Analysing the impact of student engagement on learning outcomes in e-learning platforms: a systematic review of literature

Abstract

This paper explores the impact of student engagement on learning outcomes in E-learning platforms. It seeks to provide practical insights for educators and institutions as they navigate the digital education landscape. This systematic literature review adhered to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, utilising its methodology to identify and select the most relevant literature, resulting in the inclusion of 54 papers for review. Also, this analysis identified a notable gap in research related to the relationship between student engagement and learning outcomes in Sri Lanka. Prior studies, mostly conducted in European countries, might not be directly applicable to the Sri Lankan context due to differing infrastructure and unique student behaviours and learning expectations. The distinctiveness in Sri Lanka's infrastructure and students' learning attitudes makes the direct application of these findings from European studies challenging. Additionally, none of the existing studies in this area have utilised the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, which is a valuable tool for assessing student engagement in E-learning platforms. Also, as found in the literature, Information Technology (IT) students tend to possess higher technical expertise compared to students from other disciplines. Therefore, when conducting research in the context of Information Technology students, it is not a critical influencing factor to consider. This systematic review aims to bring together the existing literature and identify research gaps for context-specific investigations. By addressing these gaps and incorporating a Sri Lankan perspective, future researchers can further explore this context to make decisions in the field of digital education and contribute to the improvement of E-learning experiences in Sri Lanka.