Contribution: This study reports on a reliable and valid instrument that measures engineering students’ perceptions of their competency levels. A better understanding of students’ needs in engineering curricula will support the development of engineering students’ transversal competencies. Background: Prior research has investigated how engineering students perceive competency levels in transversal competencies. However, limitations in the competency definition, psychometric properties, and generalizability were found. Research questions: 1) What is the reliability and validity of the competency level instrument? and 2) what are the transversal competency level perceptions of engineering Bachelor and Master students? Methodology: A questionnaire consisting of 36 transversal competencies was designed based on an existing industry model and administered to 1087 engineering Bachelor and Master students from the University of Technology, The Netherlands. Validity and reliability were tested through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Cronbach’s alpha. Findings: EFA resulted in five scales with reliable Cronbach’s alpha values. CFA demonstrated a good model fit for the five-factor model with 25 items. Students perceived they are most competent in teamwork and lifelong learning competencies and less competent in entrepreneurial competencies.

中文翻译：

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测试一种工具的有效性和可靠性，以衡量工程专业学生的横向能力水平

贡献：这项研究报告了一种可靠且有效的工具，可以测量工程专业学生对其能力水平的看法。在工程课程中更好地了解学生的需求将为工程学生的横向能力的发展提供支持。背景：先前的研究已经调查了工科学生如何看待横向能力中的能力水平。但是，发现了能力定义，心理计量学特性和泛化能力方面的局限性。研究问题：1）能力水平工具的可靠性和有效性是什么？2）对工程学学士和硕士生的横向能力水平的看法是什么？方法：根据现有的行业模型，设计了由36种横向能力组成的问卷，并向来自荷兰科技大学的1087名工程学学士和硕士学生进行了管理。通过探索性因素分析（EFA）和确认性因素分析（CFA）以及Cronbach's alpha对有效性和可靠性进行了测试。发现：EFA得出了五个具有可靠Cronbach's alpha值的量表。CFA展示了一个很好的模型，适用于包含25个项目的五因子模型。学生认为他们在团队合作和终身学习能力方面最有能力，而在创业能力方面则没有能力。