Literature Review: Conflict Resolution in Post-Secondary Online Education

Literature Review: Conflict Resolution in Post-Secondary Online Education

Liberty University

This article seeks to provide a review of research literature published between 2008 and 2014 that discusses conflicts arising within the online education process, and their resolution within the online context. The goal of this article is to establish a current overview of related literature that can become the foundation of future studies in this field. An online search produced 48 references that were considered relevant to the purpose of this review. After a brief introduction of the topic, main definitions are provided. A section outlining the method for the development of the review follows including discussions of delimitations, the search, and reference descriptions. More background information is provided through a brief history of online education in the U.S. and an overview of the theories used in current studies in the field. The main body of the article describes common themes and emphases of online education conflict resolution that resulted from the literature analysis. After the uniqueness of online education conflict is established, strategies of virtual conflict resolution are described. Other common themes include foci on the instructor, the learner, and dynamics social interaction. The article closes with a categorized summary of suggested future research found in the literature.