Exploring the determinants on continuance participation of college students toward blended learning: the stimulating role of course characteristics and instructor support

BackgroundBlended learning (BL) has become an important learning method in the high education with the rapid advancement of “Internet + Education,” however, college students face notable challenges, such as high dropout rates, low participation and low persistence, which largely reduce the learning...

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Main Authors: Maoyan She, Yiyang Xu, Zhigang Li, Die Hu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-04-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1522810/full
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author Maoyan She
Yiyang Xu
Zhigang Li
Die Hu
author_facet Maoyan She
Yiyang Xu
Zhigang Li
Die Hu
author_sort Maoyan She
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundBlended learning (BL) has become an important learning method in the high education with the rapid advancement of “Internet + Education,” however, college students face notable challenges, such as high dropout rates, low participation and low persistence, which largely reduce the learning effect of BL. Therefore, it is necessary to deeply analyze the question: “What factors will influence college students’ continuance behavior in blended learning (CBBL)?”MethodsBased on the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) framework and social cognitive theory, this study constructs an integrated model of “Contextual facilitators–Individual characteristics–Continuance behavior,” to examine the relationships among the blended course characteristics (BCC), instructor support (IST), individual attributes, such as learning motivation (LM), self-efficacy (SEF) and learning engagement (LET), and college students’ CBBL. Colleting 466 College students who participated in BL through Chinese university MOOCs, the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was used to test the proposed hypotheses.ResultsThe empirical results indicating that, (1) this integrated model explains 62.85% of the variance in college students’ CBBL, and LM, SEF, and LET emerge as the key determinants influencing college students’ CBBL. (2) BCC positively affects LM and LET but has no significant on SEF, and it promotes college students’ CBBL through LM and LET rather than SEF. (3) ITS exerts a significant influence on LM, SEF, and LET, with the most pronounced impact on LET. Moreover, ITS significantly facilitates college students’ CBBL via LM, SEF, and LET.Originality/valueThis study theoretically contributes to literature on BL and extends the application scope of SOR framework. Also, it reveals the antecedents of college students’ CBBL in the BL environment, which is crucial for guiding their continuance learning and promoting the sustainable development of BL education.
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spelling doaj-art-786a4f27bc7040d6afee2dfd419219472025-08-20T02:09:29ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782025-04-011610.3389/fpsyg.2025.15228101522810Exploring the determinants on continuance participation of college students toward blended learning: the stimulating role of course characteristics and instructor supportMaoyan She0Yiyang Xu1Zhigang Li2Die Hu3College of Management Science, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, Sichuan, ChinaCollege of Management Science, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, Sichuan, ChinaCollege of Management Science, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, Sichuan, ChinaBusiness School of Sichuan University, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, ChinaBackgroundBlended learning (BL) has become an important learning method in the high education with the rapid advancement of “Internet + Education,” however, college students face notable challenges, such as high dropout rates, low participation and low persistence, which largely reduce the learning effect of BL. Therefore, it is necessary to deeply analyze the question: “What factors will influence college students’ continuance behavior in blended learning (CBBL)?”MethodsBased on the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) framework and social cognitive theory, this study constructs an integrated model of “Contextual facilitators–Individual characteristics–Continuance behavior,” to examine the relationships among the blended course characteristics (BCC), instructor support (IST), individual attributes, such as learning motivation (LM), self-efficacy (SEF) and learning engagement (LET), and college students’ CBBL. Colleting 466 College students who participated in BL through Chinese university MOOCs, the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was used to test the proposed hypotheses.ResultsThe empirical results indicating that, (1) this integrated model explains 62.85% of the variance in college students’ CBBL, and LM, SEF, and LET emerge as the key determinants influencing college students’ CBBL. (2) BCC positively affects LM and LET but has no significant on SEF, and it promotes college students’ CBBL through LM and LET rather than SEF. (3) ITS exerts a significant influence on LM, SEF, and LET, with the most pronounced impact on LET. Moreover, ITS significantly facilitates college students’ CBBL via LM, SEF, and LET.Originality/valueThis study theoretically contributes to literature on BL and extends the application scope of SOR framework. Also, it reveals the antecedents of college students’ CBBL in the BL environment, which is crucial for guiding their continuance learning and promoting the sustainable development of BL education.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1522810/fullcourse characteristicsinstructor supportcontinuance behavior of blended learningSOR frameworkcollege students
spellingShingle Maoyan She
Yiyang Xu
Zhigang Li
Die Hu
Exploring the determinants on continuance participation of college students toward blended learning: the stimulating role of course characteristics and instructor support
Frontiers in Psychology
course characteristics
instructor support
continuance behavior of blended learning
SOR framework
college students
title Exploring the determinants on continuance participation of college students toward blended learning: the stimulating role of course characteristics and instructor support
title_full Exploring the determinants on continuance participation of college students toward blended learning: the stimulating role of course characteristics and instructor support
title_fullStr Exploring the determinants on continuance participation of college students toward blended learning: the stimulating role of course characteristics and instructor support
title_full_unstemmed Exploring the determinants on continuance participation of college students toward blended learning: the stimulating role of course characteristics and instructor support
title_short Exploring the determinants on continuance participation of college students toward blended learning: the stimulating role of course characteristics and instructor support
title_sort exploring the determinants on continuance participation of college students toward blended learning the stimulating role of course characteristics and instructor support
topic course characteristics
instructor support
continuance behavior of blended learning
SOR framework
college students
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1522810/full
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