Unravelling the Mechanisms of Student Negative Emotions in Technology-Mediated Intermittent Dropout: A Mixed-Methods fsQCA Study

This study set out to unravel the complex mechanisms by which student negative emotions contribute to intermittent dropout in technology-mediated learning environments. By using a mixed-methods approach – qualitative interviews followed by fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis – we were able to identify distinct causal pathways leading to dropout, rather than attributing it to any single factor. The findings demonstrate that dropout is a multi-faceted phenomenon : it can result from an overload of work and lack of support provoking anxiety, from social isolation breeding apathy, from personal lapses in coping allowing frustration to fester, or often a combination of these elements. In all cases, negative emotions are at the core of the story , serving as the immediate precursors to a student's decision to disengage. This underscores a key point for both theory and practice: emotional experiences are not ancillary to academic outcomes, but fundamentally intertwined with them .