Validation of the Ambassador Questionnaire for Undergraduate Students Conducting Engineering Outreach

Although K-12 engineering outreach commonly involves college students, the young professionals who act as ambassadors for their field are less likely to be studied than the students they serve. Yet, outreach activities may offer opportunities for undergraduate students to develop aspects of their professional selves. As there is currently no comprehensive measure that allows researchers, program evaluators, and outreach advisors to examine ambassadors' professional development and growth, this study sought to develop and validate an Ambassador Questionnaire (AQ). The multi-step process included the selection and adaptation of items from extant measures of engineering students' motivation, beliefs, professional skills, and perceptions of ambassador training. After an expert panel evaluated the initial group of items, the 57-item AQ was completed by a diverse group of 350 undergraduate engineering students engaged in ambassadorship. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to examine construct validity, and internal consistency reliability analyses followed. The findings indicated a five-factor model that accounted for 53% of the variance and demonstrated strong internal consistency reliability. Potential uses for the measure are discussed.