Abstract
An important part of the short history of student engagement has been the development of self-report instruments designed to measure engagement. This chapter describes the development of a self-report tool designed for Year 7–10 students (11- to 15-year olds) in New Zealand schools. A feature of the development was the use of Rasch Measurement, which allows raw survey scores to be transformed to locations on a described equal-interval scale. Once located on the scale, students’ scores can be compared with the scores of nationally representative reference groups and interpreted using the scale descriptors. The chapter begins by describing the development of the survey instrument, including how researchers used a multi-faceted definition of engagement to select and develop items. It then goes on to describe findings from the national trial of the instrument. The last part of the chapter looks at possible future directions for the survey.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Adams, R. J., & Khoo, S. T. (1999). ACER QUEST: The interactive test analysis system. Melbourne, Australia: Australian Council for Educational Research.
Appleton, J., Christenson, S., & Furlong, M. (2008). Student engagement with school: Critical conceptual and methodological issues of the construct. Psychology in the Schools, 45(5), 369–386.
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.
Bishop, R., Berryman, M., Cavanagh, T., & Teddy, L. (2007). Te Kötahitanga Phase 3 Whanaungatanga: Establishing a culturally responsive pedagogy of relations in mainstream secondary school classrooms. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education.
Bond, T. G., & Fox, C. M. (2007). Applying the Rasch Model: Fundamental measurement in the human sciences (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Davis, B. (1996). Teaching mathematics: Toward a sound alternative. New York: Garland Publishing.
Dinahm, S., & Rowe, K. (2007). Teaching and learning in middle schooling: A review of the literature. A report prepared for the Ministry of Education. Wellington, New Zealand: Australian Council for Educational Research.
Finn, J. D. (1989). Withdrawing from school. Review of Educational Research, 59, 117–142.
Fredricks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P. C., & Paris, A. H. (2004). School engagement: Potential of the concept, state of the evidence. Review of Educational Research, 74(1), 59–109.
Jimerson, S., Campos, E., & Greif, J. (2003). Towards an understanding of definitions and measures of school engagement and related terms. The California School Psychologist, 8, 7–27.
Lane, R. (2008). A report to schools on New Zealand student engagement 2007. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education. Retrieved from http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/series/2303/28883/28884
Libbey, H. (2004). Measuring student relationships to school: Attachment, bonding, connectedness, and engagement. Journal of School Health, 74, 7.
Martin, A. J. (2009). The motivation and engagement scale. Sydney, Australia: Lifelong Achievement Group. Retrieved from http://www.lifelongachievement.com
Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand curriculum for English-medium teaching and learning in years 1–13. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.
Ministry of Education. (2009). Ka Hikitia—Managing for success: The Mäori education strategy 2008–2012. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education. Retrieved from http://www.minedu.govt.nz/theMinistry/PolicyAndStrategy/KaHikitia/PublicationsAndResources-EnglishLanguageVersions.aspx
National Research Council and the Institute of Measurement. (2004). Engaging schools: Fostering high school students’ motivation to learn. Committee on increasing high school students’ engagement and motivation to learn. Board on Children, Youth, and Families, Division of Behavioural and Social Science and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academy Press.
Ng, L. (2006). Attendance, absence and truancy in New Zealand schools in 2006. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education.
Wright, B., & Masters, G. (1982). Rating scale analysis. Rasch measurement. Chicago: MESA Press.
Yazzie-Mintz, E. (2007). Voices of students on engagement. A report on the 2006 High School Survey of Student Engagement. Bloomington, IN: Center for Evaluation & Education Policy, Indiana University. Retrieved from http://www.indiana.edu/∼ceep/hssse/reports.html
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Darr, C.W. (2012). Measuring Student Engagement: The Development of a Scale for Formative Use. In: Christenson, S., Reschly, A., Wylie, C. (eds) Handbook of Research on Student Engagement. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2018-7_34
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2018-7_34
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-2017-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-2018-7
eBook Packages: Behavioral ScienceBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)