Measuring Student Engagement in Higher Education: A Review of Scales Across Learning Modalities

Abstract

This review synthesizes 29 studies from Scopus, ProQuest, and Google Scholar to examine the development and validation of student engagement (SE) scales in higher education across three learning modalities. Employing a structured search with keywords such as “student engagement” and “development,” the study identifies a diverse range of SE constructs, including cognitive, behavioral, emotional, social, agentic, and social dimensions. Analysis reveals variability in item counts (9-100 items, with an exception of three items) and factor structures (3-9 factors, with an exception of 1 factor), with original scales (e.g., USEI, OSE) providing foundational frameworks and adapted versions (e.g., I-HESES, A-USEI) tailoring these to cultural or modal contexts. Despite robust psychometric properties, limitations include self-report bias and limited cross-cultural invariance, suggesting a need for more comprehensive models and longitudinal validation to enhance SE measurement.