Teoh Sian Hoon, Joseph Boon Zik Hong, Nurshamshida Md Shamsudin, Parmjit Singh, Rudi Hartono, Pan Chunhui
Hybrid learning was defined differently before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. In the past, hybrid learning was used interchangeably with flipped classrooms and blended learning. Today, educators conduct hybrid learning to combine virtual and in-person teaching methods. However, despite its widespread adoption, there remains a significant lack of comprehensive feedback regarding its application in teaching and learning. Specifically, the question of how learning content can successfully increase students' participation in challenging subjects remains unanswered. Hence, the purposes of this study are (1) to investigate mediating effects on the relationship between content and participation and (2) to investigate current hybrid practices among lecturers in promoting students' participation in hybrid learning. Particularly, the investigation focused on how learning content in hybrid learning influences students' participation. A sequential explanatory research design was employed to collect data through questionnaires and interviews. For quantitative data, a total of 111 undergraduates were selected from public and private universities in Malaysia to answer the questionnaire and the data were analysed using SPSS version 30. For qualitative data, a total of twelve (n=12) public and private university lecturers participated in this interview. Analysis of the mediating variable was conducted for the questionnaire data. The interview data were analysed thematically. The findings revealed that mediation by emotion was significant in the relationship between content and participation, indicating that positive emotion is essential for fostering this relationship. It showed that, even though the lecturers were from different universities, they held similar views on hybrid teaching practices. The lecturers stressed the importance of the teaching materials and made efforts to meet students' needs to increase their participation. Specifically, this study suggests that teaching materials should be well-structured to foster positive emotions and encourage participation in the learning process, while also guiding students with technological tools to achieve learning outcomes. © 2026, UiTM Press. All rights reserved.
Faculty of Education, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Bandar Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia; Universitas Negeri Semarang, Kampus Sekaran Gunungan, Semarang, 50229, Indonesia; XI’AN Traffic Engineering University, 710300, China
