Unlocking Student Motivation: Development of an Engineering Motivation Survey

Student motivation is an important part of a student’s engagement in learning. Researchers and educators across broad educational contexts have identified and investigated a variety of specific motivation-related constructs related to learning. However, few studies have developed and tested survey instruments for measuring motivation constructs within engineering education in a valid and reliable way. This study describes the development and piloting of such a survey, situated in expectancy-value theory, through numerous steps of validity and reliability testing. The survey items consist of 35 Likert scale questions measuring attainment value, interest-enjoyment value, utility value, cost and expectation of success for students obtaining a degree in engineering. Initial development of the survey was based on previously published instruments measuring expectancy-value constructs, as well as consultation with two experts on motivation research and one expert on survey development. The survey was piloted with 219 engineering students at a large public university located in the mid-Atlantic United States. Validity of items was confirmed by factor analysis. Resulting internal consistency ratings using Cronbach’s alpha produced scores higher than 0.70 in all cases, suggesting that the survey reliably measures theory constructs. Ultimately, this instrument will be useful to the engineering education community because of its potential to concisely measure all of the expectancy-value constructs (task values and expectancy of success) in engineering students. Motivation can be compared to other data such as persistence rates and measurements of career goals to better understand the decisions that students make about their engineering education and career by measuring such connections.