2019 Volume 61 Issue 3 Pages 139-146
Background: Goal-setting skills are essential for the project-based learning emphasized in the present course of study. Scales of goal-setting skills are useful for the development of contents and evaluation of projectbased learning. So far, a scale of goal-setting skills for upper-grade elementary school students has been developed in Japan. However, the number of items on the scale has been small, and the reliability has been low.
Objectives: This study aims to develop a scale of goal-setting skills for upper-grade elementary school students based on the situation of their goal-setting in daily life and to verify the reliability and validity of the scale.
Methods: Firstly we conducted a questionnaire survey and focus group interview to grasp the actual situations of goal-setting in daily life, in summer vacation, and in improving performance of exercise of the upper-grade students. Secondly, we developed a preliminary scale of goal-setting skills. We conducted the survey with 419 fifth- and sixth-graders in elementary schools (193 boys and 226 girls) using the scale. Moreover, we checked the reliability and concurrent validity of the scale with scales of self-control, resilience, and self-efficacy, respectively.
Results: (1) A scale of goal-setting skills had high reliability (α=.814, 17 items). Four factors of goal-setting skills were extracted with factor analysis: “will to achieve” (α=.833, 8 items), “plan to achieve” (α=.713, 4 items）, “consultation with their surroundings” (α=.703, 3 items), and “flexible goal-setting” (α=.529, 2 items)
(2) Goal-setting skills showed a significantly positive relationship with scales of self-control (r=.474, p<.001), resilience (r=.673, p<.001), and self-efficacy (r=.318, p<.001). Subscales of “will to achieve” and “plan to achieve” also showed significantly positive relationships with the three scales (r=.225− .661). Goodness of fit of the scale of goal-setting skills was satisfactory with GFI=.919, AGFI=.891, RMSEA=.061, and AIC=372.211
(3) The goal-setting skills scores were significantly higher in girls than in boys among the sixth-graders (F(1,417)=3.90, p<.05).
Conclusion: The concurrent validity of the goal-setting skills and the subscales was confirmed. The reliability was also secured except for the factor“flexible goal-setting,”which had lower reliability.
