Online Student Engagement and Satisfaction During the Covid-19 Pandemic Situation

Abstract

Since the education is considered as a very significant factor for any nation-state the continuation of the education is also very crucial even in this global pandemic situation. The delivery method of fully online mode is increasing as a result of the global pandemic, and it has become the leading delivery method in every aspect of education. The conduct of lectures and the related practical’s, assessments, practical tests and final examinations are also having to conduct by using only this online mode. The objective of this study is to examine the most influential students’ engagement factors which impact on student satisfaction in online delivery mode. The conceptual framework was comprised with the independent variables of Students’ Performance, Level of Practising, Regular Participation in online classes and dependent variable of Online Satisfaction. The advantage of Time due to the learning online from home concept and the Students’ Skills based on technological perspectives were being tested for the mediation effect for this conceptual model. The self-administered questionnaire was used as the research instrument and quantitative approach was followed to analyse the derived hypotheses based on the research questions and the objectives. The target population for this course was 714 which was the registered number of students for this study and target sample size was 248.The primary data collection was comprised with the valid sample of 268 regular present undergraduate students in online sessions. Statistical data analysis was based on Partial Least Square Structured Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The analysis was based on the Measurement Model and Structural model. The bootstrap results revealed that all the relationships were statistically significant. The Path values and significance (where P must be less than 0.05) of the relationships were: Learner skills → Online Satisfaction (0.208,P=0.013), Participation → Performance (0.490,P=0.000), Performance → Learner skills (0.620,P=0.000), Performance → Online Satisfaction (0.332,P=0.000), Performance → Time (0.612,P=0.000), Practicing → Performance (0.382,P=0.000) and Time → Online Satisfaction (0.258,P=0.000). The values of VAF (Variance Accounted For) which are based on the strength of the mediation effects and the mediation through Skills is 28% and mediation through Time is 32%. The rule of thumb the VAF are in between (20% - 80%) and it could be characterized as a typical partial mediation. The R2 values of the Learner skills (38%), Online Satisfaction (47%), Performance (58%) and Time (38%). The future research must be conducted with a larger sample by combining other subjects and longitudinal method will follow to get more insight of the students’ achievements and find out more dimensions of students’ engagement since R2 can be improved for each variable. It is recommended that online teaching and learning must be performed by both learner and teacher with high dedication and more trustworthy way to reach the targets.