Servant Leadership and the Community of Inquiry Framework: Investigating Instructor Leadership in Higher Education Online Learning

This dissertation consists of three journal articles that investigated instructor leadership in higher education online learning through the dual lenses of servant leadership (SL) theory and the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework. While instructor leadership has been deemed essential for facilitating meaningful learning experiences and higher order learning outcomes within a CoI, the means of instructor leadership are under investigated. Understanding instructor leadership is essential as it directly influences the interaction quality, meaningful learning facilitation, and the overall success of the online learning experience. These studies extended previous research applying organizational leadership theories to the context of higher education instruction, highlighting its application to online learning environments. The first study employed a mixed methods approach to investigate perceptions of SL behaviors among 87 students and seven instructors. Results indicated that instructors’ perceptions of their leadership behaviors were generally higher than students’ perceptions and found positive correlations between SL and student satisfaction with the course and instructor. The study provided empirical evidence to support the contention that instructor leadership is an essential element of a CoI. The second study used a predictive correlational design, analyzing survey data from 148 graduate students to examine the relationship between SL dimensions and the CoI presences. Results showed a significant positive correlation, with SL variables explaining 66% of the variance in students’ perceptions of a CoI as a whole, 73% in teaching presence, 55% in cognitive presence, and 31% in social presence. The study offered insights into what CoI presences may be most impacted by instructor leadership. Finally, a descriptive multiple case study of five instructors used interviews and archived course content to investigate how instructors conceptualized and enacted online instructor leadership. Findings revealed that instructor leadership presence was influenced by personal perceptions of instructor leadership, perceived agency, intentional focus on the nature and quantity of course interactions, and demonstration of SL behaviors that balanced teaching presence and social presence. This study provided additional evidence of the alignment between SL and the CoI framework and also offered examples of instructor SL behaviors useful for practitioners. Collectively, this dissertation underscored the importance of instructor leadership in cultivating meaningful online learning environments, offering empirical insights and practical recommendations for enhancing instructor effectiveness and student engagement in higher education online learning contexts.