View in EDS

Are Student Engagement Hierarchies Consistent? A Rank-Based Analysis of Online versus Offline Attendance Rates

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Are Student Engagement Hierarchies Consistent? A Rank-Based Analysis of Online versus Offline Attendance Rates
Language: English
Authors: Victor K. Y. Chan
Source: International Association for Development of the Information Society. 2025.
Availability: International Association for the Development of the Information Society. e-mail: secretariat@iadis.org; Web site: http://www.iadisportal.org
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 8
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers
Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Attendance, Online Courses, Electronic Learning, Distance Education, In Person Learning, Undergraduate Students, Foreign Countries, Class Rank, Learner Engagement, Learning Modalities
Geographic Terms: Macau
Abstract: This paper extends the work of Chan (2023) by investigating the consistency of student attendance engagement patterns between online and offline lectures, not through direct attendance rate comparison, but through the analysis of student attendance rankings. While the previous study found no significant correlation between direct attendance rates, this research explores whether a student's relative position, or rank, within their cohort remains stable across different learning modalities. Using attendance rate data for four undergraduate courses (n = 78) from Macao Polytechnic University during the 2022/2023 academic year, a suite of non-parametric statistical methods were employ. The analysis reveals no statistically significant rank correlation between online and offline attendance (Spearman's [rho] = 0.192, p > 0.05; Kendall's [tau]-b = 0.161, p > 0.05). This indicates that the hierarchy of student engagement is not stable; a student's relative attendance rank in one modality does not predict their rank in the other. However, a Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test shows a highly significant difference between the paired rates (Z = -4.631, p < 0.001), confirming that students systematically achieve higher attendance rates online. These combined findings suggest that while online learning provides a significant attendance boost, it also fundamentally reshuffles the student engagement hierarchy, with profound implications for identifying and supporting students in different learning environments. A word of caution is that this study targets attendance per se as opposed to attentiveness, which is a far broader concept yielding, for instance, deep learning and academic advancement. [For the complete proceedings, "Proceedings of the International Association for Development of the Information Society (IADIS) International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age (CELDA) (22nd, Porto, Portugal, November 1-3, 2025)," see ED677812.]
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: ED677856
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
CustomLinks:
  – Url: https://eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED677856
    Name: ERIC Full Text
    Category: fullText
    Text: Full Text from ERIC
Header DbId: eric
DbLabel: ERIC
An: ED677856
AccessLevel: 3
PubType: Conference
PubTypeId: conference
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Are Student Engagement Hierarchies Consistent? A Rank-Based Analysis of Online versus Offline Attendance Rates
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Victor+K%2E+Y%2E+Chan%22&quot;&gt;Victor K. Y. Chan&lt;/searchLink&gt;
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;SO&quot; term=&quot;%22International+Association+for+Development+of+the+Information+Society%22&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;International Association for Development of the Information Society&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/searchLink&gt;. 2025.
– Name: Avail
  Label: Availability
  Group: Avail
  Data: International Association for the Development of the Information Society. e-mail: secretariat@iadis.org; Web site: http://www.iadisportal.org
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: Y
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 8
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2025
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Speeches/Meeting Papers&lt;br /&gt;Reports - Research
– Name: Audience
  Label: Education Level
  Group: Audnce
  Data: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;EL&quot; term=&quot;%22Higher+Education%22&quot;&gt;Higher Education&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;EL&quot; term=&quot;%22Postsecondary+Education%22&quot;&gt;Postsecondary Education&lt;/searchLink&gt;
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Attendance%22&quot;&gt;Attendance&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Online+Courses%22&quot;&gt;Online Courses&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Electronic+Learning%22&quot;&gt;Electronic Learning&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Distance+Education%22&quot;&gt;Distance Education&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22In+Person+Learning%22&quot;&gt;In Person Learning&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Undergraduate+Students%22&quot;&gt;Undergraduate Students&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Foreign+Countries%22&quot;&gt;Foreign Countries&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Class+Rank%22&quot;&gt;Class Rank&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Learner+Engagement%22&quot;&gt;Learner Engagement&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Learning+Modalities%22&quot;&gt;Learning Modalities&lt;/searchLink&gt;
– Name: Subject
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Macau%22&quot;&gt;Macau&lt;/searchLink&gt;
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: This paper extends the work of Chan (2023) by investigating the consistency of student attendance engagement patterns between online and offline lectures, not through direct attendance rate comparison, but through the analysis of student attendance rankings. While the previous study found no significant correlation between direct attendance rates, this research explores whether a student&#39;s relative position, or rank, within their cohort remains stable across different learning modalities. Using attendance rate data for four undergraduate courses (n = 78) from Macao Polytechnic University during the 2022/2023 academic year, a suite of non-parametric statistical methods were employ. The analysis reveals no statistically significant rank correlation between online and offline attendance (Spearman&#39;s [rho] = 0.192, p &gt; 0.05; Kendall&#39;s [tau]-b = 0.161, p &gt; 0.05). This indicates that the hierarchy of student engagement is not stable; a student&#39;s relative attendance rank in one modality does not predict their rank in the other. However, a Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test shows a highly significant difference between the paired rates (Z = -4.631, p &lt; 0.001), confirming that students systematically achieve higher attendance rates online. These combined findings suggest that while online learning provides a significant attendance boost, it also fundamentally reshuffles the student engagement hierarchy, with profound implications for identifying and supporting students in different learning environments. A word of caution is that this study targets attendance per se as opposed to attentiveness, which is a far broader concept yielding, for instance, deep learning and academic advancement. [For the complete proceedings, &quot;Proceedings of the International Association for Development of the Information Society (IADIS) International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age (CELDA) (22nd, Porto, Portugal, November 1-3, 2025),&quot; see ED677812.]
– Name: AbstractInfo
  Label: Abstractor
  Group: Ab
  Data: As Provided
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2026
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: ED677856
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=ED677856
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 8
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Attendance
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Online Courses
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Electronic Learning
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Distance Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: In Person Learning
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Undergraduate Students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Class Rank
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Learner Engagement
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Learning Modalities
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Macau
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Are Student Engagement Hierarchies Consistent? A Rank-Based Analysis of Online versus Offline Attendance Rates
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Victor K. Y. Chan
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 01
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: International Association for Development of the Information Society
              Type: main
ResultId 1