Cognitive Engagement in Online Learning Environments: A Systematic Review and Future Research

Background The growing prominence of online learning in educational contexts has underscored the critical role of cognitive engagement in shaping academic performance. Objectives To synthesise current research trajectories, this study conducted a systematic literature review spanning two decades on cognitive engagement within online learning contexts. Methods A structured framework encompassing research backgrounds, theoretical foundations, analytical methods, and existing challenges was employed to code and analyse the 98 retrieved literature. Results and Conclusions The findings indicated that the majority of studies concentrated on examining the impact of educational technology tools and a range of associated influencing factors on cognitive engagement. A notable absence of research examining cognitive engagement in online learning among primary and secondary education students was observed. The majority of existing studies focused on college students. Moreover, cognitive engagement was a complex academic concept researchers attempted to interpret from different perspectives, including motivation and self‐regulation, psychological engagement, learning strategies, Taxonomy of educational objectives, knowledge construction, and overt behaviours. Self‐determination theory, ICAP framework, and community of inquiry were the most frequently adopted in research on cognitive engagement. The self‐report scale was the most frequently employed method for data collection. The multimodal data illustrated significant potential and promise in predicting learners' cognitive engagement in online learning environments. This would enable a comprehensive analysis of students' cognitive engagement patterns and evolutionary characteristics.