Assistive Technologies and Academic Engagement: Evidence from Mainstream Inclusive Schools

Developing adequate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) academic writing skills is of paramount importance for students’ success in higher education in Oman. The traditional teaching approaches adopted in writing courses often lead to students’ disengagement, however. Although several studies have examined students and teachers’ perceptions of flipped instruction in various EFL courses, no study has examined the impact of flipping on students’ engagement in writing courses. This practice-based research project, where the instructor was the researcher, explored the impact of flipped teaching on 57 General Foundation Program (GFP) EFL learners’ behavioural, cognitive, emotional and agentic engagement in academic writing in a higher education institution in Oman, and the variations that exist in students’ engagement according to gender, age, English language proficiency and technology skills. The study adopted a mixed-methods design and used a student engagement questionnaire, focus group interviews and participant observations to collect data. Descriptive and inferential statistics and deductive and inductive analytical procedures were used to analyse the quantitative and qualitative data respectively. The study presents new practicable knowledge about the implementation and implications of flipped instruction for Omani EFL students’ engagement in academic writing at the GFP level. It proposes flipping as an instructional approach which helps to address GFP students’ lack of 4 behavioural, cognitive, emotional and agentic engagement in writing courses in the Omani context. Behaviourally, students in the flipped classroom experience increased effort, improved concentration levels, persistence, communication and collaboration, and amelioration in their attitude to class attendance. It is reasonable to conclude that learners undergo cognitive growth and develop self-regulatory strategies and meta-cognitive awareness. At the level of emotional engagement, learners initially experience negative emotions such as anger and frustration, and then more positive emotions such as contentment and increased interest in the subject as they adapt to the flipped teaching-learning model. Flipping also seems to influence students’ autonomy and ability to ask questions and express opinions. It appears, however, that this approach does not influence students’ capacity to contribute to their own learning resources and activities. This study makes a valuable contribution to knowledge about students’ engagement in EFL writing courses. It revealed that a strong positive correlation exists between students’ behavioural, cognitive and emotional engagement, and that a positive correlation exists between students’ technology skills and linguistic proficiency and several aspects of their engagement. The study demonstrated, however, that no correlation exists between gender and age and students’ engagement in the flipped classroom. Furthermore, this practice-based research indicated that although flipped instruction helps to address the problem of students’ disengagement in writing courses in our context, factors such as students’ linguistic proficiency and technology skills should be taken into consideration before implementing this instructional approach in the current setting.

Teacher-student relationships (TSRs) are positively related to students’ academic engagement across different countries. However, the mediation mechanism between TSRs and academic engagement remains unclear, and research is needed to completely understand this association. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the association between TSRs and academic engagement and the mediating role of basic psychological needs satisfaction. A sample of 494 primary school students in China completed self-reported questionnaires on TSRs, basic psychological needs satisfaction, and academic engagement. The results showed that TSRs were positively associated with academic engagement (behavioural, emotional, and cognitive engagement). Moreover, the satisfaction of the need for autonomy was a mediator between TSRs and emotional and cognitive engagement, but not behavioural engagement; TSRs were related to the students’ three subdimensions of engagement through the need for relatedness; the need for competence was a mediator only between TSRs and behavioural engagement, but not emotional and cognitive engagement. These results help uncover the mechanisms behind the role of TSRs on academic engagement.

With the expansion of industrialisation and rapid development of economy in China, migration of the rural population to the urban areas in seek of employment has resulted in changes in the family structure and increased number of left-behind children (LBC) in China. Numerous studies on LBC have concluded the critical issues among the children related to their overall well- being and their performance at school. The current study aimed to investigate the impact of emotional, cognitive and behavioural engagement of the LBC on the academic achievement of the left behind children. Quantitative research method was used and the sample were 186 left- behind children in Henan Province, China. To measure school engagement, the instrument developed by Finlay (2006) was used. Correlation and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between the various predictors and academic achievement. The findings concluded that emotional, cognitive and behavioural engagement of the LBC at school were significantly correlated with academic achievement. The hierarchical regression findings concluded that emotional engagement (β= .268; t= 3.593, p<0.000, cognitive engagement (β= .245; t= 3.284, p<0.000 and care takers (β= .132; t= 2.009, p<0.05) were significant predictors of academic achievement of the LBC.

The COVID-19 pandemic had forced medical students to study at home, transitioning to an emergency remote learning mode of instruction. Its impact on students was unknown and likely to be of concern. Therefore, this study assessed cognitive, emotional and behavioural engagements of medical students during emergency remote learning, and examined its associations with regard to their age, gender, stages of study and ethnic groups. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to undergraduate medical students at one public medical school in Malaysia. Emergency remote learning was conducted via Microsoft Teams (synchronous) and web resources (asynchronous). The questionnaire consisted of four sections: demographic background, emotional, behavioural, and cognitive engagements with emergency remote learning. Three hundred twenty-nine students (n = 329) completed the questionnaire. The three engagement dimension scores were 3.36/4.00 (behaviour – act), 3.16 (cognition – think) and 3.07 (emotion – feel), respectively. There was a significant difference between the engagement dimension scores (paired data), implying that what students feel, think and act on emergency remote learning did not seem to align. Next, engagements of these students were not significantly associated with their age, stages of study, and ethnic groups, but male students had higher dimension mean scores for cognitive and emotional engagements. Emergency remote learning had a considerable impact on student engagements. The study calls for continuing efforts in improving effectiveness and equity in learning engagements among medical students in the post-pandemic era.

Introduction This study applies Reeve’s four-dimensional student engagement framework to a medical education context to elucidate the relationship between behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and agentic engagement and learning outcomes. Meanwhile, we categorize learning outcomes in knowledge and skills, and added taxonomies to the cognitive education objectives for the knowledge part, including memorization, comprehension, and application. Methods We used the China Medical Student Survey to investigate student engagement, and combined it with the Clinical Medicine Proficiency Test for Medical Schools results as a standardized measurement of learning outcomes. We performed multivariate regression analyses to delve into the effectiveness of different types of student engagement. Moreover, we evaluated the moderating roles of gender and the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE) within the relationships between student engagement and learning outcomes. Results We observed that emotional engagement is most effective in promoting learning outcomes in basic medical knowledge and basic clinical skills. Emotional engagement and cognitive engagement could effectively contribute to learning outcomes in all three aspects of basic medical knowledge. In contrast, behavioral and agentic engagement showed negative effects on learning outcomes. Besides, we found that the results of the NCEE played a positive moderating role. Conclusion This study provides robust evidence for the effectiveness of emotional engagement and cognitive engagement in promoting learning outcomes. Whereas behavioral and agentic engagement may not be good predictors of learning outcomes in macro-level general competence tests. We suggest a combined effort by students and institutions to promote student engagement and bridge the distance between general competency tests and daily learning activities.

This study investigates how millennials respond to digital content marketing in the tourism industry. The measurement is based on the respondent's emotional and cognitive engagement with the presented content. People generally use social media for tourism purposes, and it quickly changes customer behavior when traveling in the digital era. Traditional content marketing has now turned into digital content marketing. The more people view digital content, the more it affects customer engagement. It is critical to investigate how social media marketing can promote destinations in Indonesia, particularly as the country attempts to improve its tourism industry, which is currently suffering significant losses due to the pandemic. Digital content marketing on social media often facilitates customer engagement, but none of these trends has been thoroughly studied. There is a need for recommendations for tourism organizations. Also, customer engagement is widely discussed in education, psychology, and work, but it is still rare to find a more detailed discussion in the marketing field. This study conducted a pre-experimental survey with 132 respondents and applied Structural Equation Modelling to test the extent of customer engagement. The results show that digital content marketing has the most substantial influence on emotional engagement, and cognitive engagement has the most influence on planning trip behaviors. This study can contribute to digital content marketing concepts, consumer engagement, and tourism-related literature.

<sec> <title>BACKGROUND</title> Medical graduate education increasingly uses blended and online delivery, although students' academic self-regulation may be shaped by different motivational and cognitive processes across learning contexts, with emotional factors potentially playing a complementary role. Understanding how these mechanisms operate and whether their structural relationships differ between online/blended and face-to-face formats can inform targeted educational supports. </sec> <sec> <title>OBJECTIVE</title> The present investigation developed and tested a comparative causal model of academic self-regulation among medical graduate students in online/blended versus face-to-face programs. We examined how key motivational constructs (eg, academic self-efficacy, task value, future orientation, perfectionism, and academic help-seeking), positive achievement emotions, and cognitive factors (cognitive academic engagement and need for closure) relate to academic self-regulation, and whether these relationships differ by learning context. </sec> <sec> <title>METHODS</title> The design was cross-sectional, comparative causal modeling. Participants were master’s-level students at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences enrolled in either face-to-face (population n=1554; sample n=310) or blended/online (population n=449; sample n=205) programs selected using cluster sampling. Data were collected using validated instruments measuring academic self-regulation (Bouffard scale), academic self-efficacy (Midgley et al), academic engagement (Schaufeli &amp; Bakker), multidimensional perfectionism (Frost), academic help-seeking (Ryan &amp; Pintrich), task value (Pintrich), future orientation (Seginer), need for closure (DeBacker &amp; Crowson), and achievement emotions (AEQ; Pekrun et al). Data were analyzed using path analysis/structural equation modeling. Model fit was evaluated using χ²/df, CFI, GFI, AGFI, and RMSEA. Direct, indirect, and total effects were estimated for each group, and comparative interpretation focused on effect patterns and explained variance. </sec> <sec> <title>RESULTS</title> The hypothesized causal model reached an acceptable fit in both face-to-face and blended/online groups (χ²/df approximately &lt;3; CFI/GFI/AGFI in the acceptable range; RMSEA approximately 0.02–0.05). In both groups, most of the specified direct effects reached statistical significance, while the indirect effects of exogenous variables on academic self-regulation through intermediate constructs were supported overall. Cognitive academic engagement and academic self-efficacy were important proximal predictors of academic self-regulation. The need for closure had a negative direct effect with regard to academic self-regulation. However, a previously specified direct effect from need for closure to self-regulated learning strategies could not be retained in the final revised model. In both cohorts, the indirect pathway from positive achievement emotions to academic self-regulation via cognitive engagement was not supported, indicating that positive emotions alone were insufficient to increase self-regulation through cognitive engagement. The model explained a substantial proportion of variance in academic self-regulation in both groups—being approximately 0.44 in face-to-face and 0.46 in blended/online students—indicating comparable overall explanatory power across learning contexts. </sec> <sec> <title>CONCLUSIONS</title> A comparative causal model integrating motivational, emotional, and cognitive pathways provided an adequate explanation of academic self-regulation among medical graduate students in both face-to-face and blended/online formats. Findings highlight the central role of cognitive engagement and academic self-efficacy as proximal levers for supporting self-regulation across contexts. The lack of a supported indirect effect from positive emotions to self-regulation via cognitive engagement suggests that emotional experiences may not be enough unless they are accompanied by cognitively engaged learning behaviors. Considering motivational and cognitive mechanisms that together shape self-regulation within different delivery modes, educational interventions in medical graduate programs should focus on strengthening self-efficacy beliefs and cognitively engaged learning practices. </sec>

Boarding school students must participate in online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Student engagement is an important aspect that must be considered in online learning. This study aims to determine: (1) the level of student engagement of boarding school students, (2) to investigate the effect of simultaneous behavioral engagement, emotional engagement, and cognitive engagement on learning achievement, and (3) to determine the relationship between behavioral, emotional and cognitive engagement with learning achievement, (4) to measure the relative and effective contribution of behavioral, emotional and cognitive engagement on learning achievement. This research is quantitative research with an ex post facto type. 182 boarding school students participated in this study. The data collection instrument used is the engagement scale from Fredricks &amp; McCloskey. Data processing using descriptive and inferential statistics. The inferential test used is multiple linear regression and Pearson correlation. This study’s results indicate a significant influence between behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement on the learning achievement. The influence of these three variables on learning achievement is 46.7%. While the results of the correlation test showed that there is a significant relationship between the variables of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement in learning achievement.

School engagement predicts academic achievement and attainment, yet remains under‐theorized in the sociological literature. While psychologists describe three distinct yet mutually reinforcing categories of school engagement (behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement), sociologists have largely neglected to analyze cognitive engagement. Drawing on ethnographic observations and interviews with members of two debate teams in Chicago Public Schools, I demonstrate that behavioral engagement in the form of debate team participation helped foster debaters' cognitive and emotional engagement in school. Through the activity, debaters developed strong relationships with peers and their adult coaches, and strengthened their appreciation for challenging aspects of the learning process. Although many debaters felt that the learning environment of the debate context was more stimulating than the learning environments of their classes, they nevertheless applied the skills and attitudes they acquired in the activity to the “core” curriculum of the school. These factors help explain why debaters have been shown to outperform comparable peers in terms of academic achievement and attainment. These findings suggest that cognitive engagement is one mechanism driving the positive impact of certain extracurricular activities on students' school performance.

The present study aimed to examine whether and to what extent university student online learning performance was influenced by individual-technology fit (ITF), task-technology fit (TTF), environment-technology fit (ETF), and whether the influence was mediated by their behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement. A theoretical research model was developed by integrating the extended TTF theory and student engagement framework. The validity of the model was assessed using a partial least squares structural equation modeling approach based on data collected from 810 university students. Student learning performance was influenced by TTF (β = 0.25, p < 0.001), behavioral engagement (β = 0.25, p < 0.001), and emotional engagement (β = 0.27, p < 0.001). Behavioral engagement was affected by TTF (β = 0.31, p < 0.001) and ITF (β = 0.41, p < 0.001). TTF, ITF, and ETF were observed as significant antecedents of emotional engagement (β = 0.49, p < 0.001; β = 0.19, p < 0.001; β = 0.12, p = 0.001, respectively) and cognitive engagement (β = 0.28, p < 0.001; β = 0.34, p < 0.001; β = 0.16, p < 0.001, respectively). Behavioral and emotional engagement served as mediators between fit variables and learning performance. We suggest the need for an extension to the TTF theory by introducing ITF and ETF dimensions and demonstrate the important role of these fit variables in facilitating student engagement and learning performance. Online education practitioners should carefully consider the fit between the individual, task, environment, and technology to facilitate student learning outcomes.

Do VR and AR versions of an immersive cultural experience engender different user experiences?

The increasing integration of digital technologies into educational environments has transformed students’ learning experiences, communication patterns, and academic routines. While digital tools enhance accessibility, collaboration, and flexibility, excessive and unregulated usage often contributes to distraction, cognitive overload, and emotional stress. This study presents a qualitative analysis based exclusively on secondary data to examine how digital well-being practices shape students’ academic engagement. Drawing upon peer-reviewed journal articles, scholarly books, and policy reports the research applies thematic analysis to synthesize existing literature on digital self-regulation, mindful technology use, and student engagement frameworks. The findings reveal that students adopt various digital well-being practices, including intentional screen-time management, structured digital routines, boundary-setting between academic and personal spaces, mindful social media use, and strategic utilization of academic productivity tools. These practices positively influence behavioural engagement by enhancing task persistence and participation; emotional engagement by reducing stress, anxiety, and digital fatigue; and cognitive engagement by supporting deep learning and metacognitive regulation. The analysis further highlights the significant role of institutional factors such as digital literacy initiatives, balanced pedagogical design, and mental health support systems in fostering sustainable digital habits. Overall, the study demonstrates that digital well-being functions as a mediating construct between technology use and academic engagement. The findings emphasize the importance of promoting reflective and structured digital practices within higher education to ensure that technology serves as an enabler of meaningful and sustained academic engagement.

Research question The competitive landscape facing branded running events demands insights into how to increase brand loyalty amongst participants. This study examines how participants need to engage with branded running events to stimulate brand loyalty; and how the social environment (i.e. the presence of other unacquainted participants), encourages participants to engage more with the event brand. Research methods Data, collected via personally administrated survey, from 246 participants of the closing event of ‘Cairo Runners' were analysed by means of Partial Least Squares Structural Equations Modelling. Results and findings Self-brand identification is enhanced by cognitive, behavioural and emotional engagement with the event brand. To encourage Word-of-Mouth requires emotionally and socially engaged participants. As a social stimulus, perceived similarity with other unacquainted participants acts as a major driver of social, behavioural and cognitive engagement. Positive perception of other participants’ physical appearance stimulates cognitive and emotional engagement but hinders social engagement. Suitable behaviour of other participants encourages social engagement. Implications Theoretically, this is the first study on participatory sport events including the full spectrum of participant engagement with an event brand; highlighting the unique role the different ways of engagement play in stimulating aspects of brand loyalty. The findings quantify the largely overlooked stimulus effect created by the sheer presence of unacquainted participants on participant engagement. We highlight the central role of perceived similarity amongst participants as a driver of participant engagement. Event organisers are encouraged to identify alternative criteria that resonate with participants to create a sense of similarity amongst participants.

Enhancing student engagement in online collaborative writing through a generative AI-based conversational agent

This research paper says about how people with physical disabilities feel and think when they use assistive technology, like wheelchairs or talking devices, to help them in daily life. It shows that using these tools can make people feel more independent and confident, helping them take part in family, school, and work activities. But sometimes, people may feel shy or worried about what others think when using these devices. The paper explains how important it is for society to accept and support people who use assistive technology so they feel comfortable and happy. It also suggests designing these tools in a way that helps people feel good about themselves and making sure everyone understands how helpful these devices are. Helping users feel accepted and supported can make a big difference in their lives. this study examines the social acceptance and psychological impact of assistive technology on physically challenged individuals. Assistive technologies (AT) have the potential to significantly enhance the quality of life by promoting independence, inclusivity, and participation in educational and social activities. However, issues such as social stigma, inadequate training, and mismatches between user needs and device functionality affect their acceptance and use. Social perceptions and emotional experiences play crucial roles in the adoption of AT, with users often facing stigma and embarrassment. Yet, AT can also transform users' psychological experiences by fostering academic and social engagement. Understanding these dynamics requires a user-centered design approach that addresses individual and societal challenges, aiming to reduce stigma and enhance the overall efficiency and acceptance of assistive technologies. Future research and innovation should focus on creating devices that cater to the diverse needs of users while promoting social inclusion and reducing psychological barriers.