MEASURING MOTIVATIONAL ASPECTS OF ONLINE LEARNING: DEVELOPMENT AND INITIAL VALIDATION OF A NEW INSTRUMENT

Online learning has witnessed an exponential increase in public interest and use in the last decade. However, an increasing number of professionals in this field suggest that attrition levels among online students are very high and more should be done to understand what motivates them to learn and what can be done to improve their motivation. The purpose of the present study was to develop a quantitative self-report measure of situational interest, perceived utility, and self-efficacy, and to conduct an initial investigation of its reliability and validity. Such endeavors are essential because these three motivational factors have been shown to be predictors of effort and self-regulation in both traditional and online contexts. These scales were developed based on previous research, and adapted for use in both online and blended learning environments. Data was collected using the initial items from 134 psychology undergraduates who enrolled in an online course on academic writing. Result confirmed our three factor model (NFI = .95; CFI = .97) and showed that all three scales had high internal consistency (alpha was between .80 and .91). The applications of this measure, in both research and practice, are discussed.