Abstract

This article describes development of a measure of academic engagement using items from an existing survey of undergraduates enrolled at the University of California. The use of academic engagement as a criterion in higher education admissions has been justified by the argument that highly engaged students benefit the most from the academic experience an institution offers. A valid and reliable measure of academic engagement would allow for research into this relationship between student engagement and student learning. After reviewing the literature on engagement at both the secondary and postsecondary level, a multidimensional model of engagement is proposed using a construct modeling approach. First the various hypothesized dimensions of engagement are described, then items are mapped onto these dimensions, and finally responses to these items are compared to our hypothesized dimensions. Results support the conceptualization of academic engagement as a multidimensional measure composed of goals and behavioral constructs.