A study of the reliability and validity of science learning motivation questionnaire

Subject Areas : Educational Psychology

Hossein Zare ¹ , Maryam Bakhshesh ²

1 - عضو هیئت علمی دانشگاه پیام نور
2 - دانشگاه پیام نور مرکز ملایر، گروه علوم تربیتی، همدان، ایران، نویسنده مسئول.

Received: 2016-04-08 Accepted : 2016-04-08 Published : 2013-12-22

Keywords: self efficacy, toward science learning motivation, active learning strategies, science learning value, goal performance, goal achievement, learning environment stimulation,

Abstract :

In order to test the reliability and validity of Students' Science Learning Motivation Questionnaire (SMTSL), a sample of 258 Iranian female and 117 male, aged 17-24 years (mean=22), who were studying in Payame Noor University completed the SMTSL. Calculating the internal consistency of the SMTSL revealed that all 35 items were highly correlated with the total score. Reliability assessment by computing Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and Guttman split-half coefficient for the questionnaire were 0.838 and 0.875 respectively. The correlation coefficient of 0.667 was obtained by retest in a 2 week time interval which was significant (p<0.01). In order to assess content validity, the questionnaire was given to a few psychologists who approved the potency of SMTSL in assessing science learning motivation. Factor analysis was Also, used to evaluate the internal validity, which extracted 6 factors according to the subscales of the SMTSL, which could explain 56.05% of the total variance. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient from 0.728 to 0.847 and mean of correlation from 0.92 to 0.477 of subscales, confirm internal consistency and discriminate validity of the questionnaire. The results showed that the SMTSL is a reliable and valid inventory for measuring motivation toward science learning among Iranian students.

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