The measurement of motivation and self-concept within the framework of Students’ approaches to learning

Motivation and self-concept count among the educationally most relevant factors and the evaluation of many educational interventions requires their valid measurement. The present large-scale nationally representative study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of a shortened version of the Students’ Approaches to Learning questionnaire measuring ten distinct motivational and self-concept constructs. The study drew a nationally representative sample (final N = 6,209) from a population of 11 – 12-year-old Czech students. The assessment of construct validity indicated that (1) the structural relations between the constructs, (2) the specific predictive relations to achievement and grades, as well as (3) the distinct differences in constructs’ latent means between genders and students of the academic and mainstream track were mostly consistent with theory-derived predictions. The data showed that the nomological network of the measure maps relatively well onto the observed relations. Although not intended for individual assessment, the measure allows for psychometrically sound group inferences in relatively diverse student populations.