THE MEDIATING ROLE OF SOCIAL PRESENCE IN PSYCHOSOCIAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL PREDICTORS OF ONLINE STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

Abstract

Within the context of the digital transformation in higher education, practical hands-on courses frequently witness low student participation.The psychosocial processes of online student involvement in mechanical engineering remain under-investigated.This research, with social presence (SP) serving as a mediating factor, explores how online learning self-efficacy (OLSE) and teacher emotional support (TES) influence online student engagement (OSE) among mechanical engineering students in Guangdong, China.507 valid survey forms were gathered from 25 establishments in 14 urban areas through stratified cluster sampling.Data were examined through structural equation modeling and 5,000-resample bootstrap mediation analyses.The model for measurement showed outstanding reliability and validity.SP, OLSE, and TES all had notable direct positive impacts on OSE (all p < 0.001), and OLSE and TES also significantly forecasted SP.The model accounted for 37.0% of the OSE variance and 34.9% of the SP variance.Bootstrap analysis indicated that SP had a partial mediating effect on the associations between TES and OSE, as well as between OLSE and OSE.OLSE exerted the most significant overall influence on OSE, with TES and SP following behind.Among the dimensions of OLSE, the dimension of the CMS tool fell below the mid-point of the scale, suggesting deficits in efficacy.Theoretically, this research re-conceptualizes social presence as a transfer mechanism.In practice, it implies improving self-efficacy and emotional assistance, and integrating social presence into the design of courses.