Engagement in Online Learning Among Thai and German students: The role of Classmates, Instructors, and Technology across Country Contexts
Issued Date
2023-09-01
Resource Type
ISSN
24725749
eISSN
24725730
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85170553810
Journal Title
Online Learning Journal
Volume
27
Issue
3
Start Page
188
End Page
208
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Online Learning Journal Vol.27 No.3 (2023) , 188-208
Suggested Citation
Grothaus C. Engagement in Online Learning Among Thai and German students: The role of Classmates, Instructors, and Technology across Country Contexts. Online Learning Journal Vol.27 No.3 (2023) , 188-208. 208. doi:10.24059/olj.v27i3.3413 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/90064
Title
Engagement in Online Learning Among Thai and German students: The role of Classmates, Instructors, and Technology across Country Contexts
Author(s)
Author's Affiliation
Other Contributor(s)
Abstract
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, an increasing number of educators around the world have been challenged to support student engagement in online environments. However, there is a lack of research in online learning that considers the role of the country context. This study explores student engagement in online learning, comparing the experiences of 9 German and 11 Thai students with help of in-depth interviews. Findings reveal differences in affective, behavioral, and cognitive engagement across groups. Only German students referred to a lack of affective engagement due to ineffective communication with peers and lecturers, tools used, and privacy concerns. The learning environment influenced affective and cognitive engagement differently. German students felt exhausted because of increased self-study time and lack of guidance. Thai students spent more time studying via videoconferences due to institutional policies. They highlighted a lack of focus due to distraction by digital technologies as well as family members, which they associated with Thai cultural norms to spend time with family. Behavioral engagement, particularly verbal participation during videoconferences, was negatively affected among Thai students. They worried about the effect voicing behavior could have on classmates’ feelings, which they attributed to cultural values of being considerate and the need for social harmony. These and other findings are discussed considering the possible role of national, local, and cybercultures as well as institutional contexts.