Measuring Student Engagement in Primary Education: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis-Based Study

A critical challenge in primary education is the issue of diminished student engagement in the learning process, a factor that has a significant impact on both academic achievement and students' social-emotional development. The objective of this study is to develop and validate a student engagement instrument for elementary school students based on three main dimensions: behavioral, cognitive, and emotional. The present study employs a quantitative approach, utilizing a survey design that involves 240 elementary school students. The analysis was conducted using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The results of the analysis showed that the three dimensions of engagement had strong factor loadings, good convergent and discriminant validity, and high construct reliability. This model has demonstrated its capacity to reliably and contextually mirror the multifaceted nature of student engagement. This instrument is not only suitable for use in academic research but also as a diagnostic tool for teachers in designing more adaptive learning strategies. The findings of this study offer significant contributions to the ongoing efforts to enhance the quality of basic education. These contributions are best made through the implementation of more comprehensive monitoring mechanisms that effectively assess student engagement.