Building a Social and Motivational Framework for Understanding Satisfaction in Online Learning

This study examines how social and motivational attributes may influence students' online learning experiences. Based on a review of social theories of learning and research about individual characteristics associated with motivation four constructs were included: social ability, learning goal orientation, perceived task value, and self-efficacy. A model was generated to depict the dynamic relationships among these constructs and the outcome measure of learning satisfaction. Factor analyses highlight four dimensions of social ability: social presence-students, social presence-instructors, social navigation, and written communication skills. The results of applying structural equation modeling to data from a sample of 110 online students show the importance of students' perceived task value, self efficacy, and social ability for satisfaction in online learning.