Evidence of convergent and discriminant validity of the Student School Engagement Measure.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the convergent and discriminant validity of the Student School Engagement Measure (SSEM) with 3 other measures of student well-being: (a) the School Engagement Scale, (b) the Student Engagement Instrument, and (c) the Student Life Satisfaction Survey. The data were analyzed from 370 8th-grade students from 3 middle schools in an urban school district. As hypothesized, strong and significant positive correlations (.80) were found between the SSEM and the 2 measures of engagement (the School Engagement Measure and the Student Engagement Instrument). Also as hypothesized, a weak but significant positive correlation (.35) was found between the SSEM and a measure of life satisfaction (the Student Life Satisfaction Survey). These findings provide additional support for using the SSEM as a valid measure of adolescents' engagement with school.