From Gaps to Levers: Equity-Centred Design in Adult Asynchronous Secondary Learning Across a Decade in Ontario

Adult learners returning to complete secondary credits are increasingly served throughfully asynchronous courses, yet Ontario-specific evidence about who participates, who succeeds, and which design choices matter remains scarce. This dissertation addresses that gap with a problem-of-practice focus on equity in adult e-learning. The inquiry is grounded in andragogy (Knowles) and three complementary distance-education lenses: transactional distance (Moore), Community of Inquiry (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer), and self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan). Together, these frames center on learner autonomy, the balance of structure and dialogue, and the roles of teaching, social, and cognitive presence as designable levers rather than fixed traits of students. Using ten years (2013/14–2023/24) of board-level administrative records from fully asynchronous secondary-credit courses, I modelled two outcomes—course pass (binary) and final numeric grade—via linear probability and OLS specifications with fixed effects for month, year, and grade level and cluster-robust standard errors. Analyses progressed from main effects to age-quartile gradients and interactions (e.g., Age × ELL, Age × IEP), and then to iii heterogeneity across three policy/operational periods: pre-COVID, Early Response Phase, and post-2022 stabilization. Estimates are descriptive, not causal, and are intended to inform design and policy decisions. Three patterns were consistent and practically meaningful. First, special education identification (IEP) was the largest negative correlate of both passing and grades. Second, outcomes improved monotonically with age: older adult learners passed more often and earned higher grades than the youngest quartile. Third, English-language learner status showed a modest positive association overall; women earned higher grades, with a small pass advantage. Nativity and first-language English were near-null once covariates and fixed effects were included. Framed by intersectionality and digital-readiness literatures and informed by metaanalytic findings in distance education (e.g., structured pacing, clear feedback cadence), the study argues that observed “gaps” signal structures, not deficits. Implications are actionable: strengthen teaching presence, provide weekly wayfinding and feedback routines, front-load orientation to digital study skills, and embed universal design for learning (UDL) scaffolds for time management and language. The dissertation contributes to a decade-long, Ontario-specific portrait of adult asynchronous learning and offers concrete course-design and board-level levers to narrow opportunity-to-learn disparities. Keywords: adult e-learning; asynchronous secondary; equity; instructional design; Ontario; community of inquiry; transactional distance.

Department dc:contributor.department

Leadership, Higher and Adult Education

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Paul, Amanda Jean

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Dhuey, Elizabeth A

• Adult e-learning
• Asynchronous education
• Equity
• Instructional Design
• Ontario
• Transactional Distance

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1807/153504

OAI record oai:identifier

https://utoronto.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=dim&identifier=oai%3Autoronto.scholaris.ca%3A1807%2F153504