Construct validity of a questionnaire for measuring student engagement in problem-based learning tutorials

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Student engagement is crucial, involving investment in academic and non-academic activities.
• Previous research lacked quantitative measures for cognitive, behavioral, and emotional engagement in problem-based learning (PBL) tutorials.
• This study addresses the need for a validated instrument to measure these dimensions of student engagement in PBL.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and examine the construct validity of a questionnaire measuring cognitive, behavioral, and emotional engagement in PBL tutorials.
• To provide a quantitative tool for assessing student investment in PBL.

Main Methods:

• Developed a 15-item questionnaire based on a student engagement framework.
• Conducted focus groups with experts and piloted the questionnaire with medical students.
• Administered the questionnaire to 176 second and third-year medical students and performed confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using structural equation modeling (SEM).

Main Results:

• A refined 11-item questionnaire demonstrated a robust three-factor structure: behavioral (3 items), emotional (4 items), and cognitive (4 items) engagement.
• Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a good model fit, with high construct reliabilities (0.82 for behavioral, 0.82 for cognitive, 0.76 for emotional).
• No significant relationship was found between student engagement and academic achievement.

Conclusions:

• The study provides strong evidence for the construct validity of the three-factor student engagement questionnaire for PBL tutorials.
• Further research is recommended to validate the instrument in diverse educational contexts.
• The predictive validity of the questionnaire requires additional investigation.