Exploring the Factor Structure of the 2x2 Achievement Goal Orientation Scale with High School Students

Abstract

Developing scales measuring psychological constructs are a continuous process. After the initial development, considerable further work is needed in order to test its psychometric properties across samples or situations. Such studies enrich evidence for construct validity of respective measures. The 2x2 Achievement Goal Orientation Scale (AGOS) which was developed based on achievement goal theory, initial construct validity was tested on the Turkish university students. To date, no further study has been carried out on AGOS appraising measurement structure. The purpose of this study was to examine the factor structure of AGOS with Turkish high school students. Participants of the study were 465 high school students attending to schools in the city of Ankara, Turkey. Cronbach alpha internal consistency coefficients for each factor were also calculated. The factor structure of the AGOS was tested with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results of CFA showed a four-factor achievement goal orientation model, consisting of learning-approach, learning-avoidance, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance, with the acceptable fit to the data. The Cronbach's alphas for the AGOS ranged between .72 and .82. In short, the results confirmed the AGOS as capable of measuring achievement goals of high school students adequately.