Date of Award

May 2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Education, Health & Behavior Studies

First Advisor

Carolyn Ozaki

Abstract

The expansion of online and hybrid education has reshaped higher education, particularly in applied fields such as kinesiology that emphasize hands-on learning. Despite this growth, limited research has examined how specific interaction types (academic, social, and deeper life) contribute to student thriving in digital environments. This dissertation explored how interactions with faculty, staff, and peers influence holistic student success in online and hybrid kinesiology programs utilizing a three-paper dissertation approach to address this gap through complementary methods. Paper 1 synthesizes existing literature on student interactions and thriving in digital learning contexts. Paper 2 uses one-way ANOVA and ANCOVA to examine differences in thriving across interaction types and tests psychological sense of community (PSOC) as a moderator. Results indicate that interaction type significantly influences thriving, with academic interactions, particularly with faculty and staff, emerging as the strongest predictors. Paper 3 applies structural equation modeling (SEM) to further examine relationships among interaction types and thriving. These results indicate strong positive association with academic interactions between faculty and staff on student thriving, with staff having a negative association.

To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine academic, social, and deeper-life interactions within digital learning environments. Findings across the studies highlight that interactions with faculty, staff, and peers differentially influence thriving, with academic exchanges emerging as the strongest contributors with faculty and staff.

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