A comparison study on self-regulation and sense of presence in online learning: a meta-analytic review

This study aims to compare the influence of learners’ self-regulation and sense of presence on online learning. Due to the increasing influence of online learning, self-regulation has received considerable attention. However, it is also claimed that an increased sense of presence can enhance online learning effects. For comparison, a meta-analysis was conducted on correlation studies. A total of 47 studies from 2000 to 2022 that investigated self-regulation or sense of presence in the context of online learning were analyzed. Average effect sizes were used to compare the influence of self-regulation and sense of presence on the levels of satisfaction with online learning. The moderating effects of self-regulation and sense of presence were also analyzed and compared. The results indicate that the average effect sizes of self-regulation and sense of presence were significant. Regarding the relationship between sense of presence and satisfaction with online learning, the type of sense of presence had no moderating effect. In addition, the average effect size of sense of presence was slightly greater than that of self-regulation. Based on these results, we conclude that sense of presence had a stronger influence on satisfaction with online learning. The importance of sense of presence and various ways to increase it in the context of online learning are also discussed.