Referent Differences in Pupil Motivation: Implications for Test Validity

Abstract

The findings of this study indicate that pupils may exhibit a high degree of motivation in one academic discipline but may have a low level of motivation in another discipline concurrently. Pupils may also show a high level of motivation with respect to one motivational factor in one discipline and a low level of motivation with respect to the same factor in another discipline. Assessments of pupil motivation made without reference to specific disciplines may be both unreliable and invalid when applied to specific disciplines. The data provided by this study demonstrate a need for more extensive research on referent differences in pupil motivation.

A Tool for Principals A Method for Assessing Teacher Motivation

“…The Georgia Study Matthews and Chan (1980) reported the results of field tests of an instrument to assess student motivation in dimensions of motivation that parallel the four critical aspects of teacher motivation.…”

Improving Test Scores—How To Develop Comprehensive Plans

“…However, readers are cautioned to exercise care in the interpretation of instruments assessing nonreferent specific instruments (Matthews and Chan, 1980). Once quantifiable measures are available several options can be considered.…”