Assessing Student Engagement in School: Development and Validation of a Four-dimensional Scale

Abstract

The problem statementStudent engagement in school has been conceptualized through three dimensions: affective, behavioural, and cognitive. Recent evidence suggests that personal agency could be added as a fourth dimension. The dimensionality of engagement has constituted a problem. Purpose of the studyTo measure these dimensions of engagement in Portuguese schools, a new 20-items scale was developed, entitled Studentś Engagement in School Four-dimensional Scale, SES-4DS. Research questionsDoes the dimensionality of the students’ engagement in school contains four dimensions, not just three? Does the supposed four-dimensional scale present good psychometric qualities, such as internal consistency and external validity? Research methodsIts psychometric properties were examined with data from 685 sixth, seventh, ninth, and tenth graders. The analysis allowed to find a scale with 20 items that, with a high percentage of variance explained and good levels of reliability. In the study of external validity, the results in the SES-4DS appeared significantly related to the academic achievement. FindingsThe results permitted to find this scale presents psychometric qualities and can be used in research and psychoeducational practice, to assess the multidimensional students’ engagement in school. The future use of the SES-4DS is considered and proposed. This scale may be a useful opportunity for psychologists and teachers.