Interventions on Student Engagement: An Action Research Study of Business English Class in Southwest Forestry University in China

Background and Aim: The exploration of innovative methodologies aimed at enhancing student engagement via collaborative group activities holds significant value and demand within the context of the global higher education landscape, characterized by large-scale expansions, particularly in China, where such endeavors are paramount. This study aimed to investigate the effects of organization development interventions (ODI) on the self-efficacy (SE), active collaborative learning (ACL), and group potency (GP), intermediated by teacher support (TS), to improve student engagement (StuE) in Southwest Forestry University in China. The objectives of this research are to ascertain the relationships among ACL, SE, GP, TS, and StuE at Southwest Forestry University, identify suitable assessment tools for these constructs, understand their current developmental levels, design and implement interventions to enhance student engagement, explore a method for improving engagement among Chinese university students, and derive approximate results through quantitative and qualitative analyses. Materials and Methods: This research adopts a quasi-experimental design featuring a pretest-posttest framework, incorporating a mixed-methods approach for its implementation. It involved two cohorts of 76 students, constituting an experimental group and a control group, who participated in the study. Specifically, a suite of 15 tailored interventions was devised and administered to the participants in the experimental class. To gather both quantitative and qualitative data within this quasi-experimental context, a comprehensive data collection strategy was employed, encompassing questionnaires (SPSS 27), focus group interviews, and reflective reports (MAX QDA). Results: The quantitative analysis reveals that the P-values associated with the five independent variables (IVs) within the experimental group are all less than .001, thereby satisfying the threshold of statistical significance (p < 0.05), suggesting marked differences post-OD interventions. Conversely, the control group's P-values, all exceeding 0.05, indicate the absence of statistically significant differences. Furthermore, the qualitative data, transcribed from focus group interviews and reflective reports, coded by three independent researchers, provides corroborative evidence, reinforcing the findings of the quantitative research. Conclusion: The outcomes of this action research, situated within the context of Southwest Forestry University, indicate that organization development (OD) interventions hold promise in bolstering Student Engagement (StuE). Nevertheless, the mediating influence of Teacher Support (TS) did not emerge as a statistically significant factor. In light of these findings, it is advocated that future research endeavors ought to delve more profoundly into the intricacies of group leadership dynamics and the role of TS to attain a more nuanced comprehension of their potential contributions to enhancing StuE.