Toward a social conflict evolution model: Examining the adverse power of conflictual social interaction in online learning
Highlights
► A social conflict evolution model including five phases was identified. ► Social harmonization cycle includes disinhibition, tension, and normalization. ► Strong relationships were found between social and learning interactions. ► Social harmonization cycle maintains a social climate that supports learning. ► Social conflict escalation had adverse impact on learning interactions.
Introduction
The positive impact of social interaction on student learning has been well documented in educational research (e.g., Wentzel, 1998, 2005), yet the adverse power of social interaction is an under-studied area. The examination of social conflict in an online learning community can provide valuable insight to help instructors develop management plans to promote the positive impact of knowledge construction while reducing the negative influence of social conflict in online learning. Although research on conflict management strategies in an online learning environment exists (e.g., DeChurch & Marks, 2001; Hammond, 2003), the dynamic process of social conflict development in online learning has not been adequately studied. An in-depth investigation of social conflict development, evolution, and the relationships between social and learning interactions is warranted and may bring theoretical and practical implications to distance learning.
Section snippets
Relationship between social interaction and online learning
Studies have repeatedly shown the significant relationship between social interaction and learning in online classes (e.g., Brush, 1998; Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000; Gunawardena, 1995; Wagner, 1994). Rovai (2007) suggests that the social component of online interaction is vital for the success of online collaborative learning. Social interactions support the establishment of social presence – the ability to project themselves socially and emotionally as real people in the learning
The present study
The lack of empirical research investigating the evolution of social conflict in classrooms may be due to several reasons. For one, although social conflict occurs frequently in classrooms, most are not predictable, nor controllable, creating challenges for researchers to design experimental studies regarding social conflict. On the other hand, in naturalistic settings, it is difficult to predict whether, when and where social conflict will transpire and it is difficult to capture social
Participants and context
The participants were 18 students who were enrolled in an online course related to instructional technology at a mid-sized, land-grant university in the Southeastern United States. The participants included 7 males and 11 females with ages ranging from 21 to 46. They were from different content disciplines, including education, business information systems, foreign language, history, and landscape architecture, with 13 participants being education majors. Sixteen participants rated their
The process of social conflict evolution
Through open-coding analysis of the course artifacts, five general phases of social conflict evolution were identified: (1) cultural initiation, which supported the development of a culture of niceness; (2) social harmonization cycle: disinhibition, tension, and normalization; (3) escalation of conflict; (4) intervention and stabilization; and (5) adjourning. The social conflict evolution model is presented in Fig. 1. Each of the five phases and their evolution are delineated in the following
Discussion and implications
This study analyzed an intrinsic case where social conflict was observed and recorded in an online class. The study examined the process of social conflict evolution and the relations between social and learning interactions in an online social environment. The qualitative results revealed a social conflict evolution model, which involves five general phases: cultural initiation, social harmonization cycle, escalation of conflict, intervention and stabilization, and adjourning. The quantitative
Conclusions and future research
As a summary, the present study is an initial attempt to empirically investigate the evolution of social conflict and its relationship with learning interaction in an online class. The study identified a model of social conflict evolution and found that social conflict negatively impacted knowledge construction. The study findings can provide an important complement to the existing literature on online education and have both theoretical and practical implications for designing and managing
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