Impact of information literacy, self-directed learning skills, and academic emotions on high school students’ online learning engagement: A structural equation modeling analysis

The adoption of online learning for adolescent students accelerated with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, few studies have investigated the mechanisms influencing adolescent students' online learning engagement systematically and comprehensively. This study applied the Presage-Process-Product (3P) model of learning to investigate the direct effects of presage factors (i.e., information literacy and self-directed learning skills) and process factors (i.e., academic emotions) on high school students' online learning engagement; and the mediating role of process factors. Data from 1993 high school students in China (49.3% males and 50.7% females) were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The result showed that students' information literacy, self-directed learning skills, and positive academic emotions positively predicted their online learning engagement. Moreover, the positive impact of self-directed learning skills on students' online learning engagement was significantly and largely enhanced through the mediation effects of positive academic emotions (β = 0.606, 95% CI = [0.544, 0.674]). Based on these results, to enhance adolescent students' online learning engagement, it is important for school administrators, teachers, and parents to improve students' information literacy, self-directed learning skills, and positive academic emotions.