Investigation of the antecedents and consequence of online learner engagement in distance education during the pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected the entire world population in the past few years, has caused education and training to be conducted remotely in our country. Distance education has gained even more importance in terms of the role it plays in the pandemic process. For this reason, research that will contribute to the more efficient distance education during and after the pandemic has gained importance. The aim of this research is to examine the antecedents and consequence of online learner engagement during the pandemic. More specifically, it is aimed to investigate the serial multiple mediation roles of student-instructor interaction and online student engagement in the relationship between students' digital literacy and satisfaction with online education in online learning environments during the pandemic period. Digital literacy was included as the independent variable, online student satisfaction as the dependent variable, and online student-instructor interaction and online student engagement as mediator variables. Digital literacy scale, online student-instructor interaction scale, online student engagement scale and online student satisfaction scale were used in this research using a relational research model. 418 associate and undergraduate students studying at a state university and attending online courses offered during the pandemic period participated in the research. According to the first finding of the study; The mediating roles of online student-instructor interaction and student engagement in the relationship between digital literacy and student satisfaction are significant. Digital literacy significantly predicts online student satisfaction, which is the dependent variable, and online student-instructor interaction and online student engagement as mediating variables. Online student-faculty interaction significantly predicts both student engagement and satisfaction. Similarly, student engagement also significantly predicts student satisfaction. When the single and multiple mediation of mediator variables are examined; The singular mediation of both online student-faculty interaction and student engagement is significant. When the singular and multiple mediation of the mediator variables were compared, the findings showed that the single mediation of online student engagement was stronger than the single mediation of online student-faculty-teacher interaction and the serial multiple mediation of these two variables. The results of the research were explained by discussing with the relevant literature and suggestions were made for future research and applications.