Social Media Usage, Academic Self-Efficacy and Grit: Implications for Student Academic Engagement among University Students in Zambia

Student engagement is an important latent variable that determines university student’s academic success and personal development hence drawing significant attention from researchers and educators globally. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between social media usage, academic self-efficacy, grit, and student academic engagement among university students in Zambia, as well as to determine whether the variables collectively predict student academic engagement. A cross-sectional survey design was used in this study with a convenient sample of 183 (n=183). Four different Likert scale instruments were used to measure social media usage, academic self-efficacy, grit, and academic engagement. Higher reliability coefficient values for all the measuring scales in the study were found. Significant positive correlations were found among social media usage, academic self-efficacy, grit, and student academic engagement. Findings from multiple regression analysis showed that only academic self-efficacy and grit had predictive value for student academic engagement. These results suggest that academic self-efficacy and grit play a significant role in enhancing student academic engagement. To gain competitive advantage, academic institutions should tailor their learning programs in integrating grit building activities such as designing academic activities such as long-term research projects with instructors mentoring, peer feedback and check points. Grit will be developed since students would have to persist through setbacks.