’s lives.” These findings are
consistent with the literature that online learning environments provide imagined communities
that facilitate a sense of belonging to a community where a coherence exists between its
members even if they have never met in-person (Adamczyk, 2011; Anderson, 1991; Kavoura,
2014; Gradinaru, 2010; Barab, 2003).
Alternatively, three students felt that the interactions in and out of the classroom did not
contribute to overall sense of belonging within the school community. Student 4 shared that she
had friends that were kind, however she “personally felt a certain distance, I think because of the
fact that it’s online.” She continued that “it is really difficult to reach the same depth of a
relationship when you are chatting online or through Skype or just like messaging each other
versus the relationships I have with my peers who live a few blocks away.” Student 5 described
the friendships as shallow connections due to the varied enrollment opportunities within the
school. She continued that most people at SOS “have more friends outside of SOS than inside
SOS” and that those outside friendships “are more fulfilling, I guess, and like deeper than

53
friendships […] if you’re friends with people in your area, you’re much more likely to hang out
and to talk more.”
Summary
The interview findings show that students know how to participate in school activities in
and out of the classroom. Students interviewed described the various tools and strategies to
develop connections with peers both in and out of the classroom. The criteria discussed in
Chapter Three for gap validation was that eleven students or 64% of interviewed students would
agree. Thirteen students responded that the synchronous online classroom and specific in-class
activities provide opportunities for students to build connections with each other and their
instructors. Thirteen students mentioned specific school activities outside of the classroom that
have assisted them in feeling a sense of belonging within the community and fostering
connections with their peers. Fourteen students reported that they felt a strong sense of
community within the school. The data suggest that the procedural influence highlighted in this
study can be seen as a value instead of a gap because over 64% of interviewed students found
opportunities to connect with each other and high-quality connections within the school. While
the majority of students felt that the current tools provide opportunities for students to build peer
connections and feel connected to the community, several students interviewed felt that
additional or varied opportunities are needed in and out of the classroom to develop deep and
fulfilling connections.
Conceptual Knowledge
The second knowledge influence is the SOS students’ conceptual knowledge to
understand the interrelationship between academic success and sense of belonging. In order to
meet SOS’s organizational goal of improving sense of belonging, students must understand the

54
interrelationship between academic success and sense of belonging and the importance of
connections with peers and teachers.
Question 5 in the interview focused on conceptual knowledge. Students were asked if
they felt that they had stronger relationships with students that they had taken a class with.
Additionally, they were asked what in-class activities have helped them get to know their peers
and/or instructors. In analyzing the interview transcripts, one significant theme emerged, and one
gap was highlighted. These themes were (a) connections with peers and (b) connections with
teachers. First, several students drew on past examples to discuss their mixed connections and
transactional relationships with individuals in their classes. Second, students spoke positively
about both the quality of teachers and the important role they play to the community and sense of
belonging.
Connections with Peers
All seventeen students responded with no or it depends to Interview Question 5 asking if
they had stronger connections with students in their class. At various points of the interview,
students responded that friends helped them feel not alone; however, only one of the students
interviewed indicated that peer connections assist them academically. Student 1 shared that the
friendships formed at SOS are
not just good for like our mentality. It’s like good for our grades because, you know, our
friends feeling good about ourselves and like feeling happy helps us work to be more
motivated and I mean obviously life is not all that work, but it’s important part of SOS.
Two students described study calls as a way that they met new people; however, they did
not touch on the academic benefit or interconnectedness of these calls and their academic
success. Student 5 shared that they talk with people outside of class about homework
assignments. This demonstrates a knowledge gap and need for improved conceptual knowledge

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and understanding of the interrelationship between peer connections and academic success. This
is consistent with the literature that students with a strong sense of belonging tend to engage and
put forth additional effort and that the social component in an academic environment is important
to the classroom environment to facilitate honesty, trust, and openness (Abdollahi & Noltemeyer,
2018; Lam et al. 2015; Ma, 2003; Palloff & Pratt, 2006).
Connections with Teachers
Eleven students pointed to their connections with their teachers and the effect of the
academic team at SOS on their general feeling of community. Specifically, they talked about
how these connections with teachers affected their overall feeling of community as well as now
these connections contributed to increased effort and comfort in the classroom. By getting to
know the instructional staff, the students reported an increased sense of community and support
within their academics. Student 10 said that the open and welcoming teachers allow them to “feel
like I’m with my people that I don’t really feel anywhere else really.” SOS teachers were
regularly cited by students as supportive figures in and out of the classroom. The SOS teachers
were described as wanting students to succeed, enjoying their work, and wanting to help students
(Student 14). Student 14 continued, “Students want to go the extra mile for a teacher who
believes in them, and that’s a really powerful thing for a lot of student body and which that really
helps and contributes to the experience.”
Nine students mentioned the importance of attending instructor office hours to build
connections with teachers. Students reported that office hour attendance facilitated informal
discussions of course material or various other topics, allowing students to feel closer to their
instructors. Student 10 shared that office hours “Help you also feel more comfortable engaging
and participating” when in class given the connections build during that time. The findings
suggest that office hours are a positive way for students to build connections with teachers.

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These findings further support the idea that sense of belonging within the school community
enhances academic achievement and effort as well as encouraging positive emotions, self-
confidence, and trust (Borup et al., 2013; Hawkins et al., 2012; Lam, Chen, Zhang, & Liang
2015; Southard et al., 2005; Velasquez et al., 2013).
Summary
The interview findings suggest a gap in the student’s conceptual knowledge about the
interconnectedness between peer connections and academic success. The students’ overemphasis
on the strength of relationships in the interviews suggests that students focused on the social
value of their friendships and the methods they used to form them rather than academic
interconnectedness. Students responded that friends helped them feel not alone; however, none
of the students interviewed indicated that peer connections assist them academically. Also, the
interview findings pointed to a strength within the students’ relationships with their teachers and
the interconnectedness between those connections and their understanding of the material and
performance. The criteria discussed in Chapter Three for gap validation was that eleven students
or 64% of interviewed students would agree. Eleven students pointed to their connections with
their teachers and the benefit of the strong academic team at SOS to their overall feeling of
community and contribute to increased effort and comfort in the classroom.
Findings for Motivation Causes: How Do Motivation Influences Affect SOS Student Sense
of Belonging and Peer Connections?
Expectancy Value Theory
The first motivation influence is associated with expectancy value theory as students at
SOS must see the utility value of fostering sense of belonging and the significant impact sense of
belonging has on academic achievement and student experience. Students at SOS should
understand the utility value of participating in opportunities to increase their sense of belonging

57
within the community and the benefit that brings to their experience. They must understand that
friendships and connections are useful for achieving their academic goals and goals for their high
school experience.
Interview question eight asked students if they think having friends or not having friends
would change their high school experience. They were asked to explain why or why not to
follow up their answer. All 17 students responded positively to the importance of having friends.
Upon data analysis, two themes emerged in the findings: (a) knowing you are not alone and (b)
finding likeminded people. The first theme describes how students benefit from connections that
allow them to share experiences with students. The second theme describes the social and
academic benefits of finding likeminded gifted students in a school environment.
Knowing You’re Not Alone
Fifteen students spoke about the importance of friends and knowing that they were not
alone in the SOS community. Students referenced the academic challenges within the school and
the social challenges being in an online environment. Students shared that the friendships formed
in and out of the classroom helped them know they were not alone and persevere through
challenges.
Students referenced the importance of having friends during the online high school
experience. Students shared that not having friends would make the school extremely difficult
(Student 14) and would be socially isolating, lonely and depressing (Student 4, Student 5, &
Student 17). The students shared that friends make the experience bearable, easier, and provide
an outlet if there are personal struggles.
Student 2 shared that students at SOS are going through “the same things at the same
time” and that it is important to connect with classmates “even if they are not your best friends.”
She continued that it “is really beneficial to helping you know that, like, you’re not alone. It’s

58
going to be ok. Everything’s going to work out.” Student 4 shared, “When you feel without
friends, you feel as though you’re the only kid going through this, um, it’s really difficult to get
through school so it definitely helps to have friends.”
Student 6 expressed the frustration of not having community and the increased
motivation he found after building connections within the school community:
Having no community to do it for, I guess, was even more frustrating in a way. But
during my second year in SOS when I started getting to know more people, I discovered
that, oh, they’re also having difficulties, they’re basically going through the same things I
am and it kind of gives me more motivation.
Students shared that friendships improve their resilience and motivation while combating
isolation from the online classroom. This is consistent with the research that loneliness impacts
online student engagement and success (Borup, 2016; Lee & Choi, 2011; McInnerney &
Roberts, 2004; Yuan & Kim, 2013).
Likeminded People
Twelve students interviewed said that attending SOS allowed them to find other
individuals with similar interests and likeminded peers. Several students also connected this to
their ability to connect about schoolwork and the classroom experience. Since SOS is a global
school for academically advanced students, several students referenced finding other students
equally as interested in academics and the affect that had on their feelings of connection and
belonging. Student 10 reflected on their experience before SOS and said, “I think I faced
challenges in middle school with actually like feelings of not belonging because it wasn’t like
cool to be a smart person in middle school.” Student 10 continued,
I had misgivings about the social thing, but when I made friends that I saw that these
friends were a lot like me. They were invested in their schoolwork and I can have really

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intelligent conversations with them. Then I was like okay so the coursework is great and
the people are all great.
Student 11 discussed that, coming from a small community, they felt especially close to the
students at SOS. Student 16 commented on the varied interests and opportunities available at
SOS for students. The types of clubs, student groups, and extracurricular activities appealed to
the students. The varied interests and wide span of predominantly academic student groups
allowed students to find peers with similar interests in the global community. Student 2 shared,
Because you’re all going through the same school together and it’s [an] experience unlike
no other experience, it really feels like you guys can connect over something really
special and you guys got each other in a way that you don’t really get anywhere else.
These shared experiences point to the opportunities students have at SOS to build connections
with academically focused people they might not have met at their local schools.
Throughout the interview Student 4 shared many concerns about sense of belonging and
community at SOS. However, when speaking about finding likeminded people, Student 4 had
numerous positive experiences to draw from. Student 4 shared, “But intellectually, I find SOSers
connect really well to one another, like we share certain traits that kids at a normal brick and
mortar find a bit odd.” Student 4 continued to describe Skype calls amongst the senior class and
stated, “We were talking about other kids that just seem like really nerdy things that they would
never communicate but to us, we really connected over that.” Student 5 also shared their
experience that
being with other people who want to take like advanced classes and other people who are
really motivated and you know, go to class to learn whereas in like other schools kids
don’t really want to pay attention. They don’t really maybe want to try. They might just
wat to do their own thing but here everyone is engaged.

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This is consistent with findings that students who possess strong feelings of community are more
likely to persist and engage in the classroom than those who feel isolated or alone (Palloff &
Pratt, 2006; Rovai, 2002).
Summary
All seventeen students interviewed felt it was important to have peer connections to other
students at SOS. Most students indicated that having connections with other students at the
school helped the face the school more confidence and less stress. Students commented on the
motivation that comes from sharing their experience with others and the ability to find people
also focused on their academics. The students in the SOS community prioritize academics and
the students interviewed spoke about the benefits of being surrounded by others who were
equally focused on academics.
Self-Efficacy Theory
The second motivation influence is associated with self-efficacy theory. In order to meet
the organizational goal, students at SOS must believe that they have the ability to positively
affect their own sense of belonging. Interview questions nine and ten asked about self-efficacy.
Interview question nine asked students what in-person events they have attended and to reflect
on their experience. The probes for interview question nine include if the students think that in-
person events help students feel connected to the school and an in-person event that went well or
poorly for the student. Interview question ten asked students about the Friday online activities
offered by the school and if they have attended. The probes further ask students why they did nor
did not attend and what would get more students to attend the events. While originally intended
to ask students about their procedural knowledge of making friends, interview question seven,
which asked students to describe how to make friends at SOS, revealed meaningful responses for
self-efficacy and overall motivation amongst the students. Two major themes presented

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themselves regarding self-efficacy: (a) the positive effect and opportunities of attending in-
person activities towards sense of belonging within SOS, and (b) the importance of making an
effort to build connections within the SOS community.
In-Person Events
Fifteen students referenced the in-person events offered by the school as a way they felt
peer connections and community building are made. The fifteen students spoke about their
ability to make friends in the in-person environment and how that in-person connection helped
strengthen their sense of belonging. They felt that their attendance at these events gave them the
ability to affect their own peer connections and sense of belonging. The findings suggest that
attendance at in-person events is an important aspect of finding connections and building
community at SOS. Student 10 reflected on the bonds formed in person rather than online and
shared that “the friendships that started with in-person and like are maintained with seeing each
other in-person more are stronger than the ones just completely met online trying to maintain
online.” Student 10 continued that these events are a large contributor to their well-being and
sense of belonging. Participants also reported that in person events also provided an opportunity
for students to meet and talk to new people (Student 12, Student 14 & Student 6). The in-person
events allow students to pull from previous knowledge of how to build connections in a school
environment. Student 6 shared:
I think it's the best way for students to feel connected to the school just because I think
there's this kind of norm for schools where, you know, the traditional is kind of what
everyone's looking for and I think SOS tried its best to mirror traditional classroom where
you can actually see students’ faces and you can raise your hand and you draw on a
whiteboard. So getting to actually meet your students in real life. That's kind of really

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meaningful part of a traditional classroom environment that SOS tries it's best to include
in its student life programs and I'm glad that they do that.
Student 7 stated that in addition to attending the in-person events, students should get someone’s
contact information while there to continue to relationship built in the in-person setting. 15 out of
17 students interviewed felt that attendance at in-person events and participation in activities
such as Summer Session allowed students to positively impact their friendships and connections
with others at the school.
Making an Effort
All 17 students interviewed shared a similar perspective that students attending an online
school have to make an additional effort in order to build peer connections and feel connected to
the school community. The transcripts suggest that students at SOS have high self-efficacy. The
additional effort to build connections within the online community includes choosing to surround
yourself with people online and seeking out opportunities to connect with others. This is a
change from the brick and mortar school model where an individual is able to walk by several
groups of people during the school day. In an online school environment, the students are in their
homes and need to make a concerted effort to log-in to the appropriate platform or discover the
chatroom that students are communicating in. Throughout the interviews, students described the
process of making friends as difficult, work, requiring effort, and hard for people.
This excerpt from Student 12 describes their experience making friends in the online
environment:
That was the most difficult change and also the most different thing about being in an
online school is just finding the motivation to work and pay attention and then also being
separate from classmates and having to work to maintain friendships instead of just being
able to see that person every single day.

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Student 11 specifically highlighted that surface level friendships may exist from in-class
connections but that true friendships and connections are made online outside of the classroom.
This highlights the importance and necessity of opportunities and pathways for outside
connections and the effort needed to create friendships in an online environment. Student 11
described:
A lot of the interaction happens outside of the actual class. I think that you have to take it
upon yourself a little bit to reach out and to try to form the bonds. But if you’re like
motivated at all to have friends and to do that, I think that’s where your real connections
will be built. Because you know, I’m in class where you know, someone might make a
joke everyone once in a while relating to the material and coursework and everything, but
it’s very for the most part surface level stuff and you don’t get to really know anyone like
very well through your class and its really outside of class or through clouds or just that
kind of interactions where you get to actually meet people.
While the students at SOS do need to take additional steps to form friendships, Student 9 shared
that the “group of people here is worth the extra effort to get to know.” Students felt that in order
to build bonds with others at the school and feel connected to the community, they needed to
enact additional effort themselves outside of the classroom. This shows that despite its difficulty,
participants were confident in their ability to impact their own connections.
Summary
The motivation gap of self-efficacy was not found amongst the interviewed SOS
students. Fifteen of the 17 students shared that by attending in-person events hosted by the
school, they could build friendships within the school community. Many of those students spoke
about the in-person events as their primary connection to the SOS community. All students
discussed challenges and additional effort and initiative that a SOS student needs to build friends

64
in the online community. They shared that in an online environment, students must have the
motivation to reach out to others and use online platforms to connect with their classmates. The
stronger bonds are formed outside of the classroom. This is consistent with the literature that an
individual must demonstrate energy and a willingness to get involved in a meaningful way
within a group both in class or through extracurricular activities in order to maintain positive
relations with peers and teachers (St-Amand, et al., 2017; Palloff & Pratt, 2013).
Findings for Organizational Causes: How Does SOS Organizational Culture and Context
Interact to Promote Sense of Belonging and Peer Connections Among SOS Students?
Organizational culture is the third category of influence in Clark and Estes’ (2008) gap
analytic model. This section shows the findings of SOS’s cultural settings and cultural models.
Cultural settings include policies, procedures and practices that show themselves as visible
activities within the organization (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001). Gallimore and Goldenberg
(2001) describe cultural models to include organizational belief and values that determine
individuals’ behavior and perceptions. The cultural model evaluated in this study is the
acceptance and willingness among students to develop community and sense of belonging.
Cultural Settings
The cultural settings include the school structural supports such as enrollment levels of
students, the platforms they communicate on, the attendance at the various school events, and the
process online students go through in building connections with their peers. The cultural setting
influences include time in class to build relationships with peers in an online environment and
the need for the administration to facilitate opportunities for students to connect with each other.
Insufficient and ineffective organizational processes often create organizational barriers to
achieving performance goals (Clark & Estes, 2008).

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Students were asked several questions throughout the interview to point to SOS’s cultural
settings and the impact these settings have on student sense of belonging. Interview question 1
asked students to describe their overall experience at the school and what it is like to be a student
at SOS. Interview question 2 asked students what it was like to start at an online high school
after a brick and mortar school. Interview question 4 asked specifically about communication
tools or platforms and how they learned about these platforms.
Three needs were isolated within the school’s cultural setting: (a) students’ access to
online platforms within the school, (b) Friday online student life events programing and
attendance, (c) access to in-person events for the global community. SOS students primarily use
an outside instant messenger system to connect with each other, leaving some students lost on
how to enter it. The school hosts Friday online activities aimed to build community; however,
they have limited attendance and rarely promote connections. Students who attend SOS are
located around the world in often remote areas and do not have access to the in-person events
hosted by the school or regional coordinators.
School Social Platforms
All seventeen students listed Skype as their main form of peer connection. While several
mentioned discord for clubs and Instagram for close friends, Skype appeared to be the universal
platform used by SOS students. Student 11 spoke extensively about the various platforms used at
the school and said that since most people are on Skype, he uses Skype. He continued that since
he had an older brother at the school, “I knew that everything in the school was conducted
through Skype.” He concluded that he mainly uses Skype for school business as all of the class
chats are on that platform. Student 14 noted that they didn’t even know Skype existed until SOS
and that all their class chats are on the platform.

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Student 7 explained that students learned about the other student skype groups through a
school directory. She stated, “Everyone in the school has access to our Skype group directory so
anyone can join Skype groups for subjects, they're interested in. So that's really useful”. Based
on the transcripts, Skype seems to be the platform most used by students. Given the way Skype
is set up, students do not easily know which rooms or chats are available to SOS students and
there can be several groups. The SOS Student Government put together a directory of popular
rooms and distributed it at the start of the school year. This is important as students would
otherwise not be aware those groups existed and would not know where to go to look for the
groups. When asked how students learned about the various platforms, several students could not
remember where they originally learned about Skype. Student 7 reflected,
It was, I guess that we were told. That's what everybody is so um and took me a while I
eventually discovered kind of all the Skype groups, then this kind of big network of
Skype groups that people have set up. But it was just like that. Everybody said this is how
people communicate and so that's what happened.
Skype is a public platform that can be accessed by any individual who sets up an account
on the website. Skype is not internal to the school nor does the school support any of the chats or
challenges. The findings suggest this is an organizational setting gap as students created their
own chatrooms and pathways for communication to meet their needs of connection. This creates
concern for student accessibility and cultural settings within the school. The literature suggests
that a school-wide communication platform would provide improved access to all students and
would allow the school to have more involvement. Barbour and Plough (2012) studied an online
institution that created their own communication platform who controlled the discussion as
needed and the benefits that it provided the students with respect to community and sense of
belonging.

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School-Run Online Assemblies
When asked if students attended Friday assemblies, all students reported that they have
attended the online school assemblies, but they do not do so regularly. Students shared that they
often are uninterested in the topic, the meetings occur at odd times, and many assemblies do not
facilitate discussion amongst their peers.
Students shared that they are often uninterested in the topics at the school-run online
assemblies. Student 15 shared that they went to some of the activities during their freshman year
but that “a lot of the activities that tend to be advertised are not particularly interesting to me.”
Student 2 shared that the Friday assemblies are for younger students and that older students do
not attend.
Additionally, students shared that the timing of the events made it difficult to attend.
Student 15 stated,
The primary issue for me, actually, with the school-wide and the student government-led
activities or events is that they’re … I think they’re at like 8am or 9am in the morning
and it’s not super early, but since we don’t have school on Fridays, it sometimes feels
difficult for me to wake up before or at like 7:00 or 7:30 to attend one of those meetings.
Student 3 also shared that Friday events are hard to attend because “they’re kind of early in the
morning and I am not a huge fan, especially on Fridays, because that’s like the day that everyone
sleeps.” Student 4 shared that time zone challenges make attending events difficult. Student 4
stated:
Timing is an issue where like everyone has something. It's not like normal school where
it's like 8:23, you guys are all going to be in the same place at the same time, so we can
organize something. I know it is just everyone is in a different time zone when we have

68
different activities. So even if there's an event scheduled for, say, 10:00 am PT, there
might be a kid in a different country who can’t make it.
Additionally, students shared that the assemblies do not provide opportunities for interaction.
Student 15 shared that the school-sponsored Friday activities “have a lot of people who come
together and then no one actually interacts with each other.” Student 5 shared that people “don’t
interact very much or like engage very much because usually just people presenting slides and
there is not really any back and forth.” Student 8 shared that the programming at the events do
not foster friendships:
Those events where they're saying you're going to make friends through them. But then
you kind of don't, so maybe having like events that actually do allow for a natural way to
make friends without it seeming forced ,and like, I'm putting you in a room with a bunch
of people, and you guys should all become friends.
Each student interviewed acknowledged that they knew about the events but did not attend due
to topic, timing, or limited programming to build connections.
Access to In-Person Events
As a probe to interview question three, students were asked if they felt their geographic
location played a role in their ability to build community. Fifteen of the students mentioned the
challenge for themselves or others to access the in-person events offered by the school.
Three large in-person events hosted by the school occur on the university campus. One
additional in-person event occurs on the East Coast. Parent volunteers also host events for
students in their areas. The students discussed various themes related to access such as the
benefits of being on the West Coast, the challenges of being one of a few students in your area,
and the difficulties of getting to the major in-person events.

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Student 15 lives in the New York metropolitan area and described that there are “a lot of
people who live around in the general area,” but that they “don’t have quite as much access as
people who might be in Northern California.” Student 10 shared that they live in Northern
California and that it makes a large difference. Their best friend who attends SOS is thirty
minutes away and they have several close friends who live within an hour away. Student 10 also
shared that “It’s really easy to go to events, like I don’t have to fly to go to Summer Session.”
Student 2 expressed:
We have this phrase for people who live in California, and we call it Bay Area privilege
because people who live in California, they can meet up almost all because basically, the
majority of people go to SOS and live in California. And there's a good portion who live
all over the world, but we have a kind of the majority group live in California. So for
them, they have events which are all based in San Francisco. And for them it's super easy.
They meet up all the time they see each other once a week…And it's not the online is bad
because I'm used to online, but when it comes to like having a one on one in person
connection, it is easier for the people who live in California. …But for me, I haven't
really had as much access to that. And the people in California, definitely have a kind of
like an advantage just to get closer with the teachers, the faculty and each other who live
over there.
While Student 1 shared that they live in the New York area and have quite a few friends who
attend SOS nearby, they said, “I wouldn’t know what it’s like to live not around a bunch of SOS
people, but I could imagine [that] like eliminating that one social circle could make you feel
more isolated.” Student 10 shared that while they live in Northern California, they have friends
who live in more secluded areas and “they feel a bit more isolated, I would say, because there
aren’t frequent meetups.” Student 11 reflected that they live in a remote area and it is

70
hard sometimes where so many people live in California or along the East Coast that it’s
more difficult for me to, like, attend meetups and everything which is kind of unfortunate
because there’s a lot of people that I would really like to hang out with and see.
Student 11 continued, “I just wish that there was more opportunities for me to do that without
having to travel a bunch.” Student 14 shared their perspective being an international student:
Um, well, I mean, I'd say, depending on where you live right now where I live in Ireland.
There's not a whole lot of student body of SOS in Europe in general. So that's a little bit
different. There's not as strong as like a strong of a sense of community in the Europe
area. But I know when I lived in Canada. I had lots of there's a stronger sense of
community because a lot of people were only an hour to flight away in the New York in
the East Coast area and I know if you live on the West Coast, you have also a very, very
strong sense of community because the university, so obviously on the West Coast.
Due to the students being all over the world, it is often challenging for students to fly to
Northern California for the major in-person events. Student 10 shared, “I know that sometimes it
is impossible to go to in-person events for like distance or financial reasons.” Student 14 shared
the financial challenges as well. Student 14 stated:
I know they're quite expensive. I know that for a few people that and a lot of kids can be
quite daunting because everyone, once you go to one of these events you want to go to
the next and maybe you live somewhere very far away like Hong Kong or Dublin. To get
to California and San Francisco is definitely big, and like costs a lot of money to fly there
and then the SOS events, especially Summer Session can be quite expensive. It the
financial side can be difficult for a lot of people and is difficult.

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Summary
The organizational gap pertaining to cultural setting was identified during the interviews.
The interview findings showed that students were using an outside platform to build personal
connections with each other, that students were disengaged with Friday online student life
activities, and that the limited access to in-person events for the global community led to feelings
of isolation and exclusion from the community.
Cultural Models
The cultural models influences include the acceptance and willingness among students to
develop community and sense of belonging. The culture of the online high school can contribute
towards the ability for students to engage with each other outside of the classroom. The overall
culture of the school can impact students’ ability to connect with each other and cultivate a sense
of belonging.
Two interview questions focused on the acceptance and willingness among students to
develop community, though several other questions prompted responses from students that
pointed towards the acceptance and willingness. Interview questions 11 and 12 asked about the
challenges students face when engaging with their peers at SOS and changes they would like to
make to the school community. Students responded with various challenges that could be
modified or improved to best meet their needs. However, with respect to cultural models, one
central theme was presented by a majority of the students. Students reported that in the
decidedly academic environment at SOS with high achieving students, they often placed their
studies or outside activities over opportunities to build social connections with their peers.
Value of Academics
The data analysis revealed that in the highly academic atmosphere of SOS, students
prioritized their academic activities over all other activities. Given the unique format of the

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school and the target demographic, it is clear that the school has a culture of academic success.
Students often cited their homework, research, or outside activities as the reason they did not put
forth additional effort to make friends in the online environment or attend the online or in-person
activities offered by the school. Student 1 commented:
SOS is a very rigorous school. So there's a lot of work and sometimes you just like, I
cannot talk today I have so much work I have like two papers and a midterm too, so I just
I can't. I just cannot. I wouldn't, I wouldn't really sacrifice the academics of SOS for like
that like meager amount of improvement for the social aspect, like the academics are just
amazing.
Student 10 offered a similar perspective, “I think it’s just really hard in general for SOSers to
make time set aside for something like assemblies and clubs because there’s just a lot of work.”
Student 11 shared:
I have to get all my schoolwork done first, in my mind, like I'm not going to put it in the
last minute. And so, if I have a lot for that week or a finals or midterms are going on then
I'm going to prioritize it […] so that does cut back on participation on my part. Or just,
you know, if I if I have something going on in my real life. I don't know because they're
both my real life, but like in my physical world like an event or something.
Student 2 shared that the schoolwork creates distance amongst the students. Student 2 stated,
“You don't necessarily feel isolated, but everyone begins prioritizing their school over social
connections at that point because it's just you need to keep your grades up and it can be hard to
do that.” Student 2 continued that academics “win out over the social life” because of the rigor of
the school. Student 4 shared, “You have to go that extra mile, and the fact that our current course
load is so rigorous makes it kind of difficult to spend all this extra time socializing.”

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Summary
Eleven of the students interviewed reported that academics supersedes socialization given
the rigor and extensive workload within the school. Given the additional effort students need to
put in to make connections in an online environment, they often do not have the time or energy
to build or maintain friendships during busy periods in the school year.
The cultural model influences include the acceptance and willingness among students to develop
community and sense of belonging. The overall culture of prioritizing homework over
connections and talking to others impacted the interviewed students’ ability to connect with each
other and cultivate a sense of belonging. This highlights an organizational gap within the cultural
model.
Synthesis Summary and Gap Identification
This chapter presented the findings of the semi-structured interviews in order to answer
the study’s research questions. The qualitative study used Clark and Estes’ (2008) gap-based
analytical framework to evaluate SOS students’ knowledge, motivational, and organization
influences of sense of belonging and peer connections. Consequently, the study identified one
knowledge gap and two organizational gaps.
The findings showed that students could identify the tools and opportunities to develop
increased connections with their peers. When discussing those connections, however, they did
not discuss the importance or interrelationship of those connections on their academic success.
The findings in this study isolated a gap supported by the literature that students with a strong
sense of belonging tend to engage and put forth additional effort and that the social component in
an academic environment is important to the classroom environment to facilitate academic
success, honesty, trust, and openness. (Abdollahi & Noltemeyer, 2018; Lam et al. 2015; Ma,
2003; Palloff & Pratt, 2006). Connections formed in the classroom encourage positive emotions,

74
self-confidence, academic resilience, and trust (Borup et al., 2013; Hawkins et al., 2012;
Velasquez et al., 2013). The students interviewed did, however, discuss the importance of
connections with their teachers. These findings further support the idea that sense of belonging
within the school community enhances academic achievement and effort as well as encouraging
positive emotions, self-confidence, and trust (Borup et al., 2013; Hawkins et al., 2012; Lam,
Chen, Zhang, & Liang 2015; Southard et al., 2005; Velasquez et al., 2013).
The findings show that the online and in-person activities offered by the school had
limitations in building community and should be addressed. Students do not have a school
supported messaging platform, find some online events uninteresting, and have difficulty
accessing the in-person events. This is highlighted as an organizational gap as students who
possess strong feelings of community are more likely to persist and engage in the classroom than
those who feel isolated or alone (Rovai, 2002). Palloff and Pratt (2007) write that simply getting
students to talk to one another is not sufficient, and instead, there needs to be a focus on
establishing human-to-human contact before interaction involved with the course content begins.
This allows students to establish their social presence. Palloff and Pratt (2007) state that students
should gather online like they do on a campus and should establish a sense of presence online to
allow their personality to come through to others in the group. Connections can be made through
the sharing of thoughts and ideas.
While the organization of study is a school and academics are the priority, the limited
understanding or discussion of the importance of peer connections to academic success isolates
the interrelated gap between the conceptual knowledge gap and the social model gap. Students at
SOS report that when school is busy, they disengage from their peers. In addition, they reported
that they enjoy their friendships for emotional support but did not discuss the possible academic
benefits or interrelationship between those friendships and their academics. Nipper (1989) states

75
that the need for social connection in a classroom almost supersedes the content goals for the
course.
In summary, the identified influences represent the gaps in knowledge and organizational
barriers that, if alleviated, would positively affect students’ sense of belonging and peer
connections within the school community. These influences are described in Table 4.
Table 4
Summary Table of Influences
Influence Type Assumed Influence Identified
Knowledge
Procedural Knowledge Students have the tools and time needed to
develop increased connections with their
peers
Strength
Conceptual Knowledge Students understand the importance of
connections with peers and teachers and
the interrelationship between academic
success and sense of belonging
Need
Motivation
Utility Value Students need to see the value of having a
sense of belonging and the significant
impact sense of belonging has on
academic achievement and student
experience
Strength
Self-Efficacy Students need to believe that they have the
ability to affect their own levels of sense
of belonging
Strength
Organization
Cultural Settings Students must have access to school
supports such as platforms, online
activities, and access to events in which
they can build peer connections and
develop community.
Need
Cultural Models Students must have an acceptance and
willingness the acceptance and willingness
to develop community and sense of
belonging.
Need

When evaluating the findings in light of the recent literature regarding sense of belonging
and community in an online school, several items found in the interviews contradicted the

76
literature. First, most of the literature discusses collegiate-level online programs or public K-12
institutions. SOS is a unique environment providing synchronous online courses to academically
advanced and gifted students. This unique characteristic led to unique findings with respect to
student motivation. For example, the SOS students interviewed reported a unique balance of
social to academic motivation. In addition, the students interviewed reported that the school does
a good job responding to the students’ priorities and their unique balance of academic focus and
social balance. Finally, the findings showed that students are actively engaged within the
classroom and their academic journey which contradicts many previous studies focusing on the
lack of engagement in an online high school.
Chapter Five makes recommendations and suggested interventions based on the
influences found through the interview process. These recommendations are drawn from the gap
analytic framework in order to close the performance gaps as it relates to student sense of
belonging and peer connections.

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CHAPTER FIVE: RECOMMENDATIONS
Purpose of the Project and Questions
The purpose of this project is to conduct a gap analysis to evaluate and understand the
knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that affect students’ sense of belonging at
SOS. Through data analysis, three influences were highlighted as needs within the organization.
While a complete gap analysis would focus on all stakeholders, for practical purposes this study
will survey SOS students.
As such, the questions that guide this study are the following:
1. How do knowledge influences affect SOS student sense of belonging and peer
connections?
2. How do motivation influences affect SOS student sense of belonging and peer
connections?
3. How does SOS organizational culture and context interact to promote sense of belonging
and peer connections among SOS students?
Introduction and Overview
This study evaluated validated influences first identified in the existent literature and then
confirmed through the application of the research questions above. This chapter will now discuss
specific evidence-based recommendations for SOS addressing the gaps found through the data
analysis process. These recommendations are organized according to the Clark and Estes (2008)
conceptual framework of knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences. Each is
addressed through a discussion of the validated influence, a principle from the literature, and a
context-appropriate recommendation that arises from that principle.
Following this discussion, the chapter presents an appropriate implementation and
evaluation plan based on the New World Kirkpatrick model for organizational change

78
(Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). This model works in reverse, beginning with Level 4: high
level organizational outcomes. Following this is Level 3: critical behaviors used to drive the
outcomes to then be used in Level 2 as learning outcomes that support the critical behaviors.
Next is Level 1: reaction measurements assist in providing more immediate feedback based on
participants' instruction. Finally, a program for improving sense of belonging that fits within
existing practices at SOS is discussed that integrates all four levels of organizational change.
Instruments and procedures for monitoring progress are included and can be used to provide
annual feedback on progress at all four levels of evaluation.
Recommendations for Practice to Address KMO Influences
This study focused on students within the SOS community as the key stakeholder group.
Although the data collection and analysis focused on the student perspective, the
recommendations within the study include actions to be taken by teachers, staff, and school
administrators. Given the relationship and role of students within the school, the
recommendations for teacher, staff, and institutional change will directly impact and address the
issues highlighted by the students during their interviews. In order to have new programs and
opportunities for students, SOS will need to train teachers on how to implement new programs.
These new programs will then be offered to students, impacting their experience within the
school. The evaluation of these recommendations will be of the student perception of those new
experiences.
Knowledge Recommendations
Introduction
The knowledge influences in Table 5 represent the list of assumed influences and the
likelihood of them being validated based on the information provided by the students in the
semi-structured interviews and supported by the literature. Using Krathwohl’s (2011) four

79
categories of knowledge, procedural knowledge of how to perform a task and conceptual
knowledge of the connection of elements of knowledge are prioritized as important influences in
the discussion of SOS students’ sense of belonging. As discussed in Chapter Two, the first
knowledge influence is the students’ procedural knowledge on how to create, develop, and
participate in opportunities in and out of the classroom. The second knowledge influence is the
understanding that all students understand the effect of sense of belonging on their academic
success.
The interviews and data analysis found that students do not understand the importance of
peer connections and the interrelationship between academic success and sense of belonging. In
light of this finding, supports as suggested by Clark and Estes (2008) have been identified to
close the knowledge gap. First, the simplest and most basic form of support is providing
information so students know what can be done in order to achieve the performance goal.
Secondly, activities focusing on training can be provided where students are given opportunities
for practice and performance feedback along with basic information and job aids (Clark & Estes,
2008). Table 5 provides the knowledge influence, knowledge type, principle related to each
need, and a context-specific recommendation for satisfying the need. A discussion of the
context-specific recommendation based on learning theory and results from this study follow the
table.

80
Table 5
Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations
Assumed Knowledge
Influence
Validated
as a Need?
(Y, N)
Is It A
Priority?
(Y, N)
Principle and
Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
Students have the tools
and time needed to
develop increased
connections with their
peers. (P)
N N None None
Students understand the
importance of peer
connections and the
interrelationships between
academic success and
sense of belonging. (C)
Y Y Conceptual
knowledge
focuses on the
understanding
that all students
must have to
solve the
performance goal
(Anderson et al.,
2001)
Resources- Teachers
and staff create a
resource for students
containing the
information on how
peer connections
influence academic
performance.
Organize activities
for students to build
peer connections and
highlight the effects
of sense of belonging
and peer connections
on academic success.

Conceptual Knowledge Solutions
The knowledge gap identified by this study is that students need the conceptual
knowledge and importance of peer connections and the interrelationships between academic
success and sense of belonging. This knowledge influence is categorized as conceptual
knowledge as it focuses on the understanding that all students must have to solve the
performance goal (Anderson et al., 2001). The students benefit by understanding the effect of
sense of belonging on their academic success. The recommendation then is that Success Online
School teachers and staff should work to create resources and opportunities that educate students
about the conceptual knowledge gap. By providing resources and opportunities for in-class and

81
co-curricular activities, students can enhance their ability to build peer connections and better
understand the effects of sense of belonging and peer connections on academic success. The
resources may materialize as fliers, emails with links and activities, and other asynchronous and
synchronous opportunities that provide the space and tools for students to build connections
focusing on strengthening academic success. Enhancing a sense of belonging at SOS is important
to academic achievement and emotional development of students. Sense of belonging increases
students’ expectations of academic success and responsibility, and it increases their academic
motivation (Abdollahi & Noltemeyer, 2018).
Clark and Estes (2008) state that during a gap analysis, it is necessary to determine
whether stakeholders know how to achieve the stated performance goal. If the stakeholders have
not achieved this goal or a similar goal recently, they will likely need more knowledge to achieve
the goal. SOS students must understand exactly how to close the gap to achieve all parts of the
stakeholder goal. Clark and Estes (2008) state that the stakeholders require knowledge and skill
enhancement when they do not know how to accomplish their performance goal. Furthermore,
the authors state that work-related knowledge and new skills are an essential means to achieve
business goals in any organization.
Rovai (2002) found that there are various strategies and tools students can use to increase
sense of belonging and peer connections such as class discussions, small group communication,
peer introductions, and offline chats. These instructor-directed, peer-centered pedagogical
practices can help online students develop a sense of community (Alvarez, Espasa & Guasch,
2012; Berry, 2017; Wolsey, 2008). Students may also connect with each other regarding class
content or other interests outside of the classroom using new information and communication
technologies such as social networks (Casey & Evans, 2011).

82
Online schools create a unique opportunity to develop a sense of belonging through
technology (Rovai et al., 2005). Rovai, Wighting and Liu (2005) posit that social integration of
students into the community is vital and suggest teachers and staff incorporate programs directed
towards increasing school involvement. Such actions have the potential to strengthen student-
institution fit and sense of community among online students. Kumi-Yeboah, Dogbey, and Yuan
(2017) discuss the importance of collaborative learning activities, knowledge building, access to
resources, and increasing student-teacher interactions and communication in an online high
school environment.
Motivation Recommendations
Introduction
The motivation table influences in Table 6 show the two types of motivation that were
evaluated for this study: utility value and self-efficacy. The data analysis did not find either
motivational influence to be identified as a need. There are no recommendations for addressing
the motivational influences as they were highlighted as strengths within the organization.
Table 6
Summary of Motivation Influences and Recommendations
Assumed Motivation Influence

Validated
as a Need?
(Y, N)
Is It A
Priority?
(Y, N)
Principle &
Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
Students need to see the value of
having a sense of belonging and
the significant impact sense of
belonging has on academic
achievement and student
experience
N N None None
Students need to believe that they
have the ability to affect their
own levels of sense of belonging
N N None None

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Organization Recommendations
Introduction
Two types of organizational influences were evaluated in this study: organizational
models and organizational settings. According to Clark and Estes (2008), missing or inadequate
processes and materials can prevent the achievement of performance goals. The data analysis
showed that both organizational influences were identified as gaps. Table 7 (on the following
page) provides the organizational influence, organizational type, principles related to the need
and a context specific recommendation for satisfying the need. A discussion of the context
specific recommendation based on learning theory and results from this inquiry follow the table.

84
Table 7
Summary of Organization Influences and Recommendations
Assumed Organization
Influence

Validated
as a Need?
(Y, N)
Is It A
Priority?
(Y, N)
Principle and
Citation

Context-Specific
Recommendation
Cultural Model Influence:
Student must have an
acceptance and willingness
to develop community and
sense of belonging
Y Y Organizational
change must
address
motivation of
why change is
happening and
what is needed
for change.
(Buckingham &
Coffman, 1999)
SOS staff should
attend online event
professional
development in
order to facilitate
events that educate
students about the
importance of
students’ sense of
belonging and
develop a culture
within the school
that promotes and
values community.
Cultural Setting Influence:
Students must have access to
school supports such as
platforms, online activities,
and access to events in which
they can build peer
connections and develop
community.
Y Y Supportive
learning
environment,
concrete learning
processes and
practices, and
leadership driven
behavior key for
learning
organization
(Garvin,
Edmondson,
&Gino, 2008)
SOS should work
with SOS students
to develop
opportunities that
fit the
needs/wants/interes
ts of the students to
build peer
connections and
increase sense of
belonging
including a
communication
platform.

Cultural Models
The cultural model influences include the acceptance and willingness among students to
develop community and sense of belonging. The culture of the online high school can contribute
towards the ability for students to engage with each other outside of the classroom. The overall
culture of the school can impact students’ ability to connect with each other and cultivate a sense

85
of belonging. Teachers and staff have the ability to impact school culture and provide
opportunities that foster change in overall school culture and outlook towards community
building and sense of belonging.
The data shows that a significant number of SOS students interviewed do not have a
willingness to develop their own sense of belonging and connections at the school. The data
analysis highlighted that academics supersedes socialization, there is significant effort needed,
and students face challenges building connections online. This unwillingness leads to low
attendance at student life events and limited participation in out of classroom activities.
Buckingham and Coffman (1999) state that organizations must address motivation of why
change is or is not happening and what is needed for change. This suggests that the school must
do more to understand the motivation behind students’ participation in events and their
willingness to participate in out of the classroom activities. This can be accomplished through
professional development for staff who host events to better understand community building
opportunities in events and promote a culture within the school that values peer connections. In
addition, the school must work to better educate students on the importance of peer connections.
The recommendation is that SOS staff should facilitate events that educate students about the
importance of sense of belonging.
McMillan and Chavis (1986) studied the psychology of community and found that
communities organize around needs, and people associate with communities in which their needs
can be met. Successful communities include associations that are mutually rewarding for
everyone. Rotman and Wu (2014) state that when a member of the community works towards
belonging to it by investing time or effort, they will be rewarded with a stronger sense of value
and placement within the community. Zins et al. (2004) state that schools are social places and
learning is a social process. Because social and emotional factors play such an important role,

86
schools must attend to this aspect of the educational process for the benefit of all students.
Schools should promote organizational support and ensure maintenance and sustainability.
Cultural Settings
The cultural settings include the school structural supports such as enrollment levels of
students, the platforms they communicate on, the attendance at the various school events, and the
process in which online students go through in building connections with their peers. The
cultural setting influences include time in class to build relationships with peers in an online
environment and the need for the administration to facilitate opportunities for students to connect
with each other. Insufficient and ineffective organizational processes often create organizational
barriers to achieving performance goals (Clark & Estes, 2008). The data analysis highlighted the
organizational gap pertaining to cultural setting. The students interviewed reported that the
events did not interest them or promote community and peer connections. The interview findings
also showed that students were using an outside platform to build personal connections with each
other, that students were disengaged with Friday online student life activities, and that the limited
access to in-person events for the global community led to feelings of isolation and exclusion
from the community.
As online students, there is a desire for the school to be actively involved in creating
opportunities for students to meet each other and connect with each other outside of the
classroom. Garvin, Edmondson & Gino (2008) found that a supportive learning environment,
concrete processes and practices, and leadership-driven behavior are essential for learning within
the organization. By creating school-driven activities with clear opportunities for formal and
informal connections, students will have the scaffolding needed to facilitate peer connections
with individuals in an online environment from around the world. The recommendation is that

87
SOS should work with students to develop in-person and online opportunities that fit the
needs/wants/interests of the students to build peer connections and increase sense of belonging.
Rovai, Wighting, and Liu (2005) found that when students are enrolled in online
programs, their participation in institutional life is limited and infrequent as there are limited
face-to-face opportunities to connect with peers. These limited face-to-face experiences with
other students, professors, and administrators can lead to decreased satisfaction with the entire
college experience. Young (2011) states that building the social element into the course plan
itself can balance the social and academic needs in online education. Furthermore, the addition of
synchronous communication opportunities in and out of the classroom enhance camaraderie and
allow for deeper discussion, personal tone, and community connections. Young and Bruce
(2011) conclude that in order to create a strong sense of community, activities and opportunities
for students to learn others must be added so students feel more strongly connected with the
instructor and other students.
Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan
In February of 2020, COVID19 began to spread in the United States, and schools
weighed alternate possibilities for education. Given SOS’s long-time success in online learning,
the school became a model for synchronous online education in the K-12 space. The interviews
in this study were conducted prior to the spread of COVID19 in the United States. As
synchronous and asynchronous online education continues to grow in popularity due to the
pandemic, there are several opportunities for the practices discussed in this study to be applied in
synchronous high schools in various ways. This study focused on academically advanced
students who chose an online education because of the academic advantages it provides and
because of their passion for academics. While the stakeholder group within this study may be
difficult to replicate, the generalized findings regarding strengths and challenges that

88
synchronous online students face are applicable and can be used to inform programmatic
changes within schools.
Implementation and Evaluation Framework
The New World Kirkpatrick Model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016) guided this
implementation and evaluation plan. The model includes four levels and presents them starting
with level four, results. Kirkpatrick (2006) found that an evaluation plan should start with the
goals of the organization and the intended program outcome. By starting with the intended
outcome, one can find the leading indicators, or short-term observations and measurements that
suggest that critical behaviors are on track to create the desired results (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016). Then, the organization can observe the behavior, learning, and reaction
which are the subsequent three levels. By organizing the implementation and evaluation plan in
reverse order, the organization can focus on connections between short-term solutions and the
larger goal.
Organizational Purpose, Need, and Expectations
The school’s mission is to create a supportive environment that fosters independence,
strength of character, and a lifelong pursuit of knowledge. While SOS has a robust mission
statement, it does not have a specific or measurable goal with respect to sense of belonging and
community within the school. The target is to have a strong school community to which students
feel like they belong. The organization’s lack of a measurable goal with deadlines that guides the
school’s community building activities creates a significant barrier for key stakeholders to act
and improve sense of belonging and community within the school. This project examined the
knowledge, motivational and organizational barriers that prevent students from feeling a sense of
belonging or building peer connections. The proposed solutions should produce the desired

89
outcome - an increase in the number of students reporting that they feel a strong sense of
belonging to the school.
Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators
Table 8 on the following page shows the proposed Level 4: Results and Leading
Indicators in the form of outcomes, metrics, and methods for both external and internal outcomes
for SOS. If the internal outcomes are met as expected, a result of the training and support for
SOS students, then the external outcomes should also occur.

90
Table 8
Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes
Outcome Metric(s) Method(s)
External Outcomes
1. Increased number
of students
attending online
events
The number of students at an
online assembly
Solicit data from Student Life
Office
2. Increased number
of students
attending in-
person events
The number of students at in-
person events
Solicit data from Student Life
Office
3. Improved scores
on Panoramic
Study for sense of
belonging amongst
students
The survey results being higher
than previous survey results and
improved in comparison to other
schools in the state
Solicit data from Director of
Student Support and review
short answer questions
regarding community building
and compare to previous years
4. Increased
opportunities for
school sponsored
platform and
engagement
outside of class
The number of platforms and
opportunities provided to
students and the percentage of
students using them.
Solicit data from Student Life
Office and Technology team
Internal Outcomes
5. Decrease in
students listing
isolation as reason
for leaving school
Less students citing isolation in
their exit survey
Solicit data from School
Registrar and compare results
6. Increased student
satisfaction/belong
ing
Positive/negative feedback to
counselors and school
administrators
Compare survey results

Engage students in regular
conversations regarding their
school experience

Level 3: Behavior
Critical Behaviors
The stakeholders of focus are the full-time students attending the school. The first critical
behavior is that students should have a strong understanding of the school activities and

91
opportunities for connections with their peers and attend school-sponsored events. The second
critical behavior is that students can identify peers that they connect with outside of the
classroom on a regular basis and identify the best method to use to communicate with them. The
third critical behavior is that students can identify adults at the school who understand them
and/or list adults at the school that they would go to in a time of need. The specific metrics,
methods, and timing for each of these outcome behaviors appears below in Table 9.
Table 9

Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Evaluation
Critical Behavior Metric(s) Method(s) Timing
1. Students understand
when school activities
are occurring and
other opportunities to
connect with peers
and attend school
sponsored events
The number of
students reviewing
school calendar
emails and attending
school sponsored
events
The student life team
should track all calendar
newsletter email opens
and event attendance
During each
monthly
school
assembly and
major online
event
opportunities
2. Students can identify
peers that they
connect with outside
of the classroom on a
regular basis and the
best method to
communicate with
them
The number of
students who can
authentically respond
to this question
Counseling office
should begin asking this
question of all students
during their semester
check-ins
Once per
semester
3. Students can identify
adults at the school
who understand them
and/or list adults at
the school that they
would go to in a time
of need
The number of
students who can
respond to this
question, the number
of adults they list
Counseling office
should ask this question
of all students during
their semester check-ins

This is a question on the
school climate survey.
Student Life should
compare past survey
data.
Once per
semester

After each
survey
distribution

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Required Drivers
Students require support from instructors, school counselors, school advisors, student
leaders and the student life team to educate them on how to navigate an online environment and
build connections. Table 10 (on the following page) shows the recommended drivers to support
critical behaviors of students, and includes the method of support, the timing required for each
driver, and the critical behavior to which each support method corresponds.

93
Table 10
Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors
Method(s) Timing Critical Behaviors Supported
Reinforcing
Resources including
calendar of school events
and upcoming events.
Students can review
RSVPs of other students
Ongoing 1,2
Small group meetings with
new students and
experienced students
Monthly 1,2,3
Onboarding for all new
students or new to full-
time students that includes
all of the official school
platforms and unofficial
student communication
platforms
Yearly 1,2,3
Encouraging
Collaboration in small
groups during class time
Weekly 1,2,3
Coaching and Support
during instructor office
hours, meetings with
advisors, meetings with
counselors
Weekly 2,3
Rewarding
Public acknowledgement
such as a sticker or badge
for attending school events
Quarterly 1
Fulfilling Wellness
Program requirements by
attending 1:1 meetings
with support team

Quarterly

2,3
Monitoring
Families receive a
quarterly report of student
attendance at events
outside of the classroom
1

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Organizational Support
In order for students to have the support needed, the school and administrators must
create opportunities for students to connect with each other and with the adults on campus.
Through these resources and opportunities, students can further work to enhance their peer
connections and further develop their sense of belonging.
Level 2: Learning
Learning Goals
Following completion of the recommended solutions, the students at SOS will have the
following knowledge:
1. Students will know how to engage with other students at SOS through official school
events online and in person as well as outside of class through informal channels.
(Procedural)
2. Students will have complete and accurate knowledge for engaging in an online school
environment. (Declarative)
3. Students will have opportunities to connect with student leaders and utilize the job
aids/guides created to help students foster peer connections in an online environment.
(Procedural)
4. Students have the ability to reflect on their own levels of connections with peers and
staff/instructors within the school and evaluate those relationships. (Metacognitive)
Program
The students at SOS will be provided various opportunities to accomplish the above
learning goals. The Student Life team will develop an initiative in conjunction with members of
the Student Support team and student leaders to support students in achieving the goals through
foundational support in understanding peer connection development and belonging in an online

95
environment. This program will utilize common language and actively engage students, parents,
instructors, and staff to implement the strategies and techniques. Students will understand how to
build connections and will have the time and opportunities to build those connections fostering
increased sense of belonging.
Throughout the process, the school will provide job aids for strategies and models in
building connections in and out of the classroom. Students will have a clear understanding of
what events are occurring, how to create their own event, and the exact time and location of
formal events. In addition, students will have a clear understanding of what platforms are being
used by students to engage outside of the classroom and how they can join the group chats of
video calls occurring with their peers. To support the learning, school counselors, advisors,
instructors and student life staff will check for understanding and student experience on an
ongoing basis through semester meetings or regular check-ins.
During weekly homeroom meetings, the instructors will emphasize the various
opportunities for connections and facilitate conversations and activities to model the behavior.
Student leaders will work in teams to present at school assemblies the opportunities and activities
they have taken part in and upcoming events to join in.
Evaluation of the Components of Learning
As students attempt to build connections and increase their sense of belonging, they need
to feel they have the pertinent knowledge. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the degree to
which students have learned the declarative and procedural knowledge needed to build
connections. Table 11 outlines these methods for evaluation of these components as well as
timing.

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Table 11
Evaluation of the Components of Learning for the Program
Method or Activity Timing
Procedural Skills “I can do it right now.”
Demonstration of individual use of the
resources to successfully connect with
peers on informal channels
Through canvas participation logs, student
life check-ins and observation notes
Demonstration of individual use of the
resources to successfully connect with
peers and instructors on formal
communication channels
Through Canvas participation logs and
observation notes
Quality of interactions with peers during
school activities
Through observation notes and
participation data
Regular attendance and participation in
required and voluntary school activities
Through attendance monitoring and
participation data from Adobe Connect
Attitude “I believe this is worthwhile.”
Pre and Post Assembly and In-person event
surveys
Monthly and after each event
Discussion of the value of peer connections
in counseling sessions and homeroom
During weekly meetings and quarterly
counseling meetings
Confidence “I think I can do it on the job.”
Discussions following practice & feedback During the homeroom sessions and
individual meetings
During office hours after class discussions
During club leader check-ins with student
life team
Commitment “I will do it on the job.”
Creation of individual and team goals and
related action plans
During counseling sessions, wellness
meetings, and homeroom

Level 1: Reaction
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) recommend measuring three reactions as part of
Level 1: engagement, relevance, and satisfaction. These three components are essential to the
success of the program as with these the program is more likely to achieve the desired results.
Table 12 below outlines the components to measure reactions from the program.

97
Table 12
Components to Measure Reactions to the Program
Method or Tool Timing
Engagement
Attendance During school activities of all kinds
Completion of learning modules in
Canvas
Start of the school year
Observation and responses During 1:1 or small group check ins
Relevance
Brief pulse-check with students via
survey (online) or discussions
(ongoing)
Following Friday events or in-person events
School Climate Survey Once a semester
Customer Satisfaction
Brief pulse-check with students via
survey (online) or discussions
(ongoing)
Following Friday events or in-person events
School Climate Survey Once a semester

Evaluation Tools
Immediately Following the Program Implementation
Program implementation will be throughout the school year. Weekly student activity
pulse checks in combination with the two school climate surveys will provide data to evaluate
program effectiveness. After each community building activity held on a Friday, a rapid 3-
question survey will pop up prior to their departure. This will give students the ability to share
feedback regarding their key takeaways and suggestions for additional programming. Kirkpatrick
and Kirkpatrick (2016) state that training programs should include evaluation plans to gauge
quality, improve the program based on feedback, ensure transfer of learning to behavior and
demonstrate value to the organization. Students will see the value to the organization and have
the opportunity to provide feedback during the quick exit surveys after each event.

98
Delayed for a Period After the Program Implementation
The school climate survey is administered by Panorama Studies and is given in October
and April of each school year. Similar questions are asked each semester including questions
regarding sense of belonging and community. The survey has been administered for two school
years. By continuing the administration of this survey into the next school year, SOS can review
substantial changes in sense of belonging responses in comparison to the long-term effects of
program. Given the inability to measure a person’s sense of belonging, this self-reporting will
allow school administrators the ability to see a rough analysis of program effectiveness.
Data Analysis and Reporting
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) provide guidelines for impactful data analysis and a
methodology for implementing continuous improvements. The presentation of data must be easy
to understand and displays accurate and straightforward results in a timely fashion. The data
collected from this study provided significant data regarding student sense of belonging and peer
connections to the SOS administration. The data analysis serves as the foundation for the
recommendations in this chapter.
Improved sense of belonging and peer connections within SOS can appear as increased
engagement with others, increased attendance at school events and activities, and decreased
feelings of isolation. The student life and student support staff will continue to monitor student
feelings of belonging and peer connections. The level 4 goal is measured by the sense of
belonging and peer connections students at SOS self-report after the suggested program. Figure 1
contains a snapshot of attendance reports for school activities and events by student. Similar
reports will be created to monitor levels 1, 2, and 3.

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Figure 2
Attendance Report Snapshot

Summary
The New World Kirkpatrick Model provides a framework for training evaluation to
confirm that targeted outcomes for training are achieved (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Training construction flows in reverse order from Level 4 to Level 1. This approach allows the
organization to focus on what results they are seeking and then move backwards through the
process to evaluate starting reactions. Throughout this chapter, several recommendations were
made to address issues of sense of belonging and community in success online high school.
Future Research
The findings of this study and the literature that guided its development and analysis lend
to several recommendations for future research that could provide additional resources and
guidelines for promoting community in an online high school. During the process of this study,

100
COVID19 drastically changed the landscape of modern education. The researcher was able to
present on her literature review, experience as the Director of Student Life at SOS, and some
preliminary findings from the research analysis. There is an increasingly growing need for
process and strategies for building community in an online high school.
While 17 students were interviewed, the study did not have any 9th graders respond to be
participants. In addition, the participant criteria required that individuals had been at the school
for at least a year and attended as full-time students. There were several perspectives that were
left out of the participant selections such as students new to online education, single-course and
part-time students, and younger students who are looking to build a new network within their
high school community.
Another opportunity for future research is to focus the literature on school clubs and
activities. While there are approximately 60 clubs at SOS, the students shared that many clubs
are only active in the first three weeks of school and then stop meeting. An additional study
could focus on the importance of the club structure, topic, sponsor, and student leader and the
strategies used for clubs that are successful at regularly meeting throughout the school year and
clubs that end after a few weeks.
Additionally, SOS has a fledgling peer mentor program that is intended to assist students
in developing peer connections when starting the online program. Given the findings regarding
student motivation to build connections and the challenges students described in building those
connections, it seems prudent that the school explore opportunities for managing and supporting
the peer mentor program as it was not mentioned by any of the students in the interview process.
The peer mentor program also has the potential to connect peer connections and academic
success for the students. The findings would suggest that the focus of the peer mentor
discussions should be specific to activities that interest the students such as academic

101
opportunities. Since SOS is housed through a university, it would be interesting to explore
opportunities for peer mentorship with students at the university or alternative ways to frame the
program to enhance the sense of belonging and feeling of community within the program.
Finally, additional studies can be done on a larger scale as a comparison of in-person high
school sense of belonging levels versus online high school sense of belonging levels. Ages 14-18
are challenging and many students at in-person high schools may report low sense of belonging
and connection to their peers. Studies on this topic can focus on levels of sense of belonging at
in-person high schools and its contributing factors compared to online high schools and their
contributing factors. Additional research can be done to better understand the opportunities that
are best suited for each environment. As many schools made a forced transition to distance
learning due to COVID19, some schools tried to mirror all of their same activities through Zoom
or other platforms, while others removed all aspects of student life and community building.

102
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APPENDIX A: Interview Protocol
Opening
Hello, Thank you so much for taking time today to be part of this study. My name is
(Interviewer) and I will be conducting the interview today. I am currently logging in from
(X)
How are you doing today? Where are you logging in from?
Introduction
Wonderful. Let’s get started. We will start with just a short introduction of the interview process.
This interview is being conducted to be part of the Director of Student Life’s doctoral studies at
the University of Southern California. This study will be examining the knowledge, motivation,
and organizational influences related to sense of belonging and community at SOS. The goal of
this study is to learn how students feel connected to this community and what are the areas of
improvement. Findings from this study will provide the foundation for change initiatives within
the Student Life Office at SOS. This interview will remain confidential. I will anonymize the
transcripts prior to distributing the results to the Director of Student Life for analysis. Just a
reminder that, participation in this interview is voluntary. You will not receive any benefit or
penalty for refusing to take part in the interview or ending it at any time. Do you have any
questions concerning the purpose of the study, the protection and anonymity of information, and
your voluntary right to participate or terminate your participation at any time?
With your permission, I will be audio recording this interview and a service will later be
transcribing this interview to facilitate analysis. If you don’t have any questions, I will turn on
the recording.

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Warm up
Question 1 (K,O): First, I would like to learn a little bit about your overall experience attending
SOS. How would you describe your overall experience at SOS?
Probes: How did you learn about the program? What made you decide to enroll in SOS?
What it is like to be a student at SOS?
Question 2 (K,O): That sounds really interesting. (Or) It seems like this has been a challenging
environment for you. What was it like to start at an online high school after being at a brick and
mortar school? How so?
Question 3 (K, M, O): Tell me about the sense of community at SOS. Do you feel you have
close relationships with anyone at the school?
Probes: How did you build that relationship? What kinds of things do you talk about with
that person? If a student responds that they do not have any close relationships with
individuals at the school, What about friends outside of SOS? Who do you socialize with
on a regular basis? What do you tell them about your experiences at SOS? Do you think
your geographic location plays a role in your ability to build community? (K, M, O)
Unstructured Peer to Peer Connections
Question 4 (K,M): It seems like you have connected with some of the other students (or) It seems
like you are seeking to build connections with others within the school (or) I know you said you
have a core group of friends outside the SOS community. What communication tools or
platforms do you use to keep in contact with your SOS classmates (if any)?
Probes: How did you find out about those platforms? What purposes do you use these
platforms for? What social connection opportunities are missing at SOS? What kind of
social opportunities would you like to see more of at SOS?

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Question 5 (K, M, O): Do you feel that you have stronger relationships with students you have
taken a class with?
Probes: What in-class activities have helped you get to know your peers and/or your
instructors?
Question 6 (K): How do you meet new people at SOS that are not in your classes?
Probes: Do you connect through those same platforms you mentioned before? Do you
connect with new friends and old friends through those same platforms you mentioned
before? Are there any other ways that you connect with peoples at SOS that we haven’t
talked about yet? Do you have any suggestions for better ways to connect with your
peers/instructors?
Question 7 (K): How would you describe to a new student how to make friends at SOS?
Question 8 (K, M): Last question about friendships; Do you think having friends, or not having
friends, at SOS changes your high school experience? If so, how? If not, why not? How
important is this to you? How confident are you in your ability to establish connections in class?
Structured Peer to Peer Opportunities
Question 9 (M, O): What in-person events have you attended? What was your experience like?
Probe: Do you think that in-person activities help students feel connected to the school?
If so, why? If not, why not? Can you give me an example of an in-person event that went
particularly well/poorly for you?
Question 10 (M, O): There are also Friday online activities in addition to these in-person
opportunities. Have you attended any of these events? Why or why not?
Probe: Which one was your favorite? What would get you or more students to attend
these events? Do you have any suggestions for future Friday online activities?

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Organizational Supports
Question 11(M, O): When provided opportunities to engage with your peers at SOS, what are
some of the challenges of you participating in those opportunities?
Question 12 (O): We are getting to the end of our interview. My final question is, what are
changes you would like to make to the school community?

We have reached the end of my prepared questions. Is there anything you would like to add?
Do you have any questions for me?
Thank you so much for your time and perspective. Your input is incredibly important to this
study.

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Interview Questions and KMO Influences

Knowledge Motivation Organization
Research
Question
How do knowledge influences
affect SOS student sense of
belonging and peer connections?
How do motivation influences affect SOS
student sense of belonging and peer
connections?
How does SOS organizational culture and
context interact to promote sense of
belonging and peer connections amongst
SOS students?
Assumed
Influences
Procedural
Knowledge:
Students
have the
tools and
time needed
to develop
increased
connections
with their
peers
Conceptual
Knowledge:
Students
understand the
importance
connections with
peers and
teachers and the
interrelationship
between
academic success
and sense of
belonging
Utility Value:
Students need to
see the value of
having a sense of
belonging and the
significant impact
sense of belonging
has on academic
achievement and
student experience
Self-Efficacy:
Students need to
believe that they have
the ability to affect
their own levels of
sense of belonging
Cultural Setting:
Students should
have access to
school structural
supports such as
platforms,
activities and
events in which
they can build peer
connections and
develop
community.
Cultural Model:
Acceptance and
willingness among
students to develop
community and
sense of belonging
Interview
Questions
Question 3:
Tell me
about the
sense of
community
at SOS. Do
you feel you
have close
relationships
with anyone
at the
school?
Probes: How
did you build
that
relationship?
What kinds
of things do
you talk
about with
that person?
Question 5: Do
you feel that you
have stronger
relationships
with students you
have taken a
class with?
Probes: What in-
class activities
have helped you
get to know your
peers and/or your
instructors?
Question 8: Do
you think having
friends, or not
having friends, at
SOS changes your
high school
experience? If so,
how? If not, why
not? How
important is this to
you? On a scale of
1-5 with 5 as the
strongest, how
confident are you
in your ability to
establish
connections in
class?
Question 9: What in-
person events have
you attended? What
was your experience
like? Probe: Do you
think that in-person
activities help
students feel
connected to the
school? If so, why? If
not, why not? Can
you give me an
example of an in-
person event that
went particularly
well/poorly for you?
Question 1: How
would you
describe your
overall experience
at SOS? Probes:
How did you learn
about the
program? What
made you decide
to enroll in SOS?
What is it like to
be a student at
SOS?
Question 11: When
provided
opportunities to
engage with your
peers at SOS, what
are some of the
challenges of you
participating in
those opportunities?

Question 6:
How do you
meet new
people at
SOS that are
not in your
classes?

Question 10: There
are Friday online
activities in addition
to these in-person
opportunities Have
you attended any of
these events? Why or
why not? Probe:
Which one was your
favorite? What would
get your or more
students to attend
these events?
Question 2: What
was it like to start
at an online high
school after being
at a brick and
mortar school?
How so?
Question 12: What
are changes you
would like to make
to the school
community?

Question 7:
How would
you describe
to a new
student how
to make
friends at
SOS?

Question 4: What
communication
tools or platforms
do you use to keep
in contact with
your SOS
classmates (if
any)?

117
APPENDIX B: Informed Consent for Research

INFORMED CONSENT FOR RESEARCH
Study Title: Sense of Belonging in an Online High School: Looking to Connect

Principal Investigator: Karina Momary

Department: Rossier School of Education

INTRODUCTION
If you are reading this form as the parent of a participant, “you” refers to your child.

We invite you to take part in a research study. Please take as much time as you need to read the
consent form. You may want to discuss it with your family, friends, or your personal doctor. If
you find any of the language difficult to understand, please ask questions. If you decide to
participate, you will be asked to sign this form. A copy of the signed form will be provided to
you for your records.

KEY INFORMATION

The following is a short summary of this study to help you decide whether or not you should
participate. More detailed information is listed later on in this form.

1. Being in this research study is voluntary – it is your choice.

2. You are being asked to take part in this study because you are a student at Stanford
Online High School in grades 9-12 in at least your second year at the school.

3. The purpose of this study is to better understand the knowledge, motivation and
organizational influences contributing to students’ sense of belonging and peer
connections at the school.

4. Your participation in this study will last about forty-five minutes. Procedures will
include an interview with a proxy researcher.

3. There are risks from participating in this study. The most common risks are some
questions may cause you to feel uncomfortable or embarrassed.

4. You may not receive any direct benefit from taking part in this study. However, your
participation in this study may help us learn more about the factors that contribute to
sense of belonging and community at the school.

4. If you decide not to participate in this research, your other choices may include not
participating.

118

DETAILED INFORMATION

PURPOSE

The purpose of this project is to conduct a gap analysis to evaluate and understand the
knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that affect students’ sense of belonging at
Stanford OHS. We hope to learn about what factors contribute to student perceptions of
belonging and connection. You are invited as a possible participant because you are a member of
the high school and have attended the school for at least two years. About 16 participants will
take part in the study.

PROCEDURES

If you decide to take part, this is what will happen:
- After indicating your willingness to participate, you will schedule a Zoom conference
call with the proxy researcher at a mutually agreeable time using calendly.com
- You will meet with the proxy researcher in Zoom at the agreed time to participate in
the voluntary interview. The interview will be recorded and transcribed.
- Ms. Momary will receive transcribed notes from your interview only with any
identifying information removed.

RISKS AND DISCOMFORTS

Possible risks and discomforts you could experience during this study include

Some of the questions may make you feel uneasy or embarrassed. You can choose to skip or stop
answering any questions you don’t want to.

There is a small risk that people who are not connected with this study will learn your identity or
your personal information.

BENEFITS

There are no direct benefits to you from taking part in this study. However, your participation in
this study may help us learn about what contributes to sense of belonging and peer connection.

PRIVACY/CONFIDENTIALITY

We will keep your records for this study confidential as far as permitted by law. However, if we
are required to do so by law, we will disclose confidential information about you. Efforts will be
made to limit the use and disclosure of your personal information, including research study and
medical records, to people who are required to review this information. We may publish the

119
information from this study in journals or present it at meetings. If we do, we will not use your
name.

The University of Southern California’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) may review your
records.

Your information or samples that are collected as part of this research will not be used or
distributed for future research studies, even if all of your identifiers are removed.

The investigators are required to report certain cases with the potential of serious harm to you, or
others, such as suicidality or child abuse to the appropriate authorities.

ALTERNATIVES
An alternative would be to not participate in this study.

PAYMENTS

You will not be compensated for your participation in this research.

COST

There are no costs related to participation.

VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION

It is your choice whether or not to participate. If you choose to participate, you may change your
mind and leave the study at any time. Refusal to participate or stopping your participation will
involve no penalty or loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled.

If you stop being in the research, already collected data may not be removed from the study
database. You will be asked whether the investigator can continue to collect data from your
records. If you agree, this data will be handled the same as the research data. No new information
will be collected about you or from you by the study team without your permission.

The study site may still, after your withdrawal, need to report any safety event that you may have
experienced due to your participation to all entities involved in the study. Your personal
information, including any identifiable information, that has already been collected up to the
time of your withdrawal will be kept and used to guarantee the integrity of the study, to
determine the safety effects, and to satisfy any legal or regulatory requirements.

CONTACT INFORMATION

120
If you have questions, concerns, complaints, or think the research has hurt you, talk to the
investigator Karina Momary at momary@usc.edu or the proxy researcher, Kiran Pai at
kiranpai@usc.edu.

This research has been reviewed by the USC Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB is a
research review board that reviews and monitors research studies to protect the rights and
welfare of research participants. Contact the IRB if you have questions about your rights as a
research participant or you have complaints about the research. You may contact the IRB at
(323) 442-0114 or by email at irb@usc.edu.

STATEMENT OF CONSENT

I have read (or someone has read to me) the information provided above. I have been given a
chance to ask questions. All my questions have been answered. By signing this form, I am
agreeing to take part in this study.

If you agree to participate, please sign here.

Name of Research Participant Participant Signature Date Signed

121
APPENDIX C: Immediate Post-Program Assessment Tool

Please select your enrollment level within the school
⃝ Single Course
⃝ Part-Time
⃝ Full Time
Please indicate the degree to which you agree or disagree with the following statements.

Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree
1. The event/activity held my attention ⃝ 1 . . . . ⃝ 2 . . . . ⃝ 3 . . . . ⃝⃝ 4 . . . . ⃝⃝⃝⃝⃝ 5
2. I was encouraged to participate
throughout the workshop
⃝ 1 . . . . ⃝ 2 . . . . ⃝ 3 . . . . ⃝⃝ 4 . . . . ⃝⃝⃝⃝⃝ 5
3. The content is relevant to my
academic success and/or my social-
emotional well being
⃝ 1 . . . . ⃝ 2 . . . . ⃝ 3 . . . . ⃝⃝ 4 . . . . ⃝⃝⃝⃝⃝ 5
4. I was able to connect with my peers
during this session
⃝ 1 . . . . ⃝ 2 . . . . ⃝ 3 . . . . ⃝⃝ 4 . . . . ⃝⃝⃝⃝⃝ 5
5. How has your sense of community and belonging been impacted by this activity?

6. How can event/activity be improved?

122
APPENDIX D: Delayed Post-Program Assessment Questions
The following questions are pulled directly from the Panorama Survey

Sense of Belonging

How well do people at your school understand you as a person?
● Completely Understand
● Understand quite a bit
● Understand somewhat
● Understand a little
● Do not understand at all

How connected do you feel to the adults at your school?
● Extremely connected
● Quite Connected
● Somewhat Connected
● Slightly Connected
● Not at all Connected

How much respect do students in your school show you?
● A tremendous amount of respect
● Quite a bit of respect
● Some respect
● A little bit of respect
● No respect at all

How much do you matter to others at this school?
● Matter a tremendous amount
● Matter quite a bit
● Matter somewhat
● Matter a little bit
● Do not matter at all

Abstract (if available)

Abstract The purpose of this evaluation study was to identify the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences affecting the sense of belonging and community of high school students at Success Online School. Sense of belonging and feeling of community is linked to academic achievement and emotional development of students. This is a challenge in online education because online courses often provide limited opportunities for building community and relationships. Online learning environments can provide a sense of belonging and community. Previous studies have focused on asynchronous K-12 education or synchronous graduate courses. This study focuses on sense of belonging and community in a synchronous high school. Applying the Clark and Estes (2008) gap analytic framework, this qualitative study sought to evaluate the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences of sense of belonging in an online high school. Interview data from seventeen students was collected and analyzed to identify performance gaps. This study found one knowledge influence and two organizational influences that may have negatively influenced students' sense of belonging. Evidence-based recommendations is presented, along with an implementation and evaluation plan using the New World Kirkpatrick model.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Momary, Karina Marie (author)

Core Title Sense of belonging in an online high school: looking to connect

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)

Publication Date 07/25/2020

Defense Date 06/22/2020

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag OAI-PMH Harvest,online classroom,online community,online school,sense of belonging

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Moore, Ekaterina (committee chair), Crawford, Jenifer (committee member), Crispen, Patrick (committee member)

Creator Email momary@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-347234

Unique identifier UC11663319

Identifier etd-MomaryKari-8749.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-347234 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-MomaryKari-8749.pdf

Dmrecord 347234

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Momary, Karina Marie

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA