Mediating Role of Learning Engagement in the Relationship between Case Method and Academic Achievement in Indonesian Higher Education
Abstract
The case method has been widely advocated as a student-centred pedagogy to enhance higher-order thinking and academic outcomes, yet empirical evidence on its underlying mechanisms particularly in non-Western, resource-constrained, and culturally passive-learning contexts remains conspicuously scarce. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and Engagement Theory, this study examines whether learning engagement mediates the relationship between the case method and academic achievement among university students in eastern Indonesia. A quantitative, explanatory-predictive, cross-sectional survey was conducted with 385 undergraduate students at Universitas Negeri Makassar (UNM), using validated scales to measure the three latent constructs. Data were analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with bootstrapping (5,000 subsamples) to assess both the measurement and structural models. The results indicate that the case method has a significant direct effect on academic achievement (β = 0.312, p < 0.001) and strongly predicts learning engagement (β = 0.584, p < 0.001). Learning engagement, in turn, significantly predicts academic achievement (β = 0.418, p < 0.001). Most importantly, learning engagement partially mediates the case method–achievement relationship, with a significant indirect effect of 0.244 (p < 0.001), accounting for 43.9% of the total effect. The model explains 51.7% of the variance in academic achievement. Exploratory multi-group analysis reveals that the mediated pathway is stronger for social science students (β_indirect = 0.278) compared to their STEM counterparts (β_indirect = 0.205), suggesting that the ill-structured nature of social science cases elicits greater engagement. These findings extend SDT and Engagement Theory by demonstrating that engagement is not merely a correlate but a generative mechanism that translates case-based instruction into academic outcomes a role that becomes especially critical in contexts where students are culturally socialised into passive, rote-based learning and must undergo a psychological transition toward active knowledge construction. The partial mediation also implies that the case method directly enhances achievement through cognitive mechanisms, such as analytical reasoning and problem-solving, beyond engagement. Practically, this study provides evidence-based guidance for lecturers and curriculum designers at UNM and similar institutions: implementing the case method alone is insufficient; it must be accompanied by intentional strategies that foster behavioural, emotional, and cognitive engagement, such as structured small-group discussions, reflective writing, and faculty development in engagement-centred facilitation particularly in STEM disciplines, where cases may need to be designed with greater ill-structuredness to enhance autonomy and relatedness. Despite limitations inherent to the cross-sectional design, this research offers a rigorous methodological benchmark for pedagogical research in developing regions and underscores that in digitally emerging, resource-varied, and culturally transitioning higher education settings, engagement serves as the critical psychological bridge that unlocks the pedagogical potential of case-based learning.
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