2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Testing and validating a survey to assess engineering self-concept is discussed in this complete research paper. Engineering self-concept is a multidimensional construct encompassing an individual's perception of their abilities and competencies in engineering. It plays a crucial role in student retention and success in engineering programs. Despite its importance, there is a lack of rigorously validated instruments to measure this construct effectively within engineering. The broader research aims to address this gap by developing and validating a survey instrument to assess engineering self-concept among undergraduate students. This paper focuses on validating the survey as presented in Dirisina & Shehab [1].
The development of the survey instrument was grounded in social cognitive theory and self-concept research, with a specific focus on the domain specificity self-concept. It was hypothesized that a well-constructed survey would capture the multifaceted nature of engineering self-concept, and underlying sub-constructs that aid in predicting an individual’s self-concept. The methodology involved a two-stage process. First, survey pre-testing was conducted with subject matter experts to ensure content validity and clarity of items. This iterative process allowed for refinement of the survey questions and structure [1] Second, as described in this paper, the survey was statistically validated using a polychoric correlation analysis. Results obtained from the correlation analysis revealed strong internal consistency and construct validity of the survey items, with a few exceptions, indicating this survey instrument is a reliable and valid tool for measuring engineering self-concept among undergraduate students.
This study contributes to the field of engineering education research by discussing a statistically validated instrument for assessing engineering self-concept, which can be utilized in future research on student retention, academic performance, and career choices in engineering. Furthermore, the validated survey offers educators and administrators a valuable tool for identifying students who may benefit from additional support or interventions to enhance their engineering self-concept and, ultimately, their success in engineering programs.