Enhancing teaching presence in videoconferences: The impact of personalized webcam communication on effective pedagogical e-leadership

Teaching presence (TP) is crucial in online education, but its impact in videoconferencing contexts remains underexplored. This study aims to validate a framework that integrates various e leadership strategies with personalized communication with webcams (PCW). A sample of 592 master’s students in management programmes participated in this research; all of these individuals were subjected to a pedagogical model that consisted of three weekly one-hour videoconferences. This study proposes that TP pertains to two key variables that were examined in this context – PCW and comprehensive e-leadership – on the basis of three different theories (i.e., situational, transformational, and socio-emotional). An exploratory factor analysis identified a valid four-factor model for e-leadership, and structural equation modelling was used to examine the associations between PCW and comprehensive e-leadership. A multigroup confirmatory factor analysis revealed significant group differences in the relationship between PCW-based teaching and situational e-leadership based on students’ learning approach (i.e., content acquisition, collaborative learning, and individual knowledge building through activities). The results also indicate that younger students tend to report higher valuations of comprehensive e-leadership, whereas female students indicate stronger appreciation for socio-emotional and situational e-leadership. The resulting model offers practical guidance for efforts to enhance teaching practices in videoconference based learning environments.