Instructor Social Presence in Digital Education at Higher Education Institutions in the UAE
| dc.contributor.advisor | Dr Tendai Charles | |
| dc.contributor.author | SHEHZAD, NAUREEN | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-04-29T10:48:37Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-04-29T10:48:37Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024-06 | |
| dc.description.abstract | The radical changes in educational pedagogies has been a driving force behind writing this thesis. With the ever evolving landscape of digital education, understanding the role of instructor social presence in online education is of paramount importance. The study explores the role of instructor social presence and its impact on student engagement in the context of UAE. Using a mixed-methods explanatory sequential design, in the first phase quantitative data was collected by surveying instructors in different educational institutions in the UAE. The survey consisted of Likert-scale questions and was distributed to 100 participants using random sampling. The second phase of the study included in-depth interviews from faculty (N=10) using purposeful sampling. The study is grounded in Community of Inquiry as the theoretical framework which stems from Vygotsky’s social constructivist theory. Through careful and intensive investigation, it was found that instructor social presence is a good predictor for student behavioural, cognitive and psychological engagement. While applying Cresswell’s inductive approach to qualitative data, several themes were reveled which primarily focused on the importance and inclusion of instructor social presence. This study is geographically specific and yielded the results only in the UAE. Further studies need to be carried out with a larger population using longitudinal study designs. To conclude, it is important to note that technology and artificial intelligence is shaping the future of education. Therefore, as teachers, we need to keep abreast of all upcoming technologies to impart education that can engage and bring life-long learning skills to the GenZ. | |
| dc.identifier.other | 20001441 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://bspace.buid.ac.ae/handle/1234/2912 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | The British University in Dubai (BUiD) | |
| dc.subject | instructor social presence, community of inquiry, educational technology | |
| dc.title | Instructor Social Presence in Digital Education at Higher Education Institutions in the UAE | |
| dc.type | Thesis |