Developing a standardised measure of student motivation for use in diverse cultural settings : an overview of research

Poor quality measurement instruments are often a weak link between theory and empirical research. Hence, the purpose of this study was to develop and validate a standardised measure of the Inventory of School Motivation (ISM), based upon Maehr's Personal Investment Theory. Utilising a large-scale longitudinal database from previous studies on student motivation, this research was concerned with developing a normed instrument of school motivation for use in a number of different cultural groups. The study examined the multidimensional and hierarchical structure of achievement goal orientation measured by the Inventory of School Motivation. It examined similarities and differences in the motivational profiles of different cultural groups and related these profiles to student achievement outcomes. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to validate the psychometric properties of the measures and reliability tests were conducted to establish the internal consistency for each scale. Factorial invariance analysis was conducted to examine the equivalence of the data structure across cultural groups, and SEM was conducted to examine the structural relations between eight ISM factors and four outcome measures (Math, English, GPA and School attendance). Multivariate analysis of variances was conducted to examine statistical difference among the seven cultural groups in relation to eight ISM scales. This paper briefly reports the findings of these analyses.