The influences of lecturer charismatic leadership and technology use on student online engagement, learning performance, and satisfaction

Abstract

Previous research has indicated that the quantity and quality of lecturer-student interaction may enhance student engagement in online lessons, and that student engagement may promote student learning and satisfaction. However, the effectiveness of such interaction may depend upon the lecturer's leadership characteristics and technology use. Thus, the purpose of this study is to identify lecturers' charismatic leadership and technological use that enable student engagement, and ultimately, student learning and satisfaction. An online survey was used to obtain data from 659 higher education students in the United States, which were analyzed using covariance-based structural equation modeling. Lecturer charismatic leadership and technology use are each significantly related to student engagement, which predicts students' learning performance and satisfaction. Further, it was found that in the lower self-efficacy student group, lecturer charismatic leadership and technology use significantly improves students' behavioral engagement. The findings of this research emphasize the importance of lecturer and learner characteristics for effective interaction and outcomes in online lessons.