Validating and Adapting the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) for STEM Courses at an HBCU

Abstract

This study investigated the validity and reliability of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) for minority students enrolled in STEM courses at a historically black college/university (HBCU). Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the third-order factor structure and to respecify the model. An adequate fit to the study sample data was achieved for the respecified MSLQ (MSLQ-R), and measurement invariance was verified on four groups within the HBCU sample. The highest correlates with EOC grade on the MSLQ-R were self-efficacy, task value, effort regulation, and time and study environment. Metacognitive self-regulation and strategy use variables were found to not correlate with EOC grade. A useful capability to discriminate on the basis of academic performance was exhibited by the MSLQ-R.