Design-Based Learning and Students’ Study Engagement and Design Thinking Competence: A Study Based on the Job Demands–Resources Theory

Despite many design-based learning (DBL) studies, longitudinal evidence on how course demands and resources shape design thinking competence (DTC) via study engagement remains scarce. Building on the job demands–resources (JD–R) theory, this study aims to examine whether program demands (project characteristics) and program resources (the role of the teacher, assessment, and social context) promote study engagement, which in turn predicts DTC. We conducted a three-wave (T1/T2/T3) longitudinal survey at Weeks 1, 5, and 8 in a user interface (UI) design course in China (N = 166). T1 collected demographics and prior UI experience (covariates), T2 measured program demands, program resources, and study engagement, and T3 measured DTC. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) with bootstrapped indirect effects. Program demands (project characteristics) positively predicted study engagement (β = 0.174, p = 0.020). Among program resources, the role of the teacher (β = 0.313, p < 0.001), assessment (β = 0.280, p < 0.001), and social context (β = 0.253, p = 0.009) were significant, and study engagement positively predicted DTC (β = 0.535, p < 0.001). Direct paths from program demands and resources to DTC were non-significant, while all indirect effects via study engagement were significant. In DBL, a well-calibrated configuration of program demands and resources energized study engagement, which subsequently fostered DTC.