Date of Conferral

5-13-2024

Date of Award

May 2024

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Hedy Dexter

Abstract

Incivility in the college classroom distracts from the learning process. Students who are uncivil to their peers often shame and embarrass them in front of others, and uncivil students distract from learning opportunities by arguing with professors and coercing them for grades that were not earned. Incivility by students is counterintuitive to the goals of higher education which include offering a space for meaningful learning. The literature describes incivility by students in the physical classroom, yet lacking from current research is how peer-to-peer incivility in the online classroom affects student learning. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to understand how incivility in the online classroom alters the learning environment for students as observed by online faculty. The theoretical foundation for this study was Azjen’s theory of planned behavior, claiming that an individual’s attitudes and beliefs about certain behaviors correspond with acting on those behaviors and believing in the desired outcome. The research questions for this study explored online faculty’s experiences and observations of incivility related to asynchronous discussion boards and synchronous classroom activities. Results from online faculty interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis, resulting in categories and themes that captured the perspectives and experiences of the online faculty. Understanding peer-to-peer incivility in the online classroom has the potential to decrease uncivil behaviors by students toward their peers resulting in a more positive social change in the online learning environment.

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