Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Assistant Professor of Islamic Azad University of Tabriz
2 Faculty member-Islamic Azad University_Roudehen Branch
Abstract
The aim of the study was to develop, validate and determine the factor structure of a questionnaire for measure students' positive orientation toward school. Method: By using literature review and experts opinion a questionnaire comprising 60 questions was developed. In order to determine comprehensibility, validity and reliability, the questionnaire was completed by 30 students and three of those questions were dropped because of inadequacy. Then 303 students were selected through multiple steps random sampling method and completed 57 items questionnaire. In order to extract the underlying components of the 57-item Positive Orientation to School Questionnaire, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used and the data were analyzed using SPSS software. The Kayser-Meier-Oliken index (KMO) was 0.891. This index indicates that sample size is desirable for exploratory factor analysis. Results: Principal components analysis revealed that Positive Orientation to School Questionnaire consists of four factors: school satisfaction, school belonging feeling, academic effort and attitude towards classmates. according to confirmatory factor analysis, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the four components extracted were 0.892, 0.875, 0.646 and 0.552, respectively. With the exception of the fourth component which has a relatively low Cronbach's alpha coefficient due to the low number of items (4 items), the other items have acceptable internal consistency. Conclusion: The Positive Orientation to School Questionnaire is a reliable tool for assessing students' feelings and behaviors toward school.
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