FACTOR STRUCTURE OF THE STUDENT ENGAGEMENT INSTRUMENT AMONG MALAYSIAN UNDERGRADUATES

Mohammed Iman Karim, Harris Shah Abd Hamid

Abstract


Student engagement has been known to be positively associated with academic performance, but there has been a lack of studies that highlight this phenomenon among Malaysian undergraduates. This study seeks to examine the factor structure of the Student Engagement Instrument (SEI) in a Malaysian sample. The scale was administered to 290 undergraduate students from the Faculty of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences as well as the Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences of the International Islamic University of Malaysia. Principal axis factor with Promax rotation was used in exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and revealed a six-factor solution that was consistent with the factor structure found in the original study by Appleton et al. (2006). A new factor labelled belongingness which was not discussed in previous studies was also discovered, which is worth exploring.

Student engagement has been known to be positively associated with academic performance, but there has been a lack of studies that highlight this phenomenon among Malaysian undergraduates. This study seeks to examine the factor structure of the Student Engagement Instrument (SEI) in a Malaysian sample. The scale was administered to 290 undergraduate students from the Faculty of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences as well as the Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences of the International Islamic University of Malaysia. Principal axis factor with Promax rotation was used in exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and revealed a six-factor solution that was consistent with the factor structure found in the original study by Appleton et al. (2006). A new factor labelled belongingness which was not discussed in previous studies was also discovered, which is worth exploring.


Full Text:

PDF

References


Agus, A and Makhbul, Z.K. (2002). An empirical study on academic achievement of business students in pursuing higher education: An emphasis on the influence of family backgrounds. Paper presented at International Conference on the Challenges of Learning and Teaching in a Brave New World: Issues and Opportunities in Borderless Education. Hatyai, Thailand.

Amy, S. (2000). Predictors of college adjustment and success: Similarities and differences among Southeast-Asian-American, Hispanic and White students. Education, 120 (4).

Appleton, J. J., & Christenson, S. L. (2004). Scale description and references for the Student Engagement Instrument. Unpublished manuscript.

Appleton, J. J., Christenson, S. L., Kim, D., & Reschly, A. L. (2006). Measuring cognitive and psychological engagement: Validation of the Student Engagement Instrument. Journal of School Psychology, 44, 427-445.

Appleton, J., Christenson, S. L., & Furlong, M. J. (2008). Student engagement with school: Critical conceptual and methodological issues of the construct. Psychology in the Schools, 45 (5), 369-386.

Arballo, M. R. (2011). Factorial structure of engagement and its relationship to persistence: A study of adult secondary education students (Doctoral dissertation, California State University, Long Beach).

Archambault, I. (2009). Adolescent behavioral, affective, and cognitive engagement in school: Relation to dropout. Journal of School Health, 79, 408–415.

Battle, J., & Lewis, M. (2002). The increasing significance of class: The relative effects of race and socioeconomic status on academic achievement. Journal of Poverty, 6 (2), 21-35.

Betts, J., Appleton, J. J., Reschly, A. L., Christenson, S. L., & Huebner, S. (2010). A study of the reliability and construct validity of the Student Engagement Instrument (SEI) across multiple levels. School Psychology Quarterly, 25 (2), 84-93.

Broh, B. A. (2002, January). Linking extracurricular programming to academic achievement: Who benefits and why? Sociology of Education, 75.

Carini, R., Kuh, G., & Klein, S. (2006). Student engagement and student learning: Testing the linkages. Research in Higher Education, 47 (1), 1-32.

Carter, C.P., Reschly, A.L., Lovelace, M.D., Appleton, J.J., & Thompson, D. (2012). Measuring student engagement among elementary students: Pilot of the Elementary Student Engagement Instrument-Elementary Version. School Psychology Quarterly, 27(2), 61-73.

Connell, J. P., & Wellborn, J. G. (1991). Competence, autonomy, and relatedness: A motivational analysis of self-system processes. In M. R.

Gunnar & L. A. Sroufe (Eds.), Self-processes and development: Minnesota symposium on child psychology, 23, 43-77. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Darling, N., Caldwell, L. L., & Smith, R. (2005). Participation in school-based extracurricular activities and adolescent adjustment. Journal of Leisure Research, 37.

Corno, L., & Mandinach, E. (1983). The role of cognitive engagement in classroom learning and motivation. Educational Psychologist, 18, 88–108.

Ervina Alfan & Md Nor Othman. (2005). Undergraduate students’ performance: The case of University Malaya. Quality Assurance in Education, 13 (4), 329-343.

Fredericks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P. C , Freidel, J., & Paris, A.H. (2002). Increasing

engagement in urban setting: An analysis of the influence of the social and

academic context on student engagement. (Paper presented at the annual meeting), New Orleans, LA: American Educational Research Association

Fredricks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P. C., & Paris, A. (2004). School engagement: Potential of the concept: State of the evidence. Review of Educational Research, 74, 59–119.

Finn, J. D. (1989). Withdrawing from school. Review of Educational Research, 59, 117–142.

Finn, J. D., Pannozzo, G. M., & Voelkl, K. E. (1995). Disruptive and inattentive-withdrawn behavior and achievement among fourth graders. The Elementary School Journal, 95, 421–454.

Finn, J.D., & Voelkl, K.E. (1993). School characteristics related to school engagement. Journal of Negro Education, 62, 249-268.

Galiher, S. (2006). Understanding the effect of extracurricular involvement. A Research Project Report M. Ed., Indiana University, South Bend.

Glanville, J.L., & Wildhagen, T. (2007). The measurement of school engagement: Assessing dimensionality and measurement invariance across race and ethnicity. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 67 (6), 1019-1041.

Goodenow, C. (1993a). The psychological sense of school membership among adolescents: Scale development and educational correlates. Psychology in the Schools, 30, 79-90.

Goodenow, C. (1993b). Classroom belonging among early adolescent

students: Relationships to motivation and achievement. Journal of Early

Adolescence, 13 (1), 21–43.

Greene, B. A., & Miller, R. B. (1996). Influences on course performance: Goals, perceived ability, and self-regulation. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 21, 181–192.

Greene, B. A., Miller, R. B., Crowson, H. M., Duke, B. L., & Akey, K. L. (2004). Predicting high school students’ cognitive engagement and achievement: Contributions of classroom perceptions and motivation. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 29, 462-482.

Grier-Reed, T., Appleton, J., Rodriguez, M., Ganuza, Z., & Reschly, A. L. (2012). Exploring the Student Engagement Instrument and Career Perceptions with College Students. Journal of Educational and Developmental Psychology, 2 (2), 85.

Harper, S., & Quaye, S. J. (2009). Student engagement in higher education: Theoretical perspectives and practical approaches for diverse populations. New York, NY: Routledge.

Jimerson, S. R., Campos, E., & Grief, J. L. (2003). Toward an understanding of definitions and measures of school engagement and related terms. California School Psychologist, 8, 7-27.

Kuh, G. D. (2009). The national survey of student engagement: Conceptual and empirical foundations. New Directions for Institutional Research, 141, 5-20.

Kuh, G. D., Cruce, T., Shoup, R., Kinzie, J., & Gonyea, R. M. (2007). Unmasking the effects of student engagement on college grades and persistence. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL.

Kuh, G.D., Palmer, M. and Kish, K. (2003). The value of educationally purposeful out-of-class experiences. In: Skipper, T.L. and Argo, R. (eds.) Involvement in campus activities and the retention of first year college students. The First-Year Monograph Series No 36. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, National Resource.

Lovelace, M. D., Reschly, A. L., Appleton, J. J., & Lutz, M. E. (2010). A construct validity study of the student engagement instrument: Fit with at-risk youth and degree of association with behavioral indicators of disengagement (Doctoral dissertation, University of Georgia).

Manan, S.K. & Mohamad, R. (2003). Kajian mengenai pencapaian akademik pelajar-pelajar di UiTM Shah Alam: Satu analisa perbandingan antara jantina. Social and Management Research Journal, 1 (1).

Marks, H. M. (2000). Student engagement in instructional activity: Patterns in the elementary, middle, and high school years. American Educational Research Journal, 37, 153-184.

Md Jaafar, F., Awang Hashim, R., Ariffin, T., & Faekah, T. (2012). Malaysian University Student Learning Involvement Scale (MUSLIS): Validation of a student engagement model. Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction (MJLI), 9, 15-30.

Meece, J., Blumenfeld, P. C., & Hoyle, R. H. (1988). Students’ goal orientation and cognitive engagement in classroom activities. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80, 514-523.

Miller, R. B., Greene, B. A., Montalvo, G. P., Ravindran, B., & Nichols, J. D. (1996). Engagement in academic work: The role of learning goals, future consequences, pleasing others, and perceived ability. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 21, 388-422.

Newmann, F. M., Wehlage, G. G., & Lamborn, S. D. (1992). The significance and sources of student engagement. In F. M. Newmann (Ed.), Student engagement and achievement in American secondary schools (pp. 11– 39). New York Teachers College Press.

Nonis, S.A. and Wright, D. (2003). Moderating effects of achievement striving and situational optimism on the relationship between ability and performance outcomes of college students research in higher education. Research in Higher Education, 44, (3), 327-346.

Norhidayah Ali, Kamaruzaman Jusoff, Syukriah Ali, Najah Mokhtar, and Azni Syafena Andin Salamat. (2009). The factors influencing students’ performance at Universiti Teknologi MARA Kedah, Malaysia. Management Science and Engineering, 3 (4), 81-90.

Osterman, K.F. (2000) Students’ need for belonging in the school community. Review of Educational Research, 70 (3), 323–367.

Pokay, P., & Blumenfeld, P. C. (1990). Predicting achievement early and late in the semester: The role of motivation and use of learning strategies. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 41-50.

Reeve, J., Jang, H., Carrell, D., Jeon, S., & Barch, J. (2004). Enhancing students’ engagement by increasing teachers’ autonomy support. Motivation and Emotion, 28 (2), 147-169.

Reschly, A. L., & Christenson, S. L. (2006). Prediction of dropout among students with mild disabilities: A case for inclusion of student engagement variables. Remedial and Special Education, 27, 276-292.

Skinner, E. A., Marchand, G., Furrer, C., & Kindermann, T. (2008). Engagement and disaffection in the classroom: Part of a larger motivational dynamic. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100 (4), 765–781.

Stephen, L. J. & Schaben, L. A. (2002). The effect of interscholastic sports participation on academic achievement of middle level school students. NASSP Bulletin, 86, 34-41.

Trowler, V. and Trowler, P. (2010) Student engagement evidence summary. York: Higher Education Academy.

Voelkl, K. E. (1997). Identification with school. American Journal of Education, 105, 204-319.

Waldrop, D. M. (2012). An Examination of the Psychometric Properties of the Student Engagement Instrument-College Version (Doctoral dissertation, University of Georgia).

Wigfield, A., Guthrie, J. T., Perencevich, K. C., Taboada, A., Klauda, S. L., McRae, A., et al. (2008). Role of reading engagement in mediating the effects of reading comprehension instruction on reading outcomes. Psychology in the Schools, 45, 432-445.

Vallerand, R.J. (1997) Toward a hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. In: Zanna, M.P. (ed.) Advances in experimental social psychology. New York: Academic Press, pp. 271–360


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


DISCLAIMER

The editors and publisher of Jurnal Psikologi Malaysia have made every possible effort to verify the accuracy of all information contained in this publication. Any opinions, discussions, views and recommendations expressed in the article are solely those of the authors and are not of Jurnal Psikologi Malaysia, its editors or its publisher. Jurnal Psikologi Malaysia, its editors and its publisher will not be liable for any direct, indirect, consequential, special, exemplary, or other damages arising therefrom.