Assessing agency of university students: validation of the AUS Scale
Abstract
Fostering agency as a core component of professionalism is seen as a critical task of higher education. However, the tools for assessing university students’ agency, and the pedagogical and relational resources needed for its development, are lacking. The present study describes the theoretical foundations and factor structure of the newly developed Agency of University Students (AUS) Scale, which assesses students’ course-specific agency. In the factor analysis, 10 factors emerged. Four of these – Interest and motivation, Self-efficacy, Competence beliefs and Participation activity – are seen to represent individual resources of agency. The other four factors – Equal treatment, Teacher support, Peer support and Trust – represent relational sources of agency. Finally, Opportunities to influence and Opportunities to make choices represent contextual sources of agency. The psychometric properties and uses of the scale are discussed.
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Cites
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511815355 · Cited by 33,219 · see citing works
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000) · Contemporary Educational Psychology · doi:10.1006/ceps.1999.1020 · Cited by 18,666 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Motivational theories, such as self-determination theory (Ryan and Deci 2000, 2009), involve assumptions closely related to agency in their claim that intrinsic motivation is maintained when individuals experience the choice to act in the absence of external pressure.”
BackgroundActing as accountable authors: Creating interactional spaces for agency work in teacher education
Lipponen, L., & Kumpulainen, K. (2011) · Teaching and Teacher Education · doi:10.1016/j.tate.2011.01.001 · Cited by 408 · see citing works
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Xia, L., Shen, K., Sun, H., An, X., & Dong, Y. (2025) · Education and Information Technologies · doi:10.1007/s10639-024-13137-5 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Rushton, E. A. C., & Bird, A. (2024) · The Curriculum Journal · doi:10.1002/curj.224 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
“The concept of agency has been defined through a range of disciplinary perspectives but can be broadly understood as a person's capacity to act independently and make their own choices (Jääskelä et al., 2017).”
Background
- Authors
- Jääskelä, P., Poikkeus, A.-M., Vasalampi, K., Valleala, U. M., & Rasku-Puttonen, H.
- Affiliations
- University of Jyväskylä (FI)
- Department of Teacher Education, University of Jyvaskyla, Jyvaskyla, Finland
- Corresponding author
- Jääskelä, Päivikki
- Venue
- Studies in Higher Education
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2016-02
- Volume
- 42
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 2061-2079
- ISSN
- 0307-5079 (ISSN-L)
- 1470-174X
- OpenAlex
- W2295594869
- Cited by
- 149
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 24 · 2025: 25 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 3
- FWCI
- 11.84
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Studies in Higher Education (publishedVersion)
- Jyväskylä University Digital Archive (University of Jyväskylä) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Higher Education Research Studies
- Social Sciences › Education › Higher Education Practises and Engagement
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Education, Achievement, and Giftedness
- Keywords
- student agency, scale validation, professionalism, higher education, self-efficacy, competence beliefs, teacher support, peer support, trust, equal treatment, student motivation, student participation, psychometric properties
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