Exploring student emotional engagement in extreme E-service learning

Abstract

This article reports on qualitative study which explored online student emotional engagement experiences during Extreme e-Service Learning programin a higher education institution. There are very few studies providing indepthperspectives on the engagement experiences of online students, moreoverin Extreme e-Service Learning program. This research adopted a case study approach,following 27 online students over one semester. The setting for this studyinvolved undergraduate students who enrol for co-curriculum course that implementExtreme e-Service Learning in one of the public universities in Malaysia.The aim of this study was to explore student’s emotional engagement throughoutthe Extreme e-Service Learning and investigate what makes them engaged emotionally.Data was collected from participant’s reflective journal and analysedaccording to engagement rubric meanwhile open-ended question was analysedusing thematic analysis. Researcher found out that participants generally havepositive emotions throughout the learning process, and it gradually increased untilthe end of the course. Main reason of this positive emotional engagement wasdue to the role of instructors and peers, course design and personal value practicedby participants. One limitation of this study is that it is relatively small butstill its finding provide insight to instructor of Service Learning that want to shiftto online platform at the same time achieve successful and engaging learning experiences.