Developing a system for assessing engineering students’ transferable skills: evidence for the content validity and replicability of the scales

Abstract

ABSTRACT Past research has shown that assessments of engineering students’ transferable skills have not been properly investigated or incorporated into the practices of higher education institutions. This study addressed this gap by proposing a System for Assessing Engineering Students’ Transferable Skills (SACTEE, in Portuguese), which includes scales for assessment by self, peers, and teachers. The study also sought to provide evidence of the scale’s content validity, internal consistency, and replicability. A total of 147 students, 23 professors, and 8 representatives of the academic management staff participated on the study to assure the scales’ content validity and internal consistency. Two confirmatory focus groups with 15 representatives from public and private HEIs in Brazil analysed the usefulness and replicability of the system. The results demonstrated the preliminary psychometric quality of the instruments and the replicability of the SACTEE, thus contributing to engineering education research field and to assessing and developing studentś transferable skills.