Academic Incivility Scale (AIS)

Abstract

The Academic Incivility Scale (AIS), developed by Campbell et al. (2024), is a 33-item psychometric inventory designed to measure the perceived frequency of incivility experienced by students in higher education settings, whether at the course or institutional level. The scale development process was thorough, beginning with an extensive literature review covering classroom and workplace incivility and bullying. Initial development retained 40 items, which were subsequently refined to 33 items grouped into two distinct dimensions following rigorous factor analysis. The final publication reported strong psychometric properties, including high internal consistency reliability and evidence of both convergent and divergent validity.

Keywords

Academic Incivility, Higher Education, Student Perceptions, Classroom Incivility, Psychological Assessment, Inventory, Interpersonal Communication, Personal Conduct.

Authors

Campbell, Laurie O., Tinstman Jones, Jessica, Sutter, Claudia C., Stickl Haugen, Jaimie

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Academic Incivility Scale (AIS) is to rigorously assess students’ subjective perceptions regarding the prevalence and frequency of incivility within various learning environments. The scale is specifically tailored for modern higher education settings.

It is designed to capture perceptions of incivility across diverse teaching modalities, including traditional face-to-face instruction, fully remote (online) learning, and hybrid educational models, thereby providing a comprehensive view of the academic climate.

Construct

The AIS measures the construct of Academic Incivility, which is defined as rude, discourteous, or disruptive behaviors that interfere with the effective teaching-learning process in an academic environment. This concept goes beyond simple rudeness to include actions that create a hostile or distracting educational atmosphere.

The construct is operationalized through a two-factor structure reflecting different behavioral manifestations of incivility: Interpersonal Communication and Personal Conduct.

Validity

Validity evidence for the AIS was established primarily through the examination of Convergent Validity and Divergent (or Discriminant) Validity, ensuring the scale measures the intended construct while remaining empirically distinct from related but separate constructs.

To demonstrate convergent validity, the AIS showed a statistically significant positive correlation (ρ = 0.585, p < 0.001, medium effect size = 0.34) with the Attitudes Toward Classroom In/Civility Questionnaire. Conversely, divergent validity was supported by a negative correlation (ρ = −0.391, p < 0.001, small effect size = 0.15) with the Toronto Empathy Scale, confirming that while incivility may be related to a lack of empathy, the AIS measures the distinct behavioral construct of incivility rather than solely emotional capacity.

Reliability

The reliability of the Academic Incivility Scale was assessed using measures of Internal Consistency, calculated using Cronbach’s alpha (α). The results indicate high levels of consistency across the full scale and its sub-factors, suggesting the items reliably measure the underlying construct.

• The full 33-item measure demonstrated excellent internal consistency (α = 0.973).
• Factor 1 (Interpersonal Communication) showed exceptional consistency (α = 0.972).
• Factor 2 (Personal Conduct) exhibited very strong consistency (α = 0.890).

Factor Analysis

The underlying dimensional structure of the AIS was determined through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). This analysis was crucial in refining the initial item pool and establishing the final structure of the 33-item scale.

The EFA successfully identified a robust, two-factor model. These factors, labeled Interpersonal Communication and Personal Conduct, collectively accounted for 60% of the total variance observed in the data, supporting the instrument’s theoretical foundation as a multidimensional measure of academic incivility.

Instrument

Acronym: AIS

Test Type: Original psychometric inventory

Format: Items are rated using standard Likert-style response options.

Number of Items: 33

Administration Method: Electronic

Factors and Subscales: Interpersonal Communication and Personal Conduct

Language Available: English (Original)

Population Group: Human (Male and Female)

Age Group: Adulthood (18 years & older)

Population Details: Respondents were students enrolled in higher education institutions located in the United States.

Test Methodology: Test Validity; Convergent Validity; Discriminant Validity; Test Reliability; Internal Consistency; Factor Analysis; Exploratory Factor Analysis

Keywords

Psychometric Scale, Likert Scale, Student Behavior, Remote Learning, Factor Structure, Higher Education Students, Academic Environment.

Authors

Affiliation Email addresses: The corresponding author’s email is [email protected].

Affiliation Details: All primary authors—Campbell, Tinstman Jones, Sutter, and Stickl Haugen—were affiliated with the University of Central Florida at the time of publication.

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in the source material.

Correspondence Address: Not specifically provided, but correspondence should be directed to the corresponding author at the University of Central Florida.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Academic Incivility Scale (AIS) was developed and published in 2024. Test items are not publicly available; interested researchers or practitioners must contact the corresponding author or the publisher for permissions and access to the full instrument. No information regarding required fees or licensing costs was provided in the source material.

Reference’s

• Campbell, L. O., Tinstman Jones, J., Sutter, C. C., & Stickl Haugen, J. (2024). The development of the Academic Incivility Scale for higher education. Learning Environments Research, 27(2), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-023-09478-6

Items of the Academic Incivility Scale (AIS)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

The full set of 33 test items for the Academic Incivility Scale (AIS) are not available for public download or display. Access to the scale items requires direct contact with the corresponding author ([email protected]) or the publisher of the referenced journal article.