Validation of the Persian Version of the Engagement in E-Learning Scale in Students of the School of Nursing and Midwifery in Iran

Abstract

Background: Engagement in e-learning is undesirable in Iranian students, and there is no valid scale to assess its status. Objectives: This study was conducted to validate the scale of "participation in e-learning scale" among students of nursing and midwifery schools in Iran. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, validation was conducted on 1014 students from 51 universities of medical sciences in Iran. The samples were selected using the cluster sampling method in 2022. The scale was translated into Persian by the forward-backward method. Validity was evaluated as face validity, content validity, and construct validity. Face validity was assessed by qualitative interviews with the participants and by calculating the impact scores of each item. Content validity was assessed using the content validity ratio and content validity index. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used for construction reliability. Convergent validity was calculated by average variance extract (AVE) and composite reliability (CR). Concurrent validity was checked by comparing the correlation between the Lee scale and the educational engagement questionnaire of Schaufeli’s study. Reliability was evaluated by calculating Cronbach's alpha and test-retest reliability. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 18 and LISREL version 8.8. The level of significance was considered 0.05. Results: In this study, 579 (66.86%), 569 (65.7%), and 679 (78.41%) of the students were under the age of 22 years, women, and passing an undergraduate or associate degree, respectively. Based on the results, the items were revised with face validity. The content validity ratio value of the questionnaire items was estimated between 0.76 and 1, and the content validity index was estimated at 0.79. According to the factor analysis, four factors were extracted ((1) psychological motivation; (2) management and effective communication; (3) cognitive problem-solving; and (4) peer collaboration). Regarding the convergence validity results, AVE values were greater than 0.5, and CR values were greater than 0.7. The concurrent validity results were calculated at 0.61. The Cronbach's alpha obtained for the whole scale was 0.95. Conclusions: Our findings showed that the e-learning scale is valid and reliable for measuring the participation of nursing and midwifery students in e-learning, and this scale can improve academic engagement in online classes in nursing and midwifery schools.