ABSTRACT
Purpose: Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in China, student engagement in online learning has been a critical issue for all educational institutions. The university student engagement inventory (USEI) is the most used scale for assessing the construct of student engagement. The present study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the USEI among 1504 Chinese university students who completed a survey through an online platform between December 2020 and January 2021. Design/methodology/approach: In this cross-sectional study, content validity, construct validity and reliability of the scale were assessed. Findings: The results supported the three-factor model with acceptable goodness-of-fit (χ2 (71) = 369.717, p = 0.13, χ2/df = 5.207, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.967, normed fit index (NFI) = 0.960, Tucker–Lewis index (TLI) = 0.958, standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) = 0.030, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) (90% CI) = 0.053 [0.049, 0.057]), good internal consistency and construct reliability (Cronbach's alpha and omega coefficient >0.70), and strong convergent validity. Also, the measurement invariance was confirmed across gender. Originality/value: This study showed that the 3-factor structure of USEI with Chinese university students had good construct validity, internal consistency and reliability. It could help measure student engagement in online learning in China. © 2023, Long She, Fatemeh Khoshnavay Fomani, João Marôco, Kelly-Ann Allen, Hamid Sharif Nia and Pardis Rahmatpour.
ABSTRACT
Student engagement is a critical component of e-learning, which became an important focus for most academic institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic. University students' engagement is measured using various scales with different subscales. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the University Student Engagement Inventory (P-USEI). A cross-sectional methodology study was conducted among Iranian university students (n = 667) from April to May 2020. After forward-backward translation, the content, and construct validity, and reliability of the scale were assessed. The results obtained from the confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that the P-USEI has three factors: cognitive, emotional, and behaviour. The findings of the study supported the adequate reliability, factorial, convergent, and discriminant validities of P-USEI in a sample of Iranian students. The P-USEI dimensions have predictive value for important academic variables that can be generalized by developing the research through a psychometric evaluation on student engagement.