Unveiling the configurational paths to rural teachers’ online learning engagement: a study based on the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis

Learning engagement is a crucial factor influencing the outcomes of rural teachers’ (RTs) online learning. Previous studies have revealed a link between instructional context factors, individual factors, and learning engagement, yet the influence mechanisms of these factors on its different dimensions remain underexplored. Therefore, this study attempts to explore the multiple concurrent pathways through which individual and instructional context factors affect RTs’ learning engagement by using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). A total of 116 RTs engaged in online learning in China participated in the study. The results indicate that: (1) instructional support (IS) is an auxiliary necessary condition influencing learning engagement, while peer support (PS) is a core necessary condition. (2) multiple pathways can lead to the same learning engagement outcomes, challenging the traditional concept of a single optimal path derived from conventional analytical methods. (3) configurations of good and poor conditions for the three factors of learning engagement exhibit asymmetry. For example, high levels of IS and PS exist in configurations leading to both high and low levels of emotional and cognitive engagement, depending on how other conditions are combined.