Effectiveness of Online and Blended Learning on Students’ Academic Achievement in Pakistan: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

The adoption of digital pedagogies in Pakistan has been very fast and critical which requires a strict review of its effects on the student performance. The meta-analysis synthesizes primary studies to determine whether online and blended learning enhance academic achievement in Pakistan, using three eligible studies from Grade 8 secondary to undergraduate medical students. Hedges g was used to adjust bias associated with small sample sizes and to give a greater statistical rigor, whereas to recreate statistical independence, a statistical aggregation of nested outcomes was done. The pooled effect size was calculated by the use of a random-effects model with Restricted Maximum-Likelihood estimator calculated using JAMOVI and R. Findings showed that the pooled effect size of 0.603 (SE = 0.233, p = 0.009) was statistically significant and with a 95% confidence interval of [0.147, 1.059]. The level of heterogeneity was also not very high (I2 = 14.9%, p = 0.335), which indicated a similarity in the benefits in different educational contexts. The evaluation of publication bias including the regression by Egger (p = 0.656) and a Rosenenthal Fail-Safe N of 6 showed strong results. Moreover, Two One-Sided Tests (TOST) on equivalence proved that the experimented effect was statistically significant and meaningfully different from zero and not equivalent to a trivial effect within the boundaries of ±0.50. This meta-analysis offers robust empirical evidence that online and blended learning can contribute to significantly improving academic outcomes in Pakistan, which presents an important framework in terms of educational policy and digital infrastructure development in the future.

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Authors & Affiliations

• Muhammad Rafiq-uz-Zaman — PhD in Education, Department of Education, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan.
• Yi-Huang Shih — Associate Professor, Center of Teacher Education, Minghsin University of Science and Technology, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
• Muthmainnah — Lecturer, State University of Makassar, Universitas Al Asyariah Mandar, Sulawesi Barat, Indonesia. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3170-2374