Fostering Connection and Confidence: The Impact of Community-Building Posts on Self-Efficacy and Social Presence in Online Learning

John Steele, Grand Canyon University 

Megan Castles, Grand Canyon University

Abstract

As online higher education becomes increasingly prevalent, fostering a strong sense of com munity and social connection is critical for student motivation, engagement, and academic achievement. This quantitative descriptive study explores how structured community-building activities influence students’ perceptions of social presence, psychological safety, and self-effi cacy within a fully online Information Literacy course. Survey data were collected from 266 undergraduate participants using a nine-item Likert scale focused on community, belonging, psy chological safety, and self-efficacy. Results revealed consistently high levels of agreement across all domains, with students reporting that community-building posts significantly enhanced their sense of belonging, comfort in expressing themselves, and confidence in navigating coursework. Qualitative feedback reinforced these findings, emphasizing the value of authentic interactions and personal sharing for reducing isolation and humanizing the virtual learning experience. While the study was limited by its self-report design and single-institution sample, the outcomes high light community-building activities as essential pedagogical tools that not only strengthen social presence but also contribute to higher levels of self-efficacy. The study results suggest that inten tionally integrating diverse, flexible, and supportive community-building approaches in online courses can foster psychological safety, student persistence, and overall success. Future research should examine causal relationships, longitudinal effects, and variations across disciplines and instructional styles to further inform effective online education practices. 

Keywords: connection, community building, online learning, self-efficacy, social presence