Digital Learning Platforms and Student Engagement: Empirical Evidence from Higher Learning Institutions in Tanzania

Abstract

Despite substantial investment in digital learning infrastructure across sub-Saharan Africa, the question of whether that investment translates into meaningful student engagement remains empirically unresolved. This paper examines how digital learning platforms (DLPs) influence behavioural, cognitive, and emotional engagement among students in selected higher learning institutions (HLIs) in Dodoma Region, Tanzania, and by testing the relative explanatory power of digital literacy, perceived usefulness, motivation, and institutional support. Grounded in Connectivism Theory and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, a mixed-methods cross-sectional design was employed involving 369 students and eight key informant interviews analysed through Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis. Principal Component Analysis extracted three engagement dimensions—cognitive (61.8%), behavioural (12.7%), and emotional (7.8%) yielding a moderate overall score (M = 3.56, SD = 0.97). Multiple regression identified digital literacy (β = .31, p < .001), perceived usefulness (β = .21, p = .007), and motivation (β = .19, p = .012) as significant predictors, while institutional support was not (β = .08, p = .178). These findings mount a direct empirical challenge to infrastructure-centred digital education policy: they demonstrate that competency and attitude are the decisive engagement drivers, not physical provision. The paper argues that Tanzania's digital education strategy must pivot from a supply-side logic of platform procurement to a demand-side logic of digital competency, pedagogical design, and emotional learning architecture.