Shared Conceptual Ground in CSCL: Evidence from a Global Survey

The maturity of scientific communities can be measured by their degree of alignment on a common conceptual vision to guide research efforts. Recently, scholars in the CSCL community have called for increased efforts to establish shared theoretical frameworks to accelerate progress in the field of CSCL. We investigate if the CSCL community aligns with key concepts, such as CSCL and collaborative learning. We conducted a survey with a sample of 50 CSCL scholars across 18 countries, prompting them to respond to open-ended questions related to key concepts in the field and future directions for the community. Findings revealed that while broad agreement exists on the importance of collaborative processes, interpretations of these key concepts diverge substantially, highlighting conceptual fragmentation. This study offers insights into the current state of a CSCL paradigm by identifying the extent of conceptual alignment among its members.