Measuring the Innovation Self-Efficacy of Engineers.

Innovation is critical to our economic and social prosperity. Faculty and administrators have undertaken resourceintensive efforts to foster innovation in engineering education, yet we inadequately understand the impact these interventions have on individuals' judgment of their own innovation ability. This exploratory study developed a comprehensive instrument to measure an individual's self-efficacy toward innovation. Creation of the instrument began with a literature review and expert interviews with practitioners and academics specializing in engineering innovation. Subsequent tests with experts (n = 22) and students in engineering innovation (n = 681) were used to provide validity and reliability evidence for an initial set of items. The resulting Innovation Self-Efficacy Measure (ISE) consists of 29-items within 9 clusters: creativity, exploration, iteration, implementation, communication, resourcefulness, synthesis, and vision. Factor loadings revealed through exploratory factor analysis ranged between 0.715-0.899 with reliabilities ranging between a Cronbach's Alpha of 0.743-0.864. Implications for evaluation within engineering education are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]