Development of Global Engineering Competency Scale: Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis

Abstract

Due to globalization trends, engineers are increasingly expected to work effectively across national and cultural boundaries. However, there remains a lack of valid and reliable measures of global engineering competency. To address this gap, the research team has undertaken a large-scale research project to develop a suite of instruments to measure global engineering competency (GEC), including self-reported scales and situational judgment tests. This study reports on the development and initial validation of one such instrument, the Global Engineering Competency Scale (GECS). The GECS was administered to 400 practicing engineers, and exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted in sequence to further develop and evaluate the instrument. The results provide evidence of the construct validity of the GECS to measure two distinct dimensions of GEC: behavioral and cognitive competencies. In addition to describing some possible uses for this assessment tool, the need for further research to collect additional evidence regarding the validity and reliability of the instrument is also discussed.