Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

PhD Candidate, Allameh Tabataba’i University

Abstract

Background: The issue of achievement or non-achievement in the realm of education is an important concern in education systems of all societies. Students and university students’ education achievement is indicative of the extent that the education system has been in setting the goals and satisfying individual demands. Education resilience is an individual variable influencing education achievement. Objective: The present research aims to study the factor reliability and validity of the academic resilience inventory, constructed by Samuels (2004). Method: Two sample populations were involved in this study. The first sample included 300 male and female subjects randomly selected from among public high school students in the city of Boukan, Iran. The second one included 319 male and female subjects who were selected from among Allameh Tabataba’i University students, using cluster sampling method. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to examine reliability of the questionnaire, and exploratory factor analysis, including principal component analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, was performed to confirm factor validity. Results: The evaluation of the first analysis scree plot was indicative of a three-factor solution. Then, to obtain the three-factor structure, the principal component analysis was performed through the varimax rotation. 11 questions were eliminated because they had a factorial load below 0.3, or had significant value or equal load on more than one factor. Finally, the analysis was performed on the remaining 29 questions. Conclusion: These three factors were named according to their comprising content with the following names: communication skills, future orientation, problem-oriented approach, and optimistic orientation. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the subscales ranged from 0.63 to 0.77 in the high school students sample and ranged from 0.62 to 0.76 in the university students sample. This shows that reliability of the three-factor model is at an acceptable level.

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