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REVIEW article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Digital Learning Innovations
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1568917
This article is part of the Research TopicEmerging Technologies and Digital Innovations: Recent Research and Practices in Technology-enhanced Learning EnvironmentsView all 12 articles
Transforming Engineering Education in the Digital Era: Findings from a Systematic Review
Provisionally accepted- 1Western Illinois University, Macomb, United States
- 2University of Missouri–Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri, United States
- 3University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
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Introduction -According to the Digital Curricula Report on the status of online learning in higher education in the United States, about one-third of higher education is online, a number that has substantially increased after the pandemic (Analytics, 2022). As of October 1, 2024, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) has accredited 3,611 programs across 702 institutions in the United States, but only 46 institutions offered 100% online programs, which is significantly lower than other fields. This study aims to explore the factors that influence the acceptance of online learning and teaching in engineering education from the perspectives of students and teachers after the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods -This study followed the PRISMA guidelines (Pate et al., 2021) and included only peer-reviewed articles published between 2020 and 2024, focusing on online engineering education. This systematic review explored the variables affecting student and teacher acceptance of online learning in order to more clearly define challenges in delivering online engineering education and to identify avenues to improve and strengthen it. The inclusion criteria focused on articles addressing instructional design and learning experiences in online education, while the exclusion criteria eliminated studies without key data and those outside the specified timeframe.Discussion -The findings of this systematic review highlighted several factors influencing the acceptance of online engineering education, such as technology design, individual characteristics, and social factors. These factors are important for creating effective, engaging, and accessible learning environments that enhance student performance and satisfaction. Further research is needed to develop an approach to examine factor interactions in different contexts, and create a framework aligned with ABET accreditation standards for assessing long-term learning outcomes.
Keywords: online education1, engineering education2, student acceptance3, online technology transform4, modern engineering education5
Received: 30 Jan 2025; Accepted: 21 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Hsu, Chiang and Kehinde. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yu-Ping Hsu, Western Illinois University, Macomb, United States
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.