{"id":{"repo_id":"arizona-thes","oai_identifier":"oai:repository.arizona.edu:10150/612889"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/arizona-thes/oai:repository.arizona.edu:10150/612889","repository":{"repo_id":"arizona-thes","name":"University of Arizona","base_url":"https://repository.arizona.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"The Effects of Student Social Class on Learning in Computer-Mediated Versus Face-to-Face Settings","abstract":"Contemporary higher education makes use of computers and the Internet more than ever before and the extent to which education is delivered via these media is only likely to increase in the future. While computer-mediated communication and education have been studied extensively, relatively little research has examined the potential impact of cultural background (e.g. social class) on students' experiences of different learning media. To address this gap, the current research uses a multi-sample (6 samples; n = 473), quasi-experimental approach to interrogate the relationship between student social class background and learning environment on various educational and individual outcomes. Examining a trichotomous (lower, middle, upper) conceptualization of social class across three distinct learning environments (face-to-face, computer-mediated, and fully-online) I find evidence of effects of student social class, learning environment and their interaction. In general, middle class students vary the least across conditions; lower class students tend to score lower on outcomes overall but with some notable exceptions for shared experience in face-to-face settings and comfort in online settings; and upper class students tend to experience a laboratory-based computer-mediated learning environment most positively. Implications for studying computer-mediated learning and social class are discussed, along with implications for real-world online education.","abstract_html":"Contemporary higher education makes use of computers and the Internet more than ever before and the extent to which education is delivered via these media is only likely to increase in the future. While computer-mediated communication and education have been studied extensively, relatively little research has examined the potential impact of cultural background (e.g. social class) on students' experiences of different learning media. To address this gap, the current research uses a multi-sample (6 samples; n = 473), quasi-experimental approach to interrogate the relationship between student social class background and learning environment on various educational and individual outcomes. Examining a trichotomous (lower, middle, upper) conceptualization of social class across three distinct learning environments (face-to-face, computer-mediated, and fully-online) I find evidence of effects of student social class, learning environment and their interaction. In general, middle class students vary the least across conditions; lower class students tend to score lower on outcomes overall but with some notable exceptions for shared experience in face-to-face settings and comfort in online settings; and upper class students tend to experience a laboratory-based computer-mediated learning environment most positively. Implications for studying computer-mediated learning and social class are discussed, along with implications for real-world online education.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Leavitt, Peter"],"institution":"The University of Arizona.","degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"doctoral","degree_discipline":"Graduate College","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Sullivan, Daniel"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["Greenberg, Jeff","Mehl, Matthias R.","Stone, Jeffrey","Sullivan, Daniel"],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016","date_published":"2016","updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:55:59Z","subjects":["culture","shared experience","social class","Psychology","computer-mediated learning"],"languages":["en_US"],"rights":["Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10150/612889","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Sullivan, Daniel"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Greenberg, Jeff","Mehl, Matthias R.","Stone, Jeffrey","Sullivan, Daniel"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Leavitt, Peter"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2016-06-13T19:22:26Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-06-13T19:22:26Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2016"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["The University of Arizona."]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text","Electronic Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Graduate College","Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Arizona"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["culture","shared experience","social class","Psychology","computer-mediated learning"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en_US"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10150/612889"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Contemporary higher education makes use of computers and the Internet more than ever before and the extent to which education is delivered via these media is only likely to increase in the future. While computer-mediated communication and education have been studied extensively, relatively little research has examined the potential impact of cultural background (e.g. social class) on students' experiences of different learning media. To address this gap, the current research uses a multi-sample (6 samples; n = 473), quasi-experimental approach to interrogate the relationship between student social class background and learning environment on various educational and individual outcomes. Examining a trichotomous (lower, middle, upper) conceptualization of social class across three distinct learning environments (face-to-face, computer-mediated, and fully-online) I find evidence of effects of student social class, learning environment and their interaction. In general, middle class students vary the least across conditions; lower class students tend to score lower on outcomes overall but with some notable exceptions for shared experience in face-to-face settings and comfort in online settings; and upper class students tend to experience a laboratory-based computer-mediated learning environment most positively. Implications for studying computer-mediated learning and social class are discussed, along with implications for real-world online education."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Effects of Student Social Class on Learning in Computer-Mediated Versus Face-to-Face Settings"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Sullivan, Daniel"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Greenberg, Jeff","Mehl, Matthias R.","Stone, Jeffrey","Sullivan, Daniel"],"dc:creator":["Leavitt, Peter"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2016-06-13T19:22:26Z"],"dc:date.available":["2016-06-13T19:22:26Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2016"],"dc:description.abstract":["Contemporary higher education makes use of computers and the Internet more than ever before and the extent to which education is delivered via these media is only likely to increase in the future. While computer-mediated communication and education have been studied extensively, relatively little research has examined the potential impact of cultural background (e.g. social class) on students' experiences of different learning media. To address this gap, the current research uses a multi-sample (6 samples; n = 473), quasi-experimental approach to interrogate the relationship between student social class background and learning environment on various educational and individual outcomes. Examining a trichotomous (lower, middle, upper) conceptualization of social class across three distinct learning environments (face-to-face, computer-mediated, and fully-online) I find evidence of effects of student social class, learning environment and their interaction. In general, middle class students vary the least across conditions; lower class students tend to score lower on outcomes overall but with some notable exceptions for shared experience in face-to-face settings and comfort in online settings; and upper class students tend to experience a laboratory-based computer-mediated learning environment most positively. Implications for studying computer-mediated learning and social class are discussed, along with implications for real-world online education."],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10150/612889"],"dc:language.iso":["en_US"],"dc:publisher":["The University of Arizona."],"dc:rights":["Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author."],"dc:subject":["culture","shared experience","social class","Psychology","computer-mediated learning"],"dc:title":["The Effects of Student Social Class on Learning in Computer-Mediated Versus Face-to-Face Settings"],"dc:type":["text","Electronic Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Graduate College","Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Arizona"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:55:59Z"}