Is It True that Access to Technology in the Context of Social Justice Increases Students’ Engagement in Online Learning by Increasing Technology Use?

The aim of this study is to determine the role of technology acceptance and use factors in explaining the connection between university students’ access to technology in the context of social justice and their engagement in online learning environments. In other words, this study contributes by integrating Fraser’s social justice theory with UTAUT to explain how structural access translates into meaningful learner engagement. Because UTAUT captures motivational and social dynamics of technology adoption, it provides a suitable lens to examine how access translates into actual engagement. Based on the data in the literature, we investigated whether learners’ access to technology would increase their technology use and learner engagement via technology use. In this context, the factors of students’ technology acceptance and use levels in the online learning process were examined. In the study, structural equation modeling was used to examine the connections among access to technology in the context of social justice, factors within the scope of UTAUT, and engagement in online learning environments. This study was conducted with university students who had been enrolled in online courses since the pandemic began in Türkiye. 535 scales were completed by the end of the data collection process. According to research findings, access to technology increases student engagement in online learning environments through UTAUT model factors. Our study found that equitable access to technology improved learner engagement in online learning environments via variables related to learner motivation.