Confirming the subdimensions of teaching, social, and cognitive presences: A construct validity study

This confirmatory factor analysis study examined the construct validity of the three presences of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000). The participants of this study were graduate students enrolled in fully online courses at a large Midwestern university. The results revealed that (a) the data fit very well with the thirteen item-three factor teaching presence model, (b) the data fit very well with the nine item-three factor social presence model, and (c) the data fit very well with the twelve item-four factor cognitive presence model. The results of this study empirically supported that each presence demonstrates a clear factor solution as proposed by the CoI framework. Theoretical and practical implications of the study results are discussed.