An Evaluation of the Factor Structure and Internal Consistency of the ‘Conceptions of Learning’ and ‘Preferences for Teaching’ Measures in American Occupational Therapy Students

When planning to use measurement scales in new samples and contexts, examining the scales’ psychometric properties is an important initial step. This study examined the factor structure and internal consistency of two measures that are part of the <em>Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for...

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Main Authors: Tore Bonsaksen, Adele Breen-Franklin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Eastern Kentucky University 2020-01-01
Series:Journal of Occupational Therapy Education
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.26681/jote.2020.040104
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author Tore Bonsaksen
Adele Breen-Franklin
author_facet Tore Bonsaksen
Adele Breen-Franklin
author_sort Tore Bonsaksen
collection DOAJ
description When planning to use measurement scales in new samples and contexts, examining the scales’ psychometric properties is an important initial step. This study examined the factor structure and internal consistency of two measures that are part of the <em>Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students</em> (ASSIST) – the <em>Conceptions of learning</em> and <em>Preferences for teaching and courses</em> – in a sample of American occupational therapy students. The students (<em>n</em> = 115) completed the measures and provided basic sociodemographic information. Scale structure was examined with Principal Components Analysis (PCA), while consistency between scale items was assessed with mean inter-item correlations. For the <em>Conceptions of learning</em> measure, one item was removed due to cross-loading between factors. The subsequent analysis revealed two factors, representing deep and surface conceptions of learning, on which the items – with one exception – loaded in line with theory. For the <em>Preferences for teaching and courses</em> measure, two factors were found, representing preferences denoted in theory as supporting understanding and transmitting information, respectively. The items showed good fit with the two theoretically proposed factors. The scales’ mean inter-item correlations were satisfactory, ranging 0.27-0.36. One item on the <em>Conceptions of learning</em> measure appears to be problematic due to cross-loading, and another may be interpreted in a different way than originally proposed. After removing the problematic item, all scales showed satisfactory psychometric properties for assessing conceptions of learning and preferences for teaching.
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spelling doaj.art-e6e70f3277824e7789153677d43f81fb2022-12-22T00:52:25ZengEastern Kentucky UniversityJournal of Occupational Therapy Education2573-13782573-13782020-01-014110.26681/jote.2020.040104An Evaluation of the Factor Structure and Internal Consistency of the ‘Conceptions of Learning’ and ‘Preferences for Teaching’ Measures in American Occupational Therapy StudentsTore Bonsaksen0Adele Breen-Franklin1OsloMet - Oslo Metropolitan UniversityUniversity of the Sciences, PhiladelphiaWhen planning to use measurement scales in new samples and contexts, examining the scales’ psychometric properties is an important initial step. This study examined the factor structure and internal consistency of two measures that are part of the <em>Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students</em> (ASSIST) – the <em>Conceptions of learning</em> and <em>Preferences for teaching and courses</em> – in a sample of American occupational therapy students. The students (<em>n</em> = 115) completed the measures and provided basic sociodemographic information. Scale structure was examined with Principal Components Analysis (PCA), while consistency between scale items was assessed with mean inter-item correlations. For the <em>Conceptions of learning</em> measure, one item was removed due to cross-loading between factors. The subsequent analysis revealed two factors, representing deep and surface conceptions of learning, on which the items – with one exception – loaded in line with theory. For the <em>Preferences for teaching and courses</em> measure, two factors were found, representing preferences denoted in theory as supporting understanding and transmitting information, respectively. The items showed good fit with the two theoretically proposed factors. The scales’ mean inter-item correlations were satisfactory, ranging 0.27-0.36. One item on the <em>Conceptions of learning</em> measure appears to be problematic due to cross-loading, and another may be interpreted in a different way than originally proposed. After removing the problematic item, all scales showed satisfactory psychometric properties for assessing conceptions of learning and preferences for teaching.https://doi.org/10.26681/jote.2020.040104factor analysishigher educationoccupational therapypsychometricsscale reliabilitystudents
spellingShingle Tore Bonsaksen
Adele Breen-Franklin
An Evaluation of the Factor Structure and Internal Consistency of the ‘Conceptions of Learning’ and ‘Preferences for Teaching’ Measures in American Occupational Therapy Students
Journal of Occupational Therapy Education
factor analysis
higher education
occupational therapy
psychometrics
scale reliability
students
title An Evaluation of the Factor Structure and Internal Consistency of the ‘Conceptions of Learning’ and ‘Preferences for Teaching’ Measures in American Occupational Therapy Students
title_full An Evaluation of the Factor Structure and Internal Consistency of the ‘Conceptions of Learning’ and ‘Preferences for Teaching’ Measures in American Occupational Therapy Students
title_fullStr An Evaluation of the Factor Structure and Internal Consistency of the ‘Conceptions of Learning’ and ‘Preferences for Teaching’ Measures in American Occupational Therapy Students
title_full_unstemmed An Evaluation of the Factor Structure and Internal Consistency of the ‘Conceptions of Learning’ and ‘Preferences for Teaching’ Measures in American Occupational Therapy Students
title_short An Evaluation of the Factor Structure and Internal Consistency of the ‘Conceptions of Learning’ and ‘Preferences for Teaching’ Measures in American Occupational Therapy Students
title_sort evaluation of the factor structure and internal consistency of the conceptions of learning and preferences for teaching measures in american occupational therapy students
topic factor analysis
higher education
occupational therapy
psychometrics
scale reliability
students
url https://doi.org/10.26681/jote.2020.040104
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