Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate students’ feelings of and desire for a sense of community (SOC) in hybrid school counseling courses and to identify contributing factors associated with students’ feelings of and desire for SOC. Results showed that the majority of the participants either moderately or strongly desired SOC, however about half of the participants reported lower than average scores in feelings of SOC. Female students and those who were enrolled in the theory course, had part-time jobs, had more advanced computer skills, and had fewer completed course credits were more likely to score higher in the total scores of feelings of SOC. Students who were in the theory course and had completed fewer course credits were more likely to perceive a higher level of SOC in the Learning Community Subscale. Students’ answers to the qualitative question revealed that students perceived the hybrid format as very flexible and they enjoyed the hybrid experiences. Discussions and implications of the results were included.