The roles of academic engagement and digital readiness in students’ achievements in university e-learning environments

Abstract

University students, who are assumed to be digital natives, are exposed to campus e-learning environments to improve their academic performance at the beginning of their academic careers. However, previous studies of students' perceptions of elearning demonstrate a lack of consistent results with respect to the prediction of their academic achievement. The goal of this study was to examine university students' perceptions of e-learning, based on their experiences, and the mediating roles of academic engagement and digital readiness within the university context of an e-learning environment for academic achievement. A total of 614 undergraduate students enrolled in a Korean university participated in this study. Using a partial least squares model to develop the theory, we examined students engaging in university e-learning environments in relation to their perceptions of e-learning, digital readiness, academic engagement, and academic achievement (i.e., grade point average). The results are significant for the importance of students' academic engagement and digital readiness as mediators in their perceptions of e-learning predicted by academic achievement. Although students positively perceived elearning experiences on campus, they must have strong digital skills to perform academic work and commit to effortful involvement in the context of academic learning in university e-learning environments. Our results provide practical implications for ways to enhance effective adoption of e-learning environments by college students, educators, and administrators.

Digital readiness and its effects on higher education students’ socio-emotional perceptions in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

“…In addition to technical equipment, students' previous experiences and common media usage behavior (O'Brien & Verma, 2019;Zawacki-Richter et al, 2015), or their skills for the use of digital (communication) media (Hong & Kim, 2018) might impact students' experience of and engagement in digital learning (Kim et al, 2019). Of importance are aspects of digital (in)equality with respect to the availability of technology and the skills needed for its effective use; as are, for example, spaces that offer an appropriate learning atmosphere (Beaunoyer et al, 2020;Li & Lalani, 2020;Tam & El-Azar, 2020).…”

Digital readiness and its effects on higher education students’ socio-emotional perceptions in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

“…In addition to technical equipment, students' previous experiences and common media usage behavior (Brandtzaeg, 2010;O'Brien & Verma, 2019), or their skills for the use of digital (communication) media (Hong & Kim, 2018) might impact students' experience of and engagement in digital learning (Kim et al, 2019). Of importance are aspects of digital (in)equality with respect to the availability of technology and the skills needed for its effective use; as are, for example, spaces that offer an appropriate learning atmosphere (Beaunoyer et al, 2020;Li & Lalani, 2020;Tam & El-Azar, 2020).…”

Analysis of Students’ E-Learning Capabilities on Academic Engagement at Umma University in Kenya

“…Various studies have researched on the effect of Elearning on academic performance in Kenya (Owino, 2013) in India (Suresh, Vishnu Priya, & Gayathri, 2018), student engagement through digital readiness in China (Kim, Hong & Song, 2019). None of the reviewed literature has researched on the influence of Students' E-learning Capabilities on Academic Engagement; hence this study filled the knowledge and research gap on the topic.…”