Validation of Internal structure of Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale among Indian Medical Students using factor analysis and the Structural equation Modelling Approach

K. Maheshkumar,P. V. Vijayaraghavan,R Padmavathi,Prabu Kumar Chokkalingam Mani,Archana Prabu Kumar,Narasimman Swaminathan,Abirami Omprakash,B. W. C. Sathiyasekaran,K. N. Maruthy

doi:10.1186/s12909-021-03035-6

Abstract

BackgroundThe Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS) is a tool that helps in the assessment of the readiness of the students to pursue Self-Directed Learning (SDL). There are no documented studies on the validation of internal structure of the SDLRS among Indian medical students. Hence, the objective of this study is to validate the internal structure of SDLRS among Indian medical students using factor analysis and the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach.MethodsWe administered Fisher’s 40-item SDLRS to 750 students after receiving the ethics clearance and the author’s permission and taking written informed consent from all the study participants (response rate: 92%). The exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and Cronbach’s alpha were performed using SPSS version 25 and the Lavaan package of R version 3.1.2.ResultsThe values of the comparative fit index (CFI), standardised root-mean-square residual (SRMR), and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) were ≥ 0.9, ≤ 0.08, and ≤ 0.08, respectively, for a model fit to be acceptable. EFA showed that except for Q2 (loading score: 0.210), Q12 (loading score: 0.384), Q13 (loading score: 0.362), and Q25 (loading score: -0.219), all the items loaded well. After the exclusion of the aforementioned items, the factor loading scores for the items in the self-management, desire for learning, and self-control factors ranged from 0.405 to 0.753 (Cronbach α: 0.775), 0.396 to 0.616 (Cronbach α: 0.730), and 0.427 to 0.556 (Cronbach α: 0.799), respectively. The updated model was used for CFA, which displayed a good model fit.ConclusionsThe resultant model consisting of 36 items is shown to have internal structure validity for Indian version of SDLRS, which can be used to assess medical students.

Highlights

The Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS) is a tool that helps in the assessment of the readiness of the students to pursue Self-Directed Learning (SDL)
Over half of the students were females (60.7%), and most of them were Indian citizens (91.9%). Both exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were performed to assess the validity of the tool
SDL is essential in EL because the structure of most of the e-modules are flexible and needs sensible judgement from students on choosing what, when and how, they plan to engage in learning activities [2]

Summary

Introduction

The Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS) is a tool that helps in the assessment of the readiness of the students to pursue Self-Directed Learning (SDL). There are no documented studies on the validation of internal structure of the SDLRS among Indian medical students. The objective of this study is to validate the internal structure of SDLRS among Indian medical students using factor analysis and the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach. In the EL environment, the learners are provided with additional options to choose what to learn, when to learn and how to learn [2]. This distinctive feature of EL requires more responsibility from learners to supervise and modify their behavior to achieve the intended learning objectives [3]. The learner has to be a self-directed learner who is inclined to actively participate in all aspects of learning process such as acquisition of new knowledge, planning of activities and evaluation of the completed tasks [3]

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