Cross Cultural Validation of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire for Grades 7-11 Students in the Sultanate of Oman

Abstract

The Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) developed by Pintrich, Smith, Garcia and McKeachie (1993) has been widely used for assessing student motivation and learning strategies. This study examined the score validity and reliability of the MSLQ for use with middle and high school students in the Sultanate of Oman. Participants were 3878 students enrolled in grades 7-11 in the public schools in the Sultanate of Oman. Results revealed a modified structure of the MSLQ consisting of 22 items measuring motivation and 25 items measuring learning strategies, with reasonable levels of internal consistency. Also, the results supported the predictive utility of the MSLQ for academic achievement. Additionally, the results showed some significant group differences in motivation and learning strategies with respect to gender, grade level, subject area, school absenteeism, and SES. Implications for student motivation and learning as well as recommendations for future research are discussed.