engleski

Development and validation of the Academic Engagement Scale (AES)

Research has shown that student engagement is important predictor of various educational outcomes (e.g. academic achievement, school dropout) and, because it is a malleable state that can be shaped by contextual influences, it is increasingly recognized as a possible goal for improving learning. However, there is no brief and validated measure of engagement in higher education in Croatia. Therefore, the 15-item Academic Engagement Scale (AES) was developed in accordance with the multidimensional conceptualization of engagement (Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004), including behavioural engagement (participation in academic activities), cognitive engagement (investment in meaningful learning) and emotional engagement (affective reactions). Therefore, the AES comprises three subscales: behavioural, cognitive, and negative emotional engagement. The authors presented development of the scale and examined the structural validity, internal consistency, congruent and discriminative validity of the scale. To this end, the results of validation studies using Croatian samples of university students were shown. The scales demonstrated adequate reliability and structural validity. Additionally, the AES subscales were predictably associated with educational and motivational constructs, and AES-based engagement profiles were predictably associated with academic burnout and flourishing, thus showing evidence of both congruent and discriminative validity. This study is an important addition to research on engagement because it provides support for multidimensional model of student engagement in the context of higher education. Also, these results support previous findings that engagement is associated with positive educational outcomes.

Academic engagement, Scale validation

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