Measuring civic character in higher education contexts: development and initial testing of a framework and evaluation tool

Purpose This article reports on the development and initial testing of the Tisch College Civic Identity, Civic Leadership and Civic Agency (TC3C) Scale, a psychometrically sound measure of civic character. Existing civic measures often focus on isolated behaviors or fragmented constructs. This study centers civic character as a holistic, developmental outcome that reflects how students understand themselves, relate to others, and navigate civic and structural contexts. Design/methodology/approach Using an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design, focus groups with U.S. college students were used to develop items based on how students described civic identity, civic leadership and civic agency. These qualitative insights guided item revisions prior to exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses with two large survey samples. The iterative process strengthened item clarity, relevance and validity while rigorously testing the scale's structure and reliability. Findings Analyses supported a five-factor model: Civic Identity, Civic Leadership and three dimensions of Civic Agency – Efficacy, Awareness of Inequality and Root Cause Analysis. The final model demonstrated strong reliability, conceptual coherence and adequate fit across samples. Originality/value This study offers an empirically grounded, developmentally informed measure of civic character tailored to higher education. By integrating student perspectives with psychometric evidence, the TC3C Scale provides a meaningful tool for researchers and institutions seeking to assess and strengthen civic learning, leadership development and civic agency within higher education contexts.