From Educational Technology to Academic Engagement: A Mixed-Methods Study of Perceived English Language Learning Outcomes in Southern Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

The role of educational technology in campus learning has become more and more pervasive in university learning, but educational value is also not only access to digital tools, but also the perception, use and interaction of students with them. Data from Pakistan is still relatively scarce, especially for English-language learning in public universities in towns and cities other than the metropolitan centres. This study aimed to explore the relationship between selected variables of students' attitudes towards educational technology, students' technology engagement, prior experience with technology, educational technology for learning, academic engagement and perceived educational technology for English language learning in four public universities of Southern Punjab, Pakistan, using a sequential mixed-methods approach. The quantitative phase involved 400 students from each of the universities, of whom 100 students per university were selected for the study purpose, while the other students were balanced by the number of males and females in each institutional level. The questionnaire consisted of 38 items that assessed six factors: attitudes (ATT), technology practices (PRA), technology experience (EXP), educational technology for learning (ETL), student academic engagement (SAE), and perceived English-language learning outcomes (LO). The final analysis avoided making strong latent discriminant-validity claims as the original latent specification had considerable overlap in the constructs. Multiple regression with standardized scores and non-parametric bootstrapping of indirect paths were used. All four technology-related domains were significantly and positively correlated with academic engagement, and accounted for 85.2% of the variance in engagement: ATT (beta = .304), ETL (beta = .168), EXP (beta = .233), and PRA (beta = .302). Perceived learning outcomes were strongly correlated with academic engagement (beta = .813; R2 = .661) accounting for 66.1% of the variance of perceived learning outcomes. The qualitative phase was conducted through 24 semi-structured interviews with the English language teachers, which were conducted with half of them at every university, making it a gender-balanced sample. Five convergent themes emerged in the thematic analysis: positive but conditional attitudes toward technology; greater participation and motivation; support for reading and writing; expanded listening and speaking opportunities; and the role of infrastructure, digital literacy, and teacher guidance. Based on the integrated findings, the use of educational technology is most beneficial when it is pedagogically purposeful, accessible and supported by students' active involvement. The study presents evidence on the context of Southern Punjab and highlights the issues of the cross-sectional nature of self-report data, which should not be interpreted as causal.