INVESTIGATING STUDENT SATISFACTION IN ONLINE LEARNING: THE ROLE OF STUDENT INTERACTION AND ENGAGEMENT IN DISTANCE LEARNING UNIVERSITY
Abstract
This study aimed to analyze student satisfaction and engagement effect in online learning which are
influenced by student interaction. We use the concept of interaction which is divided into three types of
interactions, namely student interactions with other students, student interactions with tutors/teachers, and
student interactions with content. We conducted this research in an open and distance learning university
in Indonesia. To answer the research goals, we applied a quantitative research approach utilizing structural
equation modelling to verify our proposed hypotheses. To gain the data, we exploit an online survey
through a questionnaire and the data were being collected randomly. The population of this study was all
students in Faculty of Economics who registered in online learning at the first semester of 2018 that reach
as many as 124,041 students. We attached the questionnaires in all online classes and 4,305 of them were
completed and could be used for statistical analysis. We proposed four hypotheses and based on the result
of structural modelling, we verified that all the hypotheses were supported. The statistical analysis has found
that interaction among students, interaction between students and teacher, and interaction between students
and content have positive impact on student engagement. The results also showed that student engagement
has positive impact on student satisfaction. We discuss the practical implication and suggestion for future
research in the results and discussion section.
Keywords
Interaction, online learning, student engagement, student satisfaction
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