Transactional Presence as a Critical Predictor of Success in Distance Learning
- 1 May 2003
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis Ltd in Distance Education
- Vol. 24 (1), 69-86
- https://doi.org/10.1080/01587910303048
Abstract
This paper argues that, apart from interactive activities, the perceptions of psychological presence that distance education students hold of their teachers, peer students, and the institution can be significant predictors of their learning. The "perception of presence" in this paper is defined as the degree to which a distance education student senses the availability of, and connectedness with, each party. This form of presence is designated here as "Transactional Presence" (TP). In this study, distance education student learning was assessed in the light of students' perceived learning achievement, satisfaction, and intent-to-persist. An analysis of student survey data indicates that a distance student's sense of institutional TP predicts all the selected measures to do with success in distance learning. While a sense of peer student TP is significantly related to satisfaction and intent-to-persist, the effect of teacher TP is found to relate only to student-perceived learning achievement. Implications of the TP construct are discussed with respect to the theory, research, and practice of distance education, along with recommendations for future research.Keywords
This publication has 24 references indexed in Scilit:
- Factors influencing interaction in an online courseAmerican Journal of Distance Education, 1999
- Social presence as a predictor of satisfaction within a computer‐mediated conferencing environmentAmerican Journal of Distance Education, 1997
- Learner‐interface interaction in distance education: An extension of contemporary models and strategies for practitionersAmerican Journal of Distance Education, 1994
- Collaborative learning: More is not necessarily betterAmerican Journal of Distance Education, 1993
- Perceptions of Interaction: The critical predictor in distance educationAmerican Journal of Distance Education, 1993
- The effects of verbal and nonverbal teacher immediacy on perceived cognitive, affective, and behavioral learning in the multicultural classroomCommunication Education, 1990
- Instructional communication in the televised classroom: The effects of system design and teacher immediacy on student learning and satisfactionCommunication Education, 1990
- Editorial: Three types of interactionAmerican Journal of Distance Education, 1989
- The relationship between verbal teacher immediacy behaviors and student learningCommunication Education, 1988
- Student attrition, intentions, and confidence: Interaction effects in a path modelResearch in Higher Education, 1982