Revisiting learning presence in the community of inquiry framework: Insights from a systematic and meta-analytic review

Learning presence (LP) has been proposed as a “fourth presence” in the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework and linked to self-regulation and self-efficacy; however, its conceptualization and empirical relationships remain unclear. To address these gaps, this study conducted a systematic review on the definitions of LP (RQ1) and meta-analysis examining LP’s associations with the three established CoI presences, satisfaction, and learning outcomes (RQ2). Guided by PRISMA (Page et al., 2021), we identified 51 studies for the systematic review and 18 studies comprising 103 effect sizes (N = 19,827) for the meta-analysis published from 2010 to 2025. Results indicated that the term “learning presence” is widely used to denote LP and that it is most commonly conceptualized as regulation of learning. Meta-analytic findings revealed strong positive associations between LP and teaching presence (r = .55), social presence (r = .62), cognitive presence (r = .66), learning outcomes (r = .53), and satisfaction (r = .54). Meta-regression analyses revealed no significant moderator effects, except for the educational levels. Overall, this synthesis clarifies the conceptual landscape of LP within CoI research and provides robust evidence of its consistent relationships with key presences and student learning. Future research should pursue clearer conceptual definitions and refinements, more standardized measurement approaches, and greater methodological and reporting rigor.