The impact of student psychological empowerment on class stickiness

Introduction Sustaining student engagement (“class stickiness”) in hybrid/online courses is essential for learning and retention. Grounded in customer-engagement theory, we test a sequential model where student psychological empowerment fosters psychological ownership and involvement, which in turn drive class stickiness and course evaluation. Methods A cross-sectional survey was administered to 320 Chinese undergraduates in blended courses. Validated scales measured empowerment (10 items), ownership (10), involvement (7), stickiness (10), and evaluation (2). After Harman’s single-factor and CFA tests, structural equation modeling (LISREL 8.8) tested six hypotheses. Results All scales showed high reliability ( α ≥ .82) and convergent validity (AVE > .50, CR > .70). Empowerment positively predicted stickiness ( β = .73, p < .001) and ownership ( β = .74, p < .001). Involvement predicted stickiness ( β = .90, p < .001) and ownership ( β = .95, p < .001). Ownership strongly influenced stickiness ( β = .95, p < .001). Stickiness enhanced course evaluation ( β = .87, p < .001), explaining 76 % of its variance. Discussion Results support the empowerment → ownership/involvement → stickiness → evaluation chain, highlighting the need for autonomy-supportive, ownership-fostering pedagogies to sustain engagement and positive course ratings in digital learning environments.