Humanizing online pedagogy with stream: the mediating role of students’ sense of agency within the community of inquiry

Abstract

This study explores whether students’ sense of agency mediates the relationship between stream integration and the three presences of the community of inquiry (CoI) framework, namely, cognitive, social, and teaching presence in online higher education. A cross-sectional survey design was employed to undergraduates (n=107) from four Malaysian universities by validated instruments for data collection, measured stream integration, sense of agency, and CoI presence. PLS-SEM was employed for data analysis using SmartPLS 4 software, adhering to a two-step process. Stream integration significantly predicted cognitive (β=0.573), social (β=0.405), and teaching presence (β=0.433), as well as sense of agency (β=0.497), all p<0.001. Agency, in turn, predicted the three presences (β=0.281–0.371, p<0.001). Indirect effects confirmed partial mediation, with variance accounted for (VAF) ranging from 27% to 32%. Theoretically, these findings extend the CoI framework by establishing sense of agency as a critical mediating construct. Practically, the study contributes to humanizing pedagogy design in higher education by demonstrating how stream-based designs foster psychological empowerment. The results suggest that embedding authentic choice, authorship, and interdisciplinary tasks can strengthen student agency, ultimately humanize the online learning experience and enhance overall learning presence.