<p> Review of literature revealed a shortage of research describing the development of K-12 virtual communities and the absence of a tool to measure sense of virtual community in K-12 virtual education students. The purpose of this descriptive, quantitative study was to examine the perception of a sense of virtual community from the perspective of virtual students. The sample for this research consisted of 205 fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade virtual education students. The researcher combined existing research on community in the brick-and-mortar school context, and scales used to measure the sense of virtual community in virtual education and other online settings. From this analysis of existing scales, the researcher created a scale to measure the degree of virtual community perceived by the fourth-, fifth-, or sixth-grade virtual education student. </p><p> The measurement instrument consisted of two sections. The first section was a 25-question Likert scale used to measure the degree of virtual community perceived by the students. The second section of the instrument required students to rank virtual classroom and face-to-face activities according to what they felt was the most important for fostering a sense of virtual community. Data analysis revealed the majority of students revealed that they perceived a superior to significant sense of virtual community. ANOVA tests revealed that there was no significant difference between gender or grade level. Rankings of the virtual classroom and face-to-face activities were developed from the data. The rankings revealed that activities such as in-person field trips and gatherings, as well as virtual options such as emails and online live chats, foster a sense of virtual community for virtual students.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Counseling and Educational Psychology, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-07, Section: A, page: 2810. Adviser: Joyce M. Alexander. Title from dissertation home page (viewed April 8, 2008).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Counseling and the Educational Psychology, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-07, Section: A, page: 2816. Advisers: Daniel T. Hickey; Sasha A. Barab. Title from dissertation home page (viewed Apr. 14, 2008).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, School of Education, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-11, Section: A, page: 4607. Advisers: Jack Cummings; Samuel Odom. Title from dissertation home page (viewed May 21, 2008).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-05, Section: A, page: 1673. Adviser: Katherine E. Ryan. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 127-133) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1929. / Vita. Published also as Teachers college, Columbia university, Contributions to education, no. 357. Bibliography: p. 110-113.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1929. / Vita. Published also as Teachers college, Columbia university, Contributions to education, no. 357. Bibliography: p. 110-113.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University. / Vita.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1974. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1970. / Vita. Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.