Impact of Online Learning on Engineering Students' Engagement, Anxiety, and Burnout amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study proposes a conceptual model that explores the relationship between online learning, student engagement, anxiety, and burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students' attitudes towards online learning are measured using the Online Learning Questionnaire, anxiety is measured using the GAD-7 scale, student engagement using the UWES-17SF scale, and student burnout with the CBI-S scale. Structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis was used to verify the proposed conceptual model on the sample of 584 engineering students of the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Organizational Sciences who are majoring in information systems and technologies, and management and organization sciences. The results show that online learning positively affects student engagement and negatively student anxiety, whereas it only indirectly, through anxiety, negatively impacts student burnout. In addition, anxiety is proven to positively affect student burnout and has no significant effect on student engagement. In conclusion, while it is encouraging that even crisis-induced online learning positively influences student engagement, the confirmed impact of anxiety on student burnout is also valuable as the early identification and treatment of anxiety can significantly contribute to burnout prevention. This should not be neglected since our research has shown that 37.50% of the examined student population experience severe anxiety, while 62.33% and 45.54% of them experience moderate, high, or severe levels of personal and studies-related burnout, respectively.