Investigating the Role of Academic Engagement: A Mediation Model of Technology Attitudes and Academic Performance Among Pharmacy Students

Ngoc My Thi Luu; Quynh Xuan Nguyen Luong

doi:10.52296/vje.2025.425

Authors

Ngoc My Thi Luu Nguyen Tat Thanh University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Quynh Xuan Nguyen Luong Nguyen Tat Thanh University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52296/vje.2025.425

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Luu, N. M. T., & Luong, Q. X. N. (2025). Investigating the Role of Academic Engagement: A Mediation Model of Technology Attitudes and Academic Performance Among Pharmacy Students. Vietnam Journal of Education, 9(3), 401–412. https://doi.org/10.52296/vje.2025.425

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Abstract

In the context of increasing technology integration in higher education, understanding how students’ attitudes toward technology relate to learning outcomes has become an essential line of inquiry. This cross-sectional study tests a structural mediation model (H1-H5) examining how four technology attitudes - Positive Attitude, Anxiety, Negative Attitude, and Task Switching - affect Academic Performance through Academic Engagement. Data were collected from 679 pharmacy students in Vietnam using a validated self-report questionnaire. Measurement models were examined through Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses (EFA/CFA), and hypotheses were tested using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The Confirmatory Factor Analysis confirmed the 15-item Media and Technology Usage and Attitude Scale (MTUAS) (RMSEA = 0.067) but indicated poor fit for the 3-factor Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students (UWES-9S) (RMSEA = 0.110), justifying the use of a composite engagement score. Structural model results suggested that the path from Academic Engagement to Academic Performance (H5) was not statistically significant (p = 0.073), leading to the rejection of all four indirect-mediation hypotheses (H1-H4). These findings do not support the proposed mediation framework and provide empirical evidence for the “engagement-achievement paradox,” suggesting that, in this Vietnamese pharmacy cohort, technology attitudes and self-reported engagement may not directly translate into measurable academic performance outcomes.

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Author Biographies

Ngoc My Thi Luu, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Quynh Xuan Nguyen Luong, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

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