Rethinking the Measurement of Motivational Climate: Understanding and Measuring Student Perceptions in University STEM Classes

Abstract

One goal of motivation science is to create classroom climates that support students’ success. Workforce demands and retention problems in STEM point to a need for research on how to support the motivational needs of students. Motivational climate, i.e., students’ perceptions of their learning environments’ motivating or demotivating qualities, is key in shaping students’ subsequent motivation. Extant research does not provide clarity about how motivational climate should be conceptualized and measured, especially in large post-secondary lectures. Existing measures of motivational climate are not comprehensive and have limited validity evidence to support use in the post-secondary setting. To address these challenges, we used think-aloud interviews to examine the response processes post-secondary students undertake to answer items. Our findings reveal threats to validity regardless of setting and illuminate how existing items are irrelevant to the large lecture setting. We offer insight into what practices contributed to positive motivational climate and guidance on writing items to measure motivational climate in the STEM post-secondary lecture setting.