Factors influencing college students’ learning engagement in an online learning community

The aim in this study was to identify how college students’ experience of the online learning community influences their community identification and learning engagement. We used an online survey and the participants were 568 college students in the New Oriental English School’s online learning community in China. The results indicated that three dimensions of community experience, namely, information experience, entertainment experience, and interactive experience, each exhibit significant positive associations with community identity, which, in turn contributes to students’ learning engagement. Moreover, the finding confirmed the significant mediating effect of community identity between the three dimensions of community experience and learning engagement. The results give a deeper understanding of the role of community experience in influencing students’ attitudes and behaviors in the context of an online learning community.