Academic motivation scale - reliability and validity evidence among undergraduate nursing students.

Geisa Colebrusco de Souza,Maria Madalena Januário Leite,Everson Meireles,Vera Lúcia Mira

doi:10.1590/1518-8345.3848.3420

Abstract

Objective: to assess the evidence of validity and reliability of the academic motivation scale (AMS) based on the internal structure.Method:this is a methodological study with 205 undergraduate nursing students. Dimensionality/internal structure of the AMS was assessed using factor analysis in the context of exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) and reliability of the factors was assessed by Cronbach’s alpha (α) coefficient and composite reliability (CR) coefficient.Results:acceptable fit indexes were obtained (CFI = 0.92; RMSEA = 0.07; SRMR = 0.06) for a three-dimensional model: intrinsic motivation (10 items; α = 0.84; CR = 0.86); extrinsic motivation (8 items; α = 0.84; CR = 0.90); and demotivation (4 items; α = 0.84; CR = 0.88). A significant correlational pattern was found for the motivation continuum.Conclusion:the dimensionality analysis for the AMS presented a model with three factors: intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and demotivation, and was considered a reduced alternative to the original version of seven factors. This study helped assess the validity of the measurement instrument and its theory refinement; further studies should be conducted to assess its invariance property.

Highlights

According to the self-determination theory (SDT), motivation can be analyzed as a complex and multidimensional theoretical construct
The students who agreed to participate remained in the room to answer the instrument and sign an informed consent form (ICF), which was returned to the researcher
Data were organized in Microsoft Office Excel spreadsheets and factor analyses were performed using the exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM)(27), whose source of information was a polychoric correlation matrix

Summary

Introduction

According to the self-determination theory (SDT), motivation can be analyzed as a complex and multidimensional theoretical construct. The types of motivation can explain the different reasons why people act in a certain way, based on different types of regulation and causal locus of behavior. The SDT includes demotivation, that is, the absence of any type of motivation(1-5). Based on the SDT, Canadian researchers developed the Echelle de Motivation en Education (EME) in French(6), which was translated into English, validated and renamed as the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS)(7). This scale was developed to measure the motivation level of students and their self-perception of the reasons for engaging in an activity(6-8). Students are expected to have the most autonomous types of motivation, as studies have demonstrated positive relations between these autonomous types and student performance(3-5)

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Methods

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Discussion

Conclusion