Background: Academic motivation guides students toward the achievement of academic objectives and influences their learning. However, there is little research on this subject in nursing education, and validated instruments are not available in Latin America.
Objective: To determine the validity and reliability of the Academic Goals Orientation Questionnaire in Colombian nursing students.
Design: Cross-sectional psychometric study developed in the second semester of 2016.
Settings and participants: Undergraduate students in nursing at the National University of Colombia (n = 323).
Methods: The Academic Goals Orientation Questionnaire was administered electronically. In addition, the variables of age, sex and academic year were collected. An analysis of construct validity was carried out by exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The reliability of the questionnaire was studied with Cronbach's alpha.
Results: The exploratory factor analysis revealed the presence of four factors that explain 53.4% of the total variance and that correspond to the dimensions of the original instrument. The overall reliability was α = 0.714. The confirmatory factor analysis verified a good fit of the model (χ2 = 128, p = .024); its standardized mean square residue (SRMR) was 0.0471; the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) was 0.03 (IC95% = 0.011-0.044), and the comparative fit index (CFI) was 0.972. The learning or task goal obtained the highest average score (m = 4.67, 95% CI = 4.629-4.712), and the Work avoidance goal was the worst rated (m = 2.126, 95% CI = 2.055-2.198) by the students.
Conclusion: The Academic Goal Orientation Questionnaire has an adequate validity and reliability in the Colombian context that allows it to be applied in nursing students. However, it is recommended to expand the study with larger samples and other countries in the same context.
Keywords: Academic goal; Academic performance; Motivation; Nursing students; Orientation.
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