Initial study of the psychometric properties of the motivational scales of the PALS (Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scales) focusing on the student

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to carry out an initial validation study of the motivational scales of the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scales (PALS) focusing on the student. The sample was composed of 374 Spanish students from 8º grade of middle-school. For this task, we focused on different procedures of analysis: we made confirmatory and exploratory factorial analysis. On the other hand, we calculate psychometric indexes, and the internal consistency. The results show that our version has the appropriate characteristics to be used on the educational practice and in the motivational research of secondary education students. However, the difficulties found to differentiate the “approach-avoidance” dimensions from the performance goals make us be prudent and recommend future studies of validation in such direction