Experiences of learning flow among Korean adolescents

• Participants immersed themselves when temporal, learning, and psychological conditions in the antecedents stage of flow were met.
• In the experiences stage of flow, participants described their last learning experience as a delight.
• During the experiences stage of flow, physiological, psychological, and environmental factors distracted from participants’ learning flow.
• In the effect stage of flow, participants felt improved self-confidence and academic achievement.

The purpose of this study was to explore Korean adolescents' flow experiences in learning from their perspective and to validate and expand Chen et al.'s (1999) theoretical framework of learning flow. The factors and conditions that facilitate or hinder students' flow in learning were explored. Sixteen Korean high school students completed in-depth interviews about their flow experiences in learning. Qualitative content analysis was used to identify key themes and validate the theoretical framework of flow. The following results were obtained from the analysis: the antecedents stage of flow (time conditions, learning conditions, and psychological conditions), experiences stage of flow (experience of delight in acquiring new knowledge and selective inattention toward extraneous factors), effects stage of flow (improved confidence and academic achievements), and factors that hinder flow in learning. Our findings provide a basis for developing educational strategies that enable high school students to experience flow in learning, enjoy their schoolwork, and discover their academic potential.