Navigating Transitions to Blended Learning: Engagement and Digital Literacy Development amongst First-Year Chinese Undergraduate Students at Transnational English-Medium Universities in China

While studies have examined the effectiveness of blended learning and institutional transitions, little is known about how first-year Chinese undergraduate students navigate the shift from high schools with limited technology-enhanced learning opportunities to blended learning in English-as-a-Medium-of-Instruction (EMI) transnational universities in China, where frequent technology use is both the norm and an expectation. This study addresses this gap by examining students’ transition experience to blended learning with a focus on engagement and digital literacy development. Employing an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, the study gathered data from 341 survey responses and 20 interviews. Grounded in Astin’s (1993) Input-Environment-Outcome (I-E-O) model and Leontiev’s (1978) second-generation Activity Theory, the study provides a comprehensive analysis of the multifaceted factors shaping students’ transition experiences, identifying both barriers and potential enablers in the process. The study ultimately aims to develop a comprehensive conceptual model that elucidates the complex dynamics of student transition to blended learning. Findings of this study suggested connections between students’ blended learning engagement, their digital literacy development, and their overall transition to blended learning. Active participation in blended learning fostered digital literacy, reframing digital literacy as an evolving, reciprocal process rather than a fixed prerequisite for blended learning engagement. In addition, the study emphasised the importance of providing quality technology-enhanced educational experiences in high schools to aid student transition to blended learning in universities. Community support also played a vital role in helping students navigate challenges, though a transition was necessary from the relatively straightforward high school community to the more intricate and multifaceted university environment. Contextual influences such as the COVID-19 pandemic and EMI shaped students’ experiences, underscoring the need for targeted and inclusive support. The pedagogical shift from teacher-centred secondary education to learner-centred higher education at transnational universities in China emphasises the necessity of fostering student autonomy. Based on the above findings, the study introduced a new conceptual model to illustrate how factors influence students’ transition into blended learning. In conclusion, this study makes significant theoretical, empirical, methodological, and practical contributions. Its primary contribution lies in the development of a new conceptual model that captures the transition of first-year Chinese students into blended learning. In addition, it uniquely integrates Astin’s (1993) I-E-O model with Leontiev’s (1978) second-generation Activity Theory, offering a comprehensive framework for understanding student experiences. Empirically, the study advances understanding of how students’ inputs (e.g., demographics and prior interactive technology use), blended learning engagement and experiences, digital literacy, and student transition to blended learning interact, with some findings confirming existing research and some offering new insights. Methodologically, the study has developed two new factorial scales to measure blended learning engagement and digital literacy. Practically, it offers actionable recommendations for institutions, teachers, and policy makers to design customised support systems that foster autonomy, cultivate digital skills, and better support first-year students’ transition to blended learning in EMI transnational contexts.