The development of a questionnaire to measure students' motivation towards science learning

TLDR

The study aimed to develop and validate a questionnaire to assess students’ motivation toward science learning and to discuss its use in research and classroom settings. The questionnaire comprised six scales—self‑efficacy, active learning strategies, science learning value, performance goal, achievement goal, and learning environment stimulation—and was administered to 1,407 junior high students in central Taiwan via stratified random sampling. The SMTSL questionnaire demonstrated strong internal consistency (α = 0.89 overall, 0.70–0.89 per scale), significant correlations with science attitudes (r = 0.41) and achievement (r ≈ 0.40), and distinct scores between high and low motivators, confirming its validity and reliability.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop a questionnaire that measures students' motivation toward science learning (SMTSL). Six scales were developed: self‐efficacy, active learning strategies, science learning value, performance goal, achievement goal, and learning environment stimulation. In total, 1407 junior high school students from central Taiwan, varying in grades, sex, and achievements, were selected by stratified random sampling to respond to the questionnaire. The Cronbach alpha for the entire questionnaire was 0.89; for each scale, alpha ranged from 0.70 to 0.89. There were significant correlations (p < 0.01) of the SMTSL questionnaire with students' science attitudes (r = 0.41), and with the science achievement test in previous and current semesters (r p = 0.40 and r c = 0.41). High motivators and low motivators showed a significant difference (p < 0.01) on their SMTSL scores. Findings of the study confirmed the validity and reliability of the SMTSL questionnaire. Implications for using the SMTSL questionnaire in research and in class are discussed in the paper.