Student Engagement in the HyFlex and Online Classrooms: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic

Student engagement is determined by the degree to which students perceive that their psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are met as prescribed. The COVID-19 pandemic, with its sudden and dramatic shift to mandatory HyFlex (alternating online and face-to-face student attendance) or online learning only, meant less or no face-to-face interactions with peers and faculty, which had an impact on student motivation and engagement in the classroom, as reflected in the National Survey of Student Engagement. This new educational landscape will likely remain in effect to a certain extent, and, thus, there is a need for a deeper understanding of its impact on students’ basic psychological needs and ultimately their engagement in the classroom. Building on self-determination theory and self-system processes, we studied 329 student responses to a survey conducted at a private Northeastern university in the United States and analyzed. We found that the impact of need for autonomy on student engagement is mediated by need for competence, and need for relatedness is directly impacting student engagement. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed in detail.