The Adaptation of Academic Motivation Scale to Turkish.

AbstractThe current study evaluated the psychometric evidence of Turkish form of the Academic Motivation Scale. The scale was based on the tenets of self-determination theory. It was designed to assess an individual's academic motivation if intrinsically or extrinsically driven with 28 questions. University form of the scale was translated into Turkish through appropriate methodological procedures. 390 university students completed the forms. Outcome variables also included the measures of test anxiety and communal mastery. Hypotheses testing and exploratory factor analyses methods were used. Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the seven-factor structure. Cronbach's alpha and item-total correlation coefficients were also calculated. The Turkish version of the scale has satisfactory levels of validity and reliability. Reanalyzing the measurement properties of the scale is recommended.Key WordsAcademic Motivation Scale, Adaptation, Reliability, Validity.Motivational problems are very widely seen in education. One of the greatest frustrations mentioned by many teachers is that their students are often not motivated to learn. Every educator needs to be concerned about the concept of motivation. As the cognitive domains are the most important objectives of education (Erturk, 1979), every teacher wants to achieve cognitive objectives in the classroom. A child that is academically motivated wants to learn, likes learning-related activities and improves academically (Cunningham, 2003; Keceli-Kaysili, 2008). In order to study issues of academic motivation there has been increasing need for a standardized, validated and reliable measure of academic motivation. This study presents findings from the adaptation of The Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) (Vallerand et al., 1992, 1993) from English to Turkish.Different kinds of motivation are defined in the literature [see: Turk Dil Kurumu [TDK], 2011]. Pintrich and Schunk (2002, p. 5) defined motivation as "the process whereby goal-directed activity is instigated and sustained". Woolfolk (2004, p. 350) defined "an internal state that arouses, directs, and maintains behavior". Thorkildsen, Nicholls, Bates, Brankis, and DeBolt (2002, p. xi) defined "an internal force that activates, guides, and maintains behavior over time" and asserted that motivation comprises of some multidimensional systems that guide individuals' willingness to approach or to avoid particular tasks. From these varied of definitions, motivation has been conceptualized with regard to inner forces, enduring traits, behavioral responses to stimuli and sets of beliefs and affects (Evans, 2000). Practically, motivation is also known as academic engagement and is identified as the most influential of all the factors that affect student performance (Francis et al., 2004). Moreover, it is suggested that motivation is the only factor that directly impacts academic achievement; all other factors affect achievement through their effect on motivation. Academic achievement related motivation involves a rather complicated set of issues (Stipek, 2002, p. 12) described as "The cognitive, emotional, and behavioral indicators of students' investment in and attachment to education" (Tucker, Zayco, & Herman, 2002, p. 477). Many factors influence the development and use of motivation strategies of students (Ellis & Worthington, 1994; Matuga, 2009; McCaslin & Hickey, 2001; Pintrich & De Groot, 1990; Renchler, 1992; Scheuermann, 2000; Winne, 2001; Zimmerman, 1990, 1994, 2001). One such factor is the student's perception of themselves as being intrinsically or extrinsically motivated to engage in learning activities within educational environments (Barron & Harackiewicz, 2001; Elliot & Thrash, 2001). Another factor is the student's perceived self-efficacy, which is defined as people's beliefs about their capabilities. Self-efficacy determines how people feel, think, motivate themselves and behave. …