January 2012 Volume 15 Number 1 - Educational Technology ...

studies have found positive relationships between student social bonding and school effectiveness including
academic achievement and school engagement (Leibold, 2000; Newmann et al., 1992; Pryor, 1994; Wehlage et al.,
1989). From this theoretical perspective, positive interactions between instructors and peers can reinforce their
emotional and social bonding as well as their attachment to their online learning program, which leads them to be
motivated to accept and implement norms and values of social agents (Catalano & Hawkins, 1996; Hirschi, 1969;
Wehlage et al., 1989).
Based on the literature, this study proposed a conceptual framework to represent emotional and social learning for
understanding online interactions (see Figure 1). There are three dimensions in the conceptual framework. One is
students’ emotional ability to perceive, use, understand, and manage emotions, which represents an individual’s
emotional intelligence. A second dimension is the degree to which students are emotionally and socially attached to
their online program, their instructor, and their peers, which represents their social-psychological attachment. The
third dimension is the online interactions that student have, which represents their cognitive and behavioral
involvement in an online learning environment.
Figure 1. Conceptual Framework for Emotional Intelligence, Social Bond, and Interactions in Online Learning
Purpose of the study
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between students’ emotional intelligence and their
interactions in both synchronous and asynchronous online learning environments. The main focus of the
investigation was the extent of the relationship between the three dimensions of emotional intelligence, social bond,
and interaction.
Research questions
In order to investigate the problem, the following research questions were addressed.
What is the relationship between students’ emotional intelligence and their degree of social bond in online
learning environments? What is the most important variable in the relationship?
What is the relationship between students’ emotional intelligence and interactions in online learning
environments? What is the most important variable in the relationship?
What is the relationship between students’ degree of social bond and interactions in online learning
environments? What is the most important variable in the relationship?
Method
The study used an ex post facto design and correlational analysis to discover the statistical relationships between
students’ emotional intelligence and the interactions that occurred naturally in an online learning environment.
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