Understanding Student Engagement in Digital Higher Education: A Meta-Analysis of Antecedents and Outcomes

Autor/inn/en	Qian Li; Yuhao Ma; Xiangxin Wang; Yiling Wang; Pengmei Zhang; Amrita Kaur; Rosalie Palaroan
Titel	Understanding Student Engagement in Digital Higher Education: A Meta-Analysis of Antecedents and Outcomes
Quelle	In: Educational Process: International Journal, 20 (2026) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Link als defekt meldenVerfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Qian Li) ORCID (Amrita Kaur) ORCID (Rosalie Palaroan)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	2147-0901
Schlagwörter	Learner Engagement; Higher Education; Electronic Learning; Influences; Outcomes of Education; Educational Research + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Influence; Einfluss; Einflussfaktor; Lernleistung; Schulerfolg; Bildungsforschung; Pädagogische Forschung
Abstract	Background/purpose: The online learning environment poses unique challenges to maintaining student engagement due to the diminished social presence and heightened demands for self-regulated skills. While research on student engagement in digital higher education has been growing quickly, existing findings are often inconsistent and lack theoretical integration. The current study addresses this gap by synthesizing empirical studies using a meta-analytic framework and extending the contextual model of engagement to online learning situations. The purposes of this study are to identify the antecedents and educational outcomes related to student engagement and to evaluate the strength of these associations in digital higher education. Materials/methods: Following the PRISMA guidelines, 124 relevant studies were identified in the context of digital higher education. A systematic literature search was conducted across the ERIC, PsycInfo, PsycArticles, PubMed, and ProQuest databases. Effect sizes were extracted and analyzed using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software. Results: We examined the overall mean effect size for the associations between student engagement and personal antecedents (r = 0.46), contextual influences (r = 0.42), and educational outcomes (r = 0.43). Motivation, self-regulated learning, and online learning readiness accounted for personal-level predictors of engagement. Instructor support and collaborative learning environment were the strongest contextual-level predictors. Student engagement in digital settings was also significantly correlated with their academic performance and emotional experiences. Conclusion: This meta-analysis validates and expands the contextual model of engagement in online higher education settings, showing that both personal and contextual factors jointly explained student engagement. (As Provided).
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Begutachtung	Peer reviewed
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2026/1/03