Factors Influencing Student Engagement in the Online Learning Environment at Asia-Pacific International University

Abstract

Student engagement is the key factor in effective active learning. However, most prior research investigators have considered the factors that influence student engagement in the classroom context. Therefore, the current study had the objective to examine the influence of online learning characteristics on students’ level of behavioral engagement at Asia-Pacific International University. The variables considered were instructor and student characteristics, course design, learner environment, and course content. The studied sample groups were 385 students at Asia-Pacific International University. Data were collected by questionnaires and the collected data were analyzed and the analysis results were presented in frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, correlation coefficients, and regression values. The result showed that instructor characteristics had the highest level of presence, followed by student characteristics, course content, course design, and learner environment. In addition, all the five online learning characteristics, namely, instructor characteristics, student characteristics, course content, learner environment, and course design, influenced the students’ level of behavioral engagement. However, only the combination of student characteristics, course content, and course design predicted the students’ level of behavioral engagement. Suggestions are provided for future research studies and for those who are interested in studying these variables.