key: cord-0819206-ulelyy25
authors: Salas‐Pilco, Sdenka Zobeida; Yang, Yuqin; Zhang, Zhe
title: Student engagement in online learning in Latin American higher education during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A systematic review
date: 2022-02-15
journal: Br J Educ Technol
DOI: 10.1111/bjet.13190
sha: 6eaa4c19ce6bf6d85934b35f0806f02bd6f478cf
doc_id: 819206
cord_uid: ulelyy25

The COVID‐19 pandemic has forced higher education institutions to implement online learning activities based on virtual platforms, allowing little time to prepare and train faculty members to familiarize students with digital technologies. While previous studies have looked at how students engaged with digital technologies in their learning activities, the characteristics of the student engagement in online learning remain underexplored. Therefore, a systematic review of the literature on student engagement in online learning in higher education is much needed. This article synthesizes the findings on student engagement in Latin American higher education institutions during the COVID‐19 pandemic. After reviewing the studies on online learning activities, this review examines student engagement from behavioural, cognitive and affective dimensions and identifies the main characteristics of student engagement from these tripartite dimensions. The implications of the findings for online learning in Latin American higher education are as follows: (a) to transform higher education, (b) to provide adequate professional training, (c) to improve Internet connectivity, (d) to ensure quality online learning in higher education and (e) to provide emotional support. These findings will provide valuable guidance for teachers, educational authorities and policy makers and help them make informed decisions to use effective strategies to support online learning in higher education institutions. PRACTITIONER NOTES: What is already known about this topic The COVID‐19 pandemic has disrupted the normal operation of higher education institutions across Latin America, impelling a shift from face‐to‐face instruction to online teaching and learning. Research on online learning in Latin American higher education has been conducted, but the findings and their implications are yet to be widely disseminated among researchers, practitioners and decision‐makers. What this paper adds Providing a systematic review of research on student engagement in online learning in Latin American higher education institutions. Analyzing the construct of student engagement in online learning from tripartite dimensions—behavioral, cognitive and affective—in the Latin American higher education context. Identifying the characteristics associated to each dimension of student engagement in online learning. Implications for practice and/or policy The need to transform the higher education system in Latin America and beyond, at two levels: to improve Internet connectivity at the technological level and to ensure the quality of online education at the pedagogical level. The urgency to offer an adequate professional training regarding the use of new technologies in online learning environments. The significance for higher education institutions to provide emotional support for students during the COVID‐10 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced higher education institutions to implement online learning activi- 

Over the past few decades, there has been a steady increase in the use of online learning strategies in higher education. Studies, in general, have revealed that online learning seems to offer more benefits to students compared to face-to-face instruction on parameters such as learning gains, satisfaction, learning styles and study habits (Farrell & Brunton, 2020; Paulsen & McCormick, 2020) , in spite of challenges in the delivery of online instruction and provision of adequate infrastructure (Adedoyin & Soykan, 2020) . Online learning took center valuable guidance for teachers, educational authorities and policy makers and help them make informed decisions to use effective strategies to support online learning in higher education institutions.

affective engagement, behavioural engagement, cognitive engagement, higher education, Latin America, online learning, student engagement, systematic review

What is already known about this topic • The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the normal operation of higher education institutions across Latin America, impelling a shift from face-to-face instruction to online teaching and learning. • Research on online learning in Latin American higher education has been conducted, but the findings and their implications are yet to be widely disseminated among researchers, practitioners and decision-makers. What this paper adds • Providing a systematic review of research on student engagement in online learning in Latin American higher education institutions. • Analyzing the construct of student engagement in online learning from tripartite dimensions-behavioral, cognitive and affective-in the Latin American higher education context. • Identifying the characteristics associated to each dimension of student engagement in online learning. Implications for practice and/or policy • The need to transform the higher education system in Latin America and beyond, at two levels: to improve Internet connectivity at the technological level and to ensure the quality of online education at the pedagogical level. • The urgency to offer an adequate professional training regarding the use of new technologies in online learning environments. • The significance for higher education institutions to provide emotional support for students during the COVID-10 pandemic.

stage in 2020 during the global public health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (Cucinotta & Vanelli, 2020) as higher education institutions (HEIs) worldwide were compelled to switch to online instruction. The ministries of education in Latin American countries issued the notice to suspend traditional classroom teaching in HEIs and implement online classes (Salto, 2020) . This sudden change posed challenges to both teachers and students who were inadequately prepared for online learning because research indicates that engaging students in online learning environment is often more challenging than in traditional face-to-face courses (Gillett-Swan, 2017; Hew, 2016) . Regardless of different learning environments, student engagement has been a focus of many previous educational studies because of its correlation to learning outcomes. More engaged students are considered more likely to be academically successful (Bond et al., 2020) . Student engagement is a complex construct commonly understood as the effort that students invest in learning activities, and it is found to be shaped by several factors and the interplay of relationships inside the learning environment. Despite the importance of student engagement, the literature on student engagement in online learning is still sparse (Paulsen & McCormick, 2020) . Similarly, in Latin America, although some research has focused on student online learning experiences (Charbonneau-Gowdy, 2016; Chin-Roemer et al., 2011) , the characteristics of student engagement in online leaning remain unclear. This study intends to fill the gap in student online engagement through a systematic review of the relevant literature. We hypothesize that student engagement in online learning presents some particular characteristics in the context of the Latin American region during the COVID-19 pandemic, which will enable us to understand the teaching and learning situation of HEIs and provide some insights to improve the quality of online learning.

This article is organized as follows. First, we present the background of student engagement research considering online learning in Latin American HEIs. Next, we describe our research methodology and discuss the results. We then consider the implications of our findings for the future of higher education online learning in Latin America as well as the limitations of the study. Finally, we present the conclusions.

The research questions (RQs) are as follows:

RQ1: What are the main characteristics of student engagement-on the behavioural, cognitive and affective dimensions-in online learning in Latin American higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic? RQ2: What are the main implications for online learning in Latin American higher education?

The concept of student engagement emerged with Tyler's (1969) notion of "time on task" and Pace's (1984) focus on the quality of effort. Cognitive psychologists later enhanced the concept by regarding it as a meta-construct associated with students' academic achievement and positive behavior. Student engagement is defined as the time and energy that students purposefully dedicate to learning activities (Kuh, 2003) . Therefore, designing learning activities where students will participate and engage in authentic learning is vital. However, recognizing or measuring the engagement level presents certain challenges. Some approaches for understanding student engagement are, for example, Solomonides' (2013) relational and multidimensional model of student engagement and Willms et al.'s (2009) model that includes student social engagement, academic engagement and intellectual engagement.

These models did not receive much attention, although the dimension of social engagement can bring some insights. On the other hand, Fredricks et al. (2004) regarded student engagement as a complex and multidimensional construct that includes three distinct but interrelated dimensions, namely, the behavioural, cognitive, and affective dimensions, where each dimension has some particular characteristics.

Behavioral engagement is the most reported dimension, as it is expressed as explicit and observable behaviors. It is defined in terms of participation, interaction and collaboration, achievement, performance, skill development, and learning activity completion.

Cognitive engagement is related to students' purpose, motivation to learn, effort to understand, self-regulated learning, self-efficacy, perceived ability, critical thinking and reflection, extra effort to learn more and ability to comprehend complex ideas.

Affective engagement refers to students' attitude toward teachers, peers and courses; value for subject matter and learning circumstances; and feelings of satisfaction and well-being. Thus, affective engagement is the emotional response to the learning activities and learning environment.

Not all of the engagement dimensions are positive; some may be negative, which are referred to as "disengagement." The behavioral, cognitive and affective elements emerge from students' involvement and interaction during learning activities. There is substantial evidence that student engagement is associated with positive learning outcomes, such as good academic performance, self-regulated learning and well-being (Lin et al., 2019; Martin & Bolliger, 2018; Zhang, 2017) .

Online learning is based on relatively new methods, such as content presentation through the Internet, and it emphasizes digital communication and digital learning resources. Moreover, student engagement is traditionally associated with face-to-face classroom learning. Therefore, student engagement in online learning is a recent research area and thus requires more study (Hu & Li, 2017) . Since the pandemic outbreak in 2020, online learning has tremendously expanded in all of the educational levels. Teachers started delivering lessons using online platforms, even without previous training on online learning modalities. Teachers had to reach home-based students and continue teaching through distance learning.

Online learning offers several potential benefits, including the flexibility of time, place, and, more importantly, pace. For example, a facilitator guiding an online asynchronous discussion has the potential to develop students' critical thinking and reflection, which deepens their understanding of the content (Martin & Bolliger, 2018) . Other examples of online engagement strategies include introducing learning activities related to communication, collaboration, discovery and search for information, active listening, and activities that require the direct involvement of students (Knopf et al., 2021; Myers et al., 2014) . Understanding what drives learners to engage in online learning activities is important. Based on the engagement dimensions proposed by Fredricks et al. (2004) , student engagement in online learning can be explained as follows: a. Behavioural engagement: when online students actively participate in online learning activities. b. Cognitive engagement: when online students show motivation to learn online and demonstrate self-regulated learning. c. Emotional engagement: when online students express and manifest positive attitudes within the online learning environment.

The recent development of learning analytics offers tools for capturing and measuring students' online engagement during the learning process (Salas-Pilco & Yang, 2020) and receiving real-time feedback. For example, multimodal learning analytics capture student engagement data through internet of things (IoT) wearable technology.

Latin America, with a population of approximately 617 million, cuts across North, Central, and South America and includes 19 countries with similar cultural, linguistic and historical backgrounds, which includes Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. The region is dominated by Spanish speakers, with Brazil as the only Portuguese-speaking country. In the present century, the Latin American higher education had a big expansion of gross enrollment rate in higher education, from 23% in 2000 to 52% in 2017; although, there is still the need to improve the quality of education (Ferreyra et al., 2017) . In 2018, approximately 28 million students enrolled in Latin American HEIs, where Brazil and Mexico have the majority of higher education students, 8.7 and 4.6 million students, respectively (World Bank, 2021). The HEIs have been increasing the use of digital tools and virtual platforms not only for local students but also for distance learning students. However, the pandemic outbreak in Latin America forced HEIs to close their physical campuses and start online classes.

Higher education is often characterized by low technology integration. Studies have reported under-utilization of digital resources and marginal integration of new technologies, despite teachers' recognition of the importance of these technologies (Guillén-Gámez & Mayorga-Fernández, 2020; Salas-Pilco & Yang, 2020). For example, in a study on a Chilean university, teachers' and students' dispositions toward technologies were measured as 98% and 87%, respectively, but the teachers reported that technology usage accounted for 81% of their teaching strategy, whereas the students reported that technology usage accounted for only 63% of their learning activities (Cabero et al., 2018) . Therefore, HEIs need to support innovative teachers, and governments have to formulate educational policies to support the integration of technology into learning activities.

We conducted a systematic literature review to obtain up-to-date information on student engagement in online learning in Latin American HEIs. A systematic review is an explicit and comprehensive process for identifying and synthesizing results from previous studies to gather evidence and answer RQs (Xiao & Watson, 2019) . We follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, which were developed to improve the reporting of systematic reviews (Moher et al., 2015) ; see Figure 1 .

The search strategy comprised three phases-identification, screening, and eligibility-and was guided by the inclusion and exclusion criteria listed in Table 1 .

The following databases were searched because they cover a broad range of educational journals: Web of Science, a major research platform that provides access to leading academic literature; ScienceDirect, a database that contains a comprehensive collection of scientific and technical journals; and Scielo, the largest repository of Latin American journals, with articles in Spanish and Portuguese.

A Boolean search string was used in the initial automatic search; this technique employs keywords to select papers with high precision. This automatic search was performed in July 2021. The search terms were divided into three categories: learning environments (online learning, virtual classroom, distance learning, and remote learning), education level (higher education, university), and pandemic disease (COVID), resulting in the following search strings:

• Web of Science: ("online learning" or "virtual classroom" or "distance learning" or "remote learning") and ("higher education" or "university") and "covid". Additional filters: (a) publication year: 2020, 2021, (b) type of document: article, (c) research area: education and (d) journal: only journals related to education were used. This search returned 257 papers. • ScienceDirect: Similar Boolean string and filters were used. This search returned 106 papers. • SciELO: Two strings were used, one in Spanish and the other in Portuguese.

• In Spanish: ((aprendizaje online) or (aula virtual) or (aprendizaje a distancia) or (aprendizaje remoto)) and ((educación superior) or (universidad)) and (covid). Similar filters were used. The search returned 26 papers. • In Portuguese: ((aprendizagem online) or (sala de aula virtual) or (aprendizagem à distância) or (aprendizagem remota)) and ((ensino superior) or (universidade)) and (covid). Similar filters were applied. The search returned 14 papers. • This identification phase led to the retrieval of 403 articles from the three databases.

In this phase, the 403 articles identified in the initial phase were manually screened. First, the titles were screened to select potential articles, yielding 174 papers. Eight duplicates were then removed, after which 166 articles remained. Next, the abstracts of these selected

Published between February 2020 and June 2021 Published before February 2020

English, Spanish and Portuguese languages Not in English, Spanish and Portuguese By Latin American higher education institutions Not higher education Empirical, primary research Not empirical, primary research (eg, review)

Online learning (with a focus on student engagement) No online learning articles were screened, and articles were eliminated per the inclusion and exclusion criteria (eg, not empirical, not Latin American higher education institutions), leaving behind 58 articles ( Figure 2 ).

The full texts of the articles were then read to assess their eligibility. It was found that 35 articles were irrelevant (eg, conceptual papers, opinion pieces, content related to teachers with no mention of student engagement). Thus, the selection process finally provided 23 articles for systematic analysis. The PRISMA flowchart ( Figure 1 ) illustrates the identification, screening, and eligibility processes we used.

Data were extracted by collecting and coding the information in the 23 selected studies. The data were organized based on the title, author(s), publication year, country where the study was conducted, discipline, sample size, and the results obtained on the students' behavioural, cognitive and affective engagement ( Table 2 ). The articles were read thoroughly, highlighting the sections that described student engagement in online learning. After extracting those sections, they were read again to obtain and separately classify the parts related to each type of student engagement: behavioural, cognitive and affective. The results of this classification are shown in Table 2 . The coding categories of students' behavioural, cognitive and affective engagement emerged from a hybrid approach combining inductive and deductive processes that involved reading and re-reading of data (Fereday & Muir-Cochrane, 2006) . The categories/ characteristics emerged from an analysis of each type of student engagement and were refined through a review and re-review of the empirical data. Next, the identified categories and characteristics were combined into themes (Creswell & Poth, 2018) . The empirical data obtained from the 23 selected articles were classified by category.

Two researchers conducted the procedures and reviewed each article independently. The screening and selection of articles required one-day moderation and training to ensure reliability. The decision-making, guided by the inclusion and exclusion criteria, was straightforward. During data extraction, further moderation was required to highlight the types of student engagement and ensure that the necessary information was included. Next, the two authors coded 20 percent of the selected articles (5 out of 23 articles), and Cohen's kappa coefficient (1960) was used to measure intercoder reliability: moderate agreement = 0.60-0.79, substantial agreement = 0.80-0.90 and almost perfect agreement = 0.91-1.00 (McHugh, 2012) . Comparison of the researchers' coding results yielded a Cohen kappa coefficient of 0.78, which denotes moderate agreement. The authors then discussed the coding results, reconciled differences and completed the remaining coding. Finally, after one-day moderation and training, each type of student engagement data was coded in the next phase of data analysis. The result was an interrater reliability of 0.85, which denotes substantial agreement. The minor discrepancy was resolved by discussion, until a full agreement was reached. The themes were then presented using frequency tables (Tables 4-6) and stacked bar charts (Figures 3-5) . To ensure the reliability of this study, the selected articles were sourced from well-known databases that contain peer-reviewed articles. Moreover, the results were obtained after continuous and repeated revisions through discussion, doubt resolution and consensus building after considering all the feedback (Boesch et al., 2013) .

The 23 reviewed articles were based on nine Latin American countries, according to the following distribution: Brazil (4), Chile (3), Colombia (2), Costa Rica (1), Cuba (1), Dominican Republic (1), Ecuador (2), Mexico (6), Peru (2) and Brazil/Colombia/Peru (1) (see Table 3 and Figure 2 (2), international commerce and customs (1), letters (humanities) (1), and three on all of the academic disciplines.

RQ1a: What are the main characteristics of student behavioural engagement in online learning in Latin American higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic?

We found numerous characteristics of student behavioural engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic and organized them into the following four themes: soft skills development, pedagogical aspects, digital skills development and technology issues (see Table 4 and Figure 3 ). The development of soft skills is vital for higher education students, as it increases the employability of graduates. However, developing soft skills among students is slightly more challenging in online learning environments (Myers et al., 2014) . Nevertheless, online students can develop such skills by increasing engagement and participation. In the reviewed studies, the development of such skills manifested in the following ways: (a) students actively collaborated in learning (Cárdenas Zea et al., 2021; Rodríguez Fernández et al., 2021) ; (b) students had a positive perception of online communication with classmates (Flores Ferro et al., 2021; Quispe-Prieto et al., 2021; Zapata-Garibay et al., 2021) ; (c) students showed high levels of online interaction through likes and shares (Alves et al., 2021) and (d) students exhibited improved teamwork skills (Realyvásquez-Vargas et al., 2020) . All of these soft skills are essential for professional success.

In the reviewed studies, some pedagogical aspects, both positive and negative, were observed during online learning: (a) in some studies, the student drop-out rate was higher than that in face-to-face learning ( Ferreira et al. (2018) found that online courses featured a high drop-out rate because the learning design and delivery approach did not consider the diverse characteristics of students. Regarding online courses, Dumford and Miller (2018) also mentioned that students reported less exposure to effective teaching, which suggests that online learning might somewhat benefit or be deterrent for engagement.

Digital skills can help students advance in future careers, not only bridging any digital gaps but also positively affecting their social life (Martinovic et al., 2019) . For example, one study found that students using social media exhibited excellent learning performance (Mendoza-Lizcano et al., 2020) . However, in other studies, students reported having some difficulties in online learning activities (Bazán-Ramírez et al., 2020) , which they needed a considerable amount of training to ensure that their performance was not affected (Faria et al., 2021) , indicating that online learning requires more work (Molina Gutiérrez et al., 2021) .

Internet access is inseparable from online learning. The provision of broad, fast, effective and efficient Internet coverage affects the quality of online learning (Laksana, 2021) . Moreover, Internet access is a necessary good for modern social living, being part of the United Nations' sustainable development goals (United Nations, 2015) . The reviewed studies highlighted students' difficulties in accessing the Internet at home, which resulted in students missing some online sessions because of inadequate Internet services ( 

RQ1b: What are the main characteristics of student cognitive engagement in online learning in Latin American higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic?

The reviewed studies highlighted some characteristics of student cognitive engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic, which we organize into the following four themes: academic performance, motivation to learn, self-regulated learning and self-perceived digital literacy (see Table 5 and Figure 4 ).

Academic performance is the extent to which a student has achieved educational goals. Usually, the longer students engage in learning activities, the better their academic performance (Bravo-Agapito et al., 2021; Yokoyama, 2019) . Some factors might predict students' academic performance in an online environment, such as students' access to learning content; the number of visits and attempts in online questionnaires; variables related to online consultation and online tasks; students' age, where academic performance is inversely proportional to age; and the degree of students' interactions within online platforms. In the reviewed studies, the students reported that their academic performance improved when they used the online platforms (Alves et al., 2021; De la Fuente et al., 2021; Delgado, 2021; Realyvásquez-Vargas et al., 2020; Sandi-Urena, 2020 ).

Motivation to learn is the driving force that moves and engages students in learning. Students' motivation to learn or reasons to engage in learning activities are important in the online learning space. For example, students with greater motivation will more frequently engage in online learning activities or spend longer time watching video activities or working with online tutorials. Gustiani (2020) highlighted that intrinsic motivation, such as zest to acquire new knowledge, was an important factor for online learning. In the reviewed studies, Latin American higher education students showed motivation to learn (Bazán-Ramírez et al., 2020; Quispe-Prieto et al., 2021) , and they reported that online courses were motivating (Flores Ferro et al., 2021; Pérez-Villalobos et al., 2021) .

Self-regulated learning is a process in which students take initiative to learn, formulate goals and select suitable learning strategies. Self-regulated learning has become more important in online learning environments, as distance learning requires students' agency and ownership of their learning (Çebi & Güyer, 2020) . The reviewed studies revealed that the levels of self-regulated learning in online environments were higher than (Faria et al., 2021; Rodríguez Fernández et al., 2021) or similar to that of face-to-face classes (Domínguez-Torres et al., 2021) . However, some students reported difficulties in self-regulated learning (Molina Gutiérrez et al., 2021).

Digital literacy is the knowledge and skills for locating, organizing, evaluating and creating information using digital technologies. Santos and Serpa (2017) mentioned the importance of promoting digital literacy in HEIs to develop students' digital strategies and make them proficient in learning through technology. In the reviewed studies, some students were perceived to have high levels of digital literacy and knowledge on digital tool usage (Cárdenas Zea et al., 2021; Mendoza-Lizcano et al., 2020; Romero Alonso et al., 2021; Zapata-Garibay et al., 2021; Zúñiga Rodríguez & Cáceres Mesa, 2021) , whereas some experienced difficulties in using online platforms (Santos et al., 2021) and even requested training on their usage .

RQ1c: What are the main characteristics of student affective engagement in online learning in Latin American higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic?

The reviewed studies highlighted four main characteristics of student affective engagement: value of online learning, positive attitude toward online learning, satisfaction with online learning, and stress and anxiety. It should be mentioned that one of the reviewed studies (Domínguez-Torres et al., 2021) did not report students' emotional response to online learning (see Table 6 and Figure 5 ).

Students' value of online learning refers to the benefits offered by virtual environments, irrespective of any initial difficulties or challenges. Thus, the perceived value of online learning is assessed relative to other delivery modalities, such as face-to-face classes. Perceived value has been a focus in the research on online learning adoption. Yuzhaninova and Moroz (2018) noted that students value online learning for its flexibility, access to diverse digital resources, and the opportunity to study remotely saving commuting time and reducing expenses. Students who participated in the reviewed studies highly valued the learned information (Alves et al., 2021) , online benefits (Bazán-Ramírez et al., 2020) , and opportunities for collaborative learning (Rodríguez Fernández et al., 2021) .

Students' attitude toward online learning refers to their disposition toward online courses and technology usage for learning. Previous studies have reported that students mostly have positive attitudes toward online learning. Nowadays, higher education students use technology in everyday life, and they desire effective online learning environments and online support during learning activities (Peytcheva-Forsyth et al., 2018) . Most of the reviewed articles reported positive attitudes of students toward online learning (Cárdenas Zea et al., 2021; De la Fuente et al., 2021; , video resources (Delgado, 2021) , technology usage (Romero Alonso et al., 2021) and online courses (Faria et al., 2021; Chávez-Miyauchi et al., 2021; Flores Ferro et al., 2021) . Students' satisfaction with online learning refers to their evaluation of how well online courses are delivered. It is the degree to which the online course delivery is consistent with students' expectations, which are more emotional in nature, as the students feel satisfied. Landrum et al. (2020) mentioned that students' satisfaction is positively related to the course design or clarity and teacher-student interaction. In their study, students with more online experience found online courses and environments more enjoyable. The students in the reviewed articles were satisfied with the online design (Molina Gutiérrez et al., 2021) , online platform usage (Pérez-Villalobos et al., 2021) and virtual classrooms (Quispe-Prieto et al., 2021; Realyvásquez-Vargas et al., 2020; Sandi-Urena, 2020 ).

Stress and anxiety affect the quality of life and negatively affect the mental health and well-being of students, which can result in various negative outcomes for university students. Stress and anxiety have been associated with lower emotional engagement. Mheidly et al. (2020) recommended some strategies to cope with stress and anxiety during online learning, such as implementing healthy practices in between online sessions (eg, breathing exercises), promoting awareness of the physical and emotional consequences of extended online time, and allowing learners to share their feelings and mental struggles and providing support. In several of the reviewed studies, some students were emotionally affected by stress and anxiety (Lovón Cueva & Cisneros Terrones, 2020; Mendoza-Lizcano et al., 2020), which was a negative aspect of online learning during the long physical isolation period (Santos et al., 2021; Zúñiga Rodríguez & Cáceres Mesa, 2021) .

RQ2: What are the main implications for online learning in Latin American higher education?

The implications of our findings for online learning in Latin American higher education are as follows:

To transform higher education The COVID-19 pandemic has enforced a compulsory change in delivery modalities in higher education, from traditional face-to-face instruction to online education. Despite the challenges involved in the transformation of educational systems, the transformation is necessary for the progress of education not only in Latin America but also in the whole world in the present 21st century (Hannache-Heurteloup & Moustaghfir, 2020).

To provide adequate professional training Educators from HEIs should be offered in-service training and professional development on the application of emerging technologies and the combination of technological and pedagogical skills to conduct learning activities that promote students' behavioural, cognitive and affective engagement. Nevertheless, this requires teachers' willingness to embrace online learning as part of their daily teaching activities and professional development (Williams, 2017) .

The limited access to stable Internet connection at home is a crucial problem in Latin America. In the reviewed studies, students struggled with slow Internet and even missed some lessons. This situation creates an access gap in the region, and it becomes a barrier to student engagement, resulting in frustration and disengagement. Thus, the decision makers in Latin America need to improve the network connectivity (Kiedanski & Grampín, 2017) to facilitate the delivery of learning activities to students in distant regions, making Internet services accessible to every citizen, as Internet access is part of the United Nations' sustainable development goals (United Nations, 2015) .

To ensure quality online learning in higher education To ensure quality online education, students learning in online environments need to gain appropriate learning experiences to develop the skills and competences required in their professional practice. This means HEIs need to design and plan flexible learning using appropriate pedagogical methods, provide access to digital resources, and evaluate learning outcomes (Huang et al., 2020) , which can be facilitated by the use of new technological tools, such as learning analytics. However, quality online education requires the commitment and collaboration of all stakeholders: educational authorities, administrative staff and faculty members.

To provide emotional support In the reviewed studies, the stress and isolation due to the pandemic situation were other issues affecting online learning. Students and teachers reported that the COVID-19 pandemic itself was a source of stress that affected their performance and created emotional exhaustion. Therefore, HEIs are expected to offer emotional support services, and help students and teachers develop coping strategies (Copeland et al., 2021) .

Overall, the findings of our study suggest that the tripartite dimensions of student engagement-behavioural, cognitive and affective-merit scholarly attention in higher education online learning.

Our findings on behavioural engagement are supported by Knopf et al. (2021) who also reported that behavioral engagement is characterized by students' interaction with classmates, teamwork, collaborative and soft skills. Moreover, Bali and Liu (2018) argued that online soft skills are likely to be improved in inclusive and supportive online learning environments. In contrast, the lack of efficient Internet access that causes the discontinuation of online classes can lower student engagement (Bali & Liu, 2018; Regalado-Pezua & Galeano, 2022) . This underscores the necessity of providing students with quality Internet access in higher education.

In terms of cognitive engagement, our findings indicate that it is crucially important to take into account motivation, positive self-perception of digital literacy, and self-regulation: Pellas (2014) also reported that these characteristics play a pivotal role in the success of online learning. Highly motivated learners tend to demonstrate a high level of cognitive engagement in online learning (Binali et al., 2021) . Educators, therefore, play an important role in fostering student engagement in online learning.

Regarding affective engagement, attention needs to be paid to student perceptions of and attitudes toward online learning. Positive attitude and previous experience with online learning platforms are found to be a strong indicator for student satisfaction and affective engagement (Ferrer et al., 2022; Kovačević et al., 2021) . However, the isolation imposed by the pandemic caused stress and anxiety among students. Therefore, it is important to provide emotional support through, for example, stress-relieving activities and mental health care to enhance student affective engagement. It is worth noting that teachers' affective engagement skills influence not only students' emotional engagement but also the quality of online learning (Kordrostami & Seitz, 2021) .

In summary, the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a sudden and unprecedented digital transformation of education that has brought both challenges and opportunities. In Latin America, before the outbreak of the pandemic, some of the online platforms in HEIs were underused, functioning mainly as document repositories (Guillén-Gámez & Mayorga-Fernández, 2020) However, today HEIs have implemented online courses to continue the teaching and learning activities, and students' responses to this transition have been diverse. We analyzed student engagement in online learning on three dimensions-behavioural, cognitive and affective-and determined the characteristics of each type of student engagement. As Dillenbourg (2016) highlighted, technology does not guarantee learning; to effectively support the transition to online learning, learning activities must be appropriately designed and introduced to engage learners behaviorally, cognitively, and affectively.

While we have tried to provide a systematic review of relevant studies, we recognize some limitations. First, this study does not intend to generalize its findings, but to contribute with the understanding of student engagement in online learning in Latin American HEIs and provide some insights to improve the quality of online learning. As Briggs et al. (2018) pointed out, "the need exists … to support and promote more region-focused research", particularly on the coverage and accessibility of information regarding Latin America. Second, we cannot guarantee that our review included an exhaustive list of relevant research; nonetheless, we have been able to identify major and important characteristics of student engagement in online learning that are valuable for future studies. Third, the study was framed on three dimensions of student engagement-behavioural, cognitive, and affective. Other scholars could use different frameworks or add other dimensions. Finally, the study primarily focused on student engagement while briefly mentioning teacher engagement strategies; thus, future studies could investigate teacher engagement in higher education.

The COVID-19 pandemic required Latin American HEIs to adapt to online instruction where students undertook technology-based online learning. Our review has identified the importance of student engagement in online learning and the major characteristics of the tripartite dimensions of engagement-behavioural, cognitive and affective. Furthermore, the implications of the findings for online learning in Latin American higher education are the need for (a) transformation of higher education, (b) adequate professional training, (c) access to Internet connectivity, (d) quality online learning in higher education and (e) student well-being. The conceptualization of the tripartite dimensions of student engagement sheds light on the teaching and learning processes and the key characteristics of student engagement in online learning and can thus serve as a basis to improve the quality of online learning in Latin American higher education.

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethics approval was not required for this systematic review.

Requests for the data can be addressed to the corresponding author.

Sdenka Zobeida Salas-Pilco https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5752-9525

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Students' perceptions toward online learning and face-to-face learning courses

Accessibility, difficulties and advantages of the online study for COVID-19 in a presential postgraduate on education

University students' profiles of online learning and their relation to online metacognitive regulation and internet-specific epistemic justification

Enhancing validity and reliability through feedbackdriven exploration: A study in the context of conjoint analysis. Systemic Practice and Action Research

Mapping research in student engagement and educational technology in higher education: A systematic evidence map

Early prediction of undergraduate Student's academic performance in completely online learning: A five-year study

Environmental education in Latin American and the Caribbean: The challenges and limitations of conducting a systematic review of evaluation and research

Percepciones de profesores y estudiantes de la formación virtual y de las herramientas en ellas utilizadas [Teachers 'and students' perceptions of virtual training and the tools used in it

La educación virtual en tiempos del COVID-19: Una experiencia en la maestría de Educación

Students' interaction patterns in different online learning activities and their relationship with motivation, self-regulated learning strategy and learning performance. Education and Information Technologies

Exploring the experiences of learners in a large-scale distance language learning program offered in countries across Latin America

Personal motivation and learning self-management in students, as result of the transition to online courses during COVID-19 pandemic

Exploring e-learning development: Studies of ICT access and educational usage in Latin America

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on college student mental health and wellness

Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches

WHO declares COVID-19 a pandemic

Programming course for health science as a strategy to engage students during the coronavirus pandemic

Teaching physics for computer science students in higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic: A fully internet-supported course

Aula invertida a distancia vs. aula invertida convencional: Un estudio comparativo

Online learning in higher education: Exploring advantages and disadvantages for engagement

A balancing act: A window into online student engagement experiences

Demonstrating rigor using thematic analysis: A hybrid approach of inductive and deductive coding and theme development

Andragogy in the 21st century: Applying the assumptions of adult learning online

Students' motivation and engagement in higher education: The importance of attitude to online learning. Higher Education

At a crossroads: Higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean

Level of satisfaction of online classes by students of Physical Education of Chile in times of pandemic

School engagement: Potential of the concept, state of the evidence

The challenges of online learning: Supporting and engaging the isolated learner

Quantitative-comparative research on digital competence in students, graduates and professors of Faculty Education: An analysis with ANOVA. Education and Information Technologies

Students' motivation in online learning during covid-19 pandemic era: A case study

Exploring the barriers to e-learning adoption in higher education: A roadmap for successful implementation

Student engagement in online learning: A review

Guidance on flexible learning during campus closures: Ensuring course quality of higher education in COVID-19 outbreak

Understanding Latin America ipv6 connectivity: A preliminary exploration

How online collaborative learning leads to improved online learning experience in higher education

Faculty online competence and student affective engagement in online learning

Recognizing predictors of students' emergency remote online learning satisfaction during COVID-19

What we're learning about student engagement from NSSE: Benchmarks for effective educational practices. Change: the Magazine of Higher Learning

Implementation of online learning in the pandemic COVID-19: Student perception in areas with minimum internet access

A class of one: Students' satisfaction with online learning

The impact of student engagement on learning outcomes in a cyber-flipped course

Impact of virtual classes on the university students in the context of COVID-19 quarantine: The case of the PUCP

Engagement matters: Student perceptions on the importance of engagement strategies in the online learning environment

Advanced methodologies and technologies in library science, information management, and scholarly inquiry

Interrater reliability: The kappa statistic

Influence of COVID-19 confinement on physics learning in engineering and science students

Coping with stress and burnout associated with telecommunication and online learning. Frontiers in Public Health, 8, Article 574969

Preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols (PRISMA-P) 2015 statement

Crisis estudiantil en pandemia. ¿Cómo valoran los estudiantes universitarios la educación virtual?

Cultivating ICT students' interpersonal soft skills in online learning environments using traditional active learning techniques

Measuring the quality of college student experiences: An account of the development and use of the college student experiences. questionnaire

Reassessing disparities in online learner student engagement in higher education

The influence of computer self-efficacy, metacognitive self-regulation and self-esteem on student engagement in online learning programs: Evidence from the virtual world of Second Life

Satisfaction with remote teaching during the first semester of the COVID-19 crisis: Psychometric properties of a scale for health students

Factors affecting students' attitudes towards online learning-The case of Sofia University

A systemic framework to evaluate student satisfaction in Latin American universities under the COVID-19 pandemic

The impact of environmental factors on academic performance of university students taking online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico

Global trends, dynamics, and imperatives for strategic development in business education in an age of disruption

Experiencias en Cuba sobre la utilización de métodos colaborativos de aprendizaje en asignaturas de la carrera Ciencias de la Información

Actitudes hacia las TIC y adaptación al aprendizaje virtual en contexto COVID-19, alumnos en Chile que ingresan a la educación superior [Attitudes towards ICT and adaptation to virtual learning in the context of COVID-19

Learning analytics initiatives in Latin America: Implications for educational researchers, practitioners and decision makers

COVID-19 and higher education in Latin America: Challenges and possibilities in the transition to online education

Experimentation skills away from the chemistry laboratory: Emergency remote teaching of multimodal laboratories

The importance of promoting digital literacy in higher education

Perception and technological accessibility of university students in southwest of the Dominican Republic during Covid-19

Higher education during the health contingency COVID-19: Use of ICTs as learning tools. Case study: Students of the Faculty of Accounting and Administration

Educação remota na continuidade da formação médica em tempos de pandemia: Viabilidade e percepções

A relational and multidimensional model of student engagement

Latin America and the Caribbean: Tertiary education. Context. Retrieved

Educational evaluation: New roles, new methods: The sixty-eighth yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, Part II

Draft outcome document of the United Nations summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda A/69/L.85

An examination of technology training experiences from teacher candidacy to in-service professional development

What did you do in school today? Transforming through social, academic and intellectual engagement: First National Report

Guidance on conducting a systematic literature review

Academic self-efficacy and academic performance in online learning: A mini review

The development of a student's value orientations on self-education and self-development in the internet

Mexico's higher education students' experience during the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Student engagement with computer-generated feedback: A case study

El sentido escolar frente al COVID-19. La percepción de estudiantes de universidades públicas en Hidalgo [The school sense in the face of COVID-19. The perception of students from

Student engagement in online learning in Latin American higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review