Standardization of the Persian Version of the Academic Commitment Scale

Abstract

Background: Academic commitment as a new specialized issue has attracted the attention of educational researchers. Despite of the conducting relevant studies, it was more considered by Human-Vogel and Rabe. Their designed research tool has not yet been used in Iran. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the factor structure and reliability of this tool in Iranian learners. Methods: The primary tool consisted of 30 items and 5 dimensions (students’ satisfaction with their studies, level of commitment, investment, quality of alternatives, and meaningfulness). In this cross-sectional study, 449 pre-university students of Bandar Abbas city were selected through multi-stage sampling. Data were analyzed using AMOS and SPSS software. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine factor structure. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and Gottman and Spearman-Brown split-half coefficients, were used to test the reliability. Results: After examination the validity of the tool, five items were excluded and finally a questionnaire including 25 questions was obtained. Beta coefficients were greater than 0.4. Model fit indices, including root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), Comparative fit index (CFI), goodness of fit index (GFI), adjusted goodness of fit index (AGFI), normed fit index (NFI), incremental fit index (IFI), and Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) were obtained 0.04, 0.95, 0.91, 0.90, 0.90, 0.95, and 0.94, respectively, indicating the fitness of this five-factor tool. A Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.87, a Gottman’s split-half of 0.65, and a Spearman-Brown split-half of 0.68 were obtained, indicating the appropriate reliability of the instrument. Conclusions: Based on the results, the final version of the tool seems to be suitable for assessing academic commitment in Iranian learners in the Iran educational systems.