Building adaptable learners beyond content delivery

Using care ethics to foster emotional engagement and course completion in online learning

Abstract

This research investigates online teaching strategies to reduce non-completion of online courses by exploring students' emotional experiences and implementing support interventions grounded in care ethics principles. Using action research across three cycles in an introductory accounting course at an Australian university, this study investigates how teachers can effectively address emotional engagement in online learning to enhance student engagement and improve course completion rates. Student voices gathered through interviews, surveys, and feedback revealed emotional patterns that guided the development of targeted interventions, including personalised communication, time management support and extra assessment preparation sessions. These interventions incorporated four key elements of caring relationships: attention, responsibility, competence, and responsiveness. Data analysis employed thematic analysis of qualitative data, supported by descriptive statistics of engagement metrics and academic performance indicators. Findings demonstrate that care ethics-based interventions significantly improved student engagement, academic outcomes and course completion rates. Students recognised and valued teacher care, confirming that supportive relationships increase online course completion. However, competing life responsibilities hinder students' ability to engage with support interventions. The research establishes that effective online education requires integrated strategies combining caring teacher-student relationships with institutional support to accommodate diverse student circumstances and complex life contexts.