, PYC4807 ASSIGNMENT 4 PORTFOLIO - DUE DATE: 5 OCTOBER 2026
QUESTION 1: RELIABILITY OF THE UWES-S
1(a) Type of reliability
The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students (UWES-S) is a psychological assessment
instrument designed to measure student engagement. Reliability refers to the extent to which
an assessment produces consistent and dependable results. One important form of reliability
for a questionnaire such as the UWES-S is internal consistency reliability. Internal
consistency examines whether the different items that are intended to measure the same
construct produce responses that are sufficiently related to one another.
The UWES-S measures student engagement through three dimensions, namely vigour,
dedication and absorption. The 14-item version contains five items measuring vigour, five
measuring dedication and four measuring absorption (Brand et al., 2025). The instrument
uses a seven-point response scale ranging from 0, meaning “never”, to 6, meaning “every
day”.
Internal consistency is particularly relevant because the researcher needs to establish whether
the items within each dimension are measuring the same underlying concept. If the items
demonstrate strong internal consistency, greater confidence can be placed in the consistency
of the scores obtained from the questionnaire.
1(b) Findings and interpretation
The 2025 South African study found that the UWES-S demonstrated high internal
consistency, providing evidence that the instrument reliably measures student engagement
among the students included in the study (Brand et al., 2025). This finding is important
because an assessment should not only appear appropriate; its scores should also demonstrate
an acceptable level of consistency.
The findings are consistent with earlier research on the UWES-S. Schaufeli et al. (2002)
examined student engagement across Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands and found support
QUESTION 1: RELIABILITY OF THE UWES-S
1(a) Type of reliability
The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students (UWES-S) is a psychological assessment
instrument designed to measure student engagement. Reliability refers to the extent to which
an assessment produces consistent and dependable results. One important form of reliability
for a questionnaire such as the UWES-S is internal consistency reliability. Internal
consistency examines whether the different items that are intended to measure the same
construct produce responses that are sufficiently related to one another.
The UWES-S measures student engagement through three dimensions, namely vigour,
dedication and absorption. The 14-item version contains five items measuring vigour, five
measuring dedication and four measuring absorption (Brand et al., 2025). The instrument
uses a seven-point response scale ranging from 0, meaning “never”, to 6, meaning “every
day”.
Internal consistency is particularly relevant because the researcher needs to establish whether
the items within each dimension are measuring the same underlying concept. If the items
demonstrate strong internal consistency, greater confidence can be placed in the consistency
of the scores obtained from the questionnaire.
1(b) Findings and interpretation
The 2025 South African study found that the UWES-S demonstrated high internal
consistency, providing evidence that the instrument reliably measures student engagement
among the students included in the study (Brand et al., 2025). This finding is important
because an assessment should not only appear appropriate; its scores should also demonstrate
an acceptable level of consistency.
The findings are consistent with earlier research on the UWES-S. Schaufeli et al. (2002)
examined student engagement across Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands and found support
