Associations between AI literacy and learning engagement in smart classrooms: the chain mediating roles of self-efficacy and learning satisfaction

Abstract

With the increasing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into education, smart classrooms have become an important component of higher education's digital transformation. College students' learning engagement is an important indicator for understanding learning experiences in smart classroom environments. However, as a key capability for adapting to AI-supported learning, the psychological pathways through which AI literacy is associated with learning engagement remain insufficiently understood. This study constructed a chain mediation model to examine the association between AI literacy and college students' learning engagement in smart classrooms, with self-efficacy and learning satisfaction as potential mediators. This study employed an exploratory cross-sectional design. A total of 2,751 valid questionnaires were collected from 75 colleges and universities in China using a convenience sampling method. Data were collected using the AI Literacy Scale, Learning Engagement Scale, Self-Efficacy Scale, and Learning Satisfaction Scale. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), correlation analysis, and a preliminary single-factor assessment of potential common method bias were conducted using SPSS 26 and AMOS 26. Percentile bootstrap analysis using 5,000 resamples in the PROCESS macro was conducted to test the chain mediating roles of self-efficacy and learning satisfaction. (1) AI literacy was significantly and positively associated with learning engagement in smart classrooms (total effect, B = 0.899, p < 0.001; direct effect after including the mediators, B = 0.304, p < 0.001); (2) self-efficacy mediated the association between AI literacy and learning engagement [indirect effect = 0.084, 95% CI = (0.060, 0.108)]; (3) learning satisfaction mediated the association between AI literacy and learning engagement [indirect effect = 0.427, 95% CI = (0.380, 0.476)]; and (4) the serial indirect path through self-efficacy and learning satisfaction was significant [indirect effect = 0.085, 95% CI = (0.064, 0.108)]. The total indirect effect was B = 0.595 [95% CI = (0.544, 0.644)] and accounted for 66.185% of the total effect. AI literacy was directly associated with learning engagement and was also indirectly associated with learning engagement through self-efficacy and learning satisfaction. These findings provide preliminary cross-sectional evidence for understanding the cognitive–affective pathways linking AI literacy and learning engagement in smart classroom contexts. Rather than establishing causal effects, the study offers preliminary evidence that students' self-efficacy and learning satisfaction may be important psychological factors in AI-supported learning environments.