College Students’ Academic Online Engagement, Creative Self-Efficacy, Self-Regulation and Wellbeing During the Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic forced students’ learning to shift rapidly to an exclusively online environment. This led to an increase in issues such as anxiety and stress that may have negatively impacted student wellbeing. The present study was designed to investigate college students’ creative self-efficacy, self-regulation, and online academic engagement in relation to their wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study utilized a survey method to analyze data from 461 respondents, examining the academic, psycho-social, and demographic factors associated with changes in students’ wellbeing during COVID-19. The results show that the changes in students’ wellbeing during the pandemic were significantly and positively related to their engagement in e-learning, self-regulation, and creative self-efficacy. Students’ engagement in e-learning and self-regulation was significantly changed by students’ gender and academic grade levels. Race was a significant predictor of creative self-efficacy. Engagement in e-learning and self-regulation scores were highest among English Language Learners (ELL) students. Freshman students scored the lowest in creative self-efficacy. Compared to athletic students, non-athletes reported significantly higher engagement in e-learning, self-regulation, and creative self-efficacy. Discussions and recommendations are presented based on the results.