Mapping research in student engagement and educational technology in higher education: a systematic evidence map

• Published in: International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education Vol. 17; no. 1; pp. 1 - 30
• Main Authors: Bond, Melissa, Buntins, Katja, Bedenlier, Svenja, Zawacki-Richter, Olaf, Kerres, Michael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 22.01.2020; Springer Nature B.V; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: Computer Appl. in Social and Behavioral Sciences; Computer Science; Computers and Education; Digital mapping; Education; Educational Technology; Evidence map; Higher Education; Humanities; Information Systems Applications (incl.Internet); Law; Learner Engagement; Qualitative research; Research Methodology; Review Article; Southern Hemisphere; Statistics for Social Sciences; Student engagement; Student Experience; Student participation; Systematic review; Technology utilization; Undergraduate Students; Systematic review; Evidence map; Higher education; Educational technology; Student engagement
• ISSN: 2365-9440; 2365-9440
• DOI: 10.1186/s41239-019-0176-8

Digital technology has become a central aspect of higher education, inherently affecting all aspects of the student experience. It has also been linked to an increase in behavioural, affective and cognitive student engagement, the facilitation of which is a central concern of educators. In order to delineate the complex nexus of technology and student engagement, this article systematically maps research from 243 studies published between 2007 and 2016. Research within the corpus was predominantly undertaken within the United States and the United Kingdom, with only limited research undertaken in the Global South, and largely focused on the fields of Arts & Humanities, Education, and Natural Sciences, Mathematics & Statistics. Studies most often used quantitative methods, followed by mixed methods, with little qualitative research methods employed. Few studies provided a definition of student engagement, and less than half were guided by a theoretical framework. The courses investigated used blended learning and text-based tools (e.g. discussion forums) most often, with undergraduate students as the primary target group. Stemming from the use of educational technology, behavioural engagement was by far the most often identified dimension, followed by affective and cognitive engagement. This mapping article provides the grounds for further exploration into discipline-specific use of technology to foster student engagement.