Role of computational tools and cultural values on academic engagement among university students in collaborative learning environments in China.

INTRODUCTION

Technology-supported collaborative learning environments require higher education institutions to foster students' analytical, interdisciplinary, and collaborative capabilities. Although computational tools may support analytical thinking and problem-solving, their academic value may depend on students' learning orientations and interdisciplinary problem-solving attitudes. Similarly, cultural values may shape students' participation in collaborative activities through leadership skills and individual contributions. Accordingly, this study examines two complementary pathways associated with academic engagement: the pathway from computational tools to academic engagement through interdisciplinary problem-solving attitudes, and the pathway from cultural values to academic engagement through leadership skills and unique contributions.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 502 university students in China. The proposed framework integrated technological, socio-cognitive, and collaborative dimensions of digitally supported learning. Seven hypotheses were empirically examined using primary survey data. Robust regression with heteroskedasticity-consistent standard errors was employed to account for potential heteroskedasticity, while bootstrap analysis was used to assess indirect associations under non-normal data conditions. The analysis focused on the associations among computational tools, interdisciplinary problem-solving attitudes, cultural values, leadership skills, unique contributions, and academic engagement.

RESULTS

The findings indicate that the effectiveness of computational tools was more strongly associated with students' learning orientations and interdisciplinary problem-solving attitudes than with technological exposure alone. In addition, the positive association between cultural values and academic engagement was statistically explained by leadership skills. Leadership skills showed a stronger positive association with academic engagement than unique contributions, emphasizing the importance of role-based coordination and collaborative leadership in digitally supported learning environments.

DISCUSSION: The findings suggest that academic engagement in technology-supported collaborative learning environments is associated with the interaction of cognitive readiness and socio-collaborative participation. Computational tools appear to be more meaningful when embedded within learning processes that strengthen interdisciplinary problem-solving attitudes, while culturally grounded participation may be associated with engagement through students' leadership capabilities. These findings highlight the importance of integrating technological competencies with socio-collaborative capabilities when designing higher education learning environments. Given the cross-sectional design, the reported relationships should be interpreted as statistical associations rather than causal effects.