Validation of learning adaptation patterns (PALS) scales in elementary Mexican school students

Abstract

Learning adaptation patterns scale (PALS) have been used around the world to measure some students’ aspects in learning development, in order to know what behaviors the students have in their academic performance. The instrument was created in United States, but it is necessary to validate it in other samples in order to measure students’ performance. The objective of this study was to validate some scales of the instrument (PALS) in the Mexican population, since there is not validation of the PALS in Mexico’s population. This article contains two main studies, an exploratory analysis and confirmatory analysis; it also includes a chi-square analysis between age and sex and a divergent validity analysis between the scales applied in this study. For the exploratory analysis, 380 elementary school children participated; for the confirmatory analysis, 100 elementary school children participated. The following scales were applied: Mastery goal orientation, performance-approach goal orientation, performance-avoid goal orientation, cheating behavior, disruptive behavior, dissonance between home and school, parent’s mastery goals, parent’s performance goals, and dissonance between school and home. The validation of six of the eight scales used in this study was concluded for the fourth, fifth and sixth-grade scholars in elementary schools in this sample. The distribution between the age and sex of participants were homogeneous. More research is necessary in Hispanic samples to validate more scales of the PALS, and to generalize the results to the Mexican population; there were some limitations in the study about the sample analysis. Those are presented in the discussion.