Exploring the Relationship between Learning Readiness and Learning Engagement in Online Context: The Chain Mediating Effect of Positive Academic Emotions and Online Learning Innovative Behavior

Online learning has emerged as a critical component of contemporary education, yet its distinctive learning environment presents significant challenges to student engagement. Online learning readiness, positive academic affect, and learning innovative behaviors are pivotal factors that influence student engagement. However, the mechanisms of these factors collectively impacting student engagement remain under-explored. This study aims to investigate the relationship between online learning readiness and learning engagement, identifying the chain mediating roles of positive academic affect and online learning innovative behavior. A total of 363 students from a public university in eastern China participated in the study. The findings showed that (1) online learning readiness significantly positively predicted students' online learning engagement; (2) positive academic emotions mediated the relationship between online learning readiness and online learning engagement; (3)online learning innovative behavior mediated the relationship between online learning readiness and online learning engagement; (4) positive academic emotions and online learning innovative behavior had a chain mediating effect on the relationship between online learning readiness and online learning engagement. This study offers new perspectives on students' online learning engagement by highlighting the positive academic emotions and innovative online learning behavior.