ERIC Number: EJ882866
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-May
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0307-5079
EISSN: N/A
The Development of a Brief Measure of Learner Autonomy in University Students
Macaskill, Ann; Taylor, Elissa
Studies in Higher Education, v35 n3 p351-359 May 2010
A great deal of attention is paid to the requirement for university students to become autonomous learners. A review of the literature revealed a lack of relatively short psychometrically sound measures of autonomous learning despite its purported importance. This study aimed to develop a brief, psychometrically sound, measure of autonomous learning to facilitate empirical research in this area. Items for the scale were selected from reviewing the literature, and face validity was confirmed by experienced academics. In the first study, first-year psychology students (n = 214) completed the measure. Principal components analysis produced a 12-item measure with two subscales that appeared to be psychometrically sound. The factor structure was reproduced with a more diverse group of undergraduates (n =172) in a second study. The internal reliability and the concurrent validity of the scale were both found to be satisfactory, suggesting that this measure may prove useful to educational researchers. (Contains 6 tables.)
Descriptors: College Students, Personal Autonomy, Independent Study, College Freshmen, Measures (Individuals), Psychology, Psychometrics, Educational Researchers, Validity, Factor Structure, Factor Analysis
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A