The mediating effect of knowledge sharing in the relationship between factors affecting knowledge sharing and reflective thinking: the case of English literature students during the COVID-19 crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic has had serious implications on educational systems worldwide and, hence, online courses have been organized. It is expected that the use of online learning in higher education promote knowledge sharing among students and the sharing of knowledge result in the improvement of reflective thinking among them. As such, we examined the knowledge sharing behavior among the undergraduate students in online learning English literature courses, the student’ perceptions towards reflective thinking, the relationship between the students’ knowledge sharing and reflective thinking, and finally, we tested a structural model of factors affecting knowledge sharing components, knowledge sharing, and reflective thinking. The data were collected through two surveys of 104 Iranian English literature students. A Pearson’s correlation coefficient and path analysis were used to analyze the data and to generate a model. The results showed that the students’ online knowledge sharing behavior and their perceptions towards reflective thinking are at unacceptable levels. Furthermore, a significant relationship was found between factors affecting knowledge sharing with the students’ knowledge sharing behavior, and between knowledge sharing and reflective thinking. The results also confirmed the mediator role of knowledge sharing and supported the hypothesized model of the relationships among the variables. Pedagogical implications of the study are finally discussed.