Vol 6 No 1 (2026)

While much research has focused on the negative aspects of teaching, such as stress and burnout, greater attention should be given to teachers' motivation and other positive factors. Special consideration is required for teachers' positive mental state; hence, studies on teachers' work engagement are necessary, not only through self-reports but also through students' perspectives. Elementary students, in particular, attribute an important role to their teachers, seeing them as models for group interactions. For these reasons, the aim of this study was to validate an adapted version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale to measure teacher engagement as perceived by their students. The sample comprised 521 students in grades 5 and 6 from urban public primary schools in Sonora, Mexico. Data were collected using an adaptation of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and the School Satisfaction subscale of the instrument developed by Liu et al. (2014). The validity evidence was assessed through a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and a correlation matrix to examine convergent validity. The results supported a two-factor structure of teacher engagement, comprising vigour and dedication, and the scale demonstrated acceptable reliability.