Evaluation of Construct Validity and Reliability of the Arabic and English Versions of Biggs Study Process Scale Among Saudi University Students

Abstract

Learning approaches are assumed as the utmost important aspect in all academic proceedings. With the identification of students’ learning approaches, relevant institutes can devise appropriate instructional strategies. Many models have been used to explore learning approaches and styles among students, but mostly in the developed world. Literature is further scarce in the Arab region. This study aimed to assess the construct validity and reliability of the revised Biggs Study Process Questionnaire-2-factor (R-SPQ-2F) both in English and Arabic. The study also explored the learning approaches among students at King Abdulaziz University Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This cross-sectional study comprised 556 participants and was carried out from October 15th, 2020, to January 15th, 2021. The reliability of the complete scale and its subscales showed good reliability, Cronbach’s α ranges from .881 to .925. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed no notable discriminant and convergent validity concerns, and all fit indices were well above threshold levels for both English and Arabic Versions. A significantly higher median deep learning score was observed in males and students with ≥4.0 GPA ( p = .018 and .012, respectively).