The role of online education in modern cultural socialization processes

Abstract

The purpose of the research is to theoretically substantiate online education as a new space for cultural socialization and identify measurable parameters of interaction that reflect the processes of social integration in the digital educational environment. The research was conducted in 2024–2025 based on empirical and statistical analysis of aggregated data from 18 online courses implemented in 2022–2024 on international platforms and in university learning management systems, without the use of personal information. The results showed stable quantitative indicators of interaction: the average number of messages per course was 1,284 with a standard deviation of 412, comments – 2,946 with a standard deviation of 781, group activities – 286 with a standard deviation of 92, viewings of educational materials – 29,860 with a standard deviation of 6,210, duration of active interaction – 6,3 weeks; statistically significant differences were found between the mass open and university courses in the intensity of communication and viewings of materials at a significance level of less than 0,05, while group mechanisms of participation did not demonstrate significant differences, and the highest correlation was recorded between participation in group activities and duration of interaction with a coefficient of 0,73. The results obtained confirm that online education functions as a structured sociocultural space with a coherent system of communicative and collective practices, which has theoretical significance for the conceptualization of digital socialization and practical value for designing courses with enhanced group interaction mechanisms.