Developing a Scale to Measure the Future Intention in Junior High School Students

Abstract

A scale for future orientation was developed to investigate junior high school studentsʼ dreams and hopes for the future and the types of life they intend to live. First, a pilot survey was conducted with second-grade students (N=20) enrolled in A junior high school, and a trial version of the future orientation scale was developed by referring to previous studies. Then, the trial version was administered to first and second-grade students (N=224) enrolled in B junior high school. The scale for future orientation consisting of the following four factors and 13 items was developed by using exploratory factor analysis. The four factors included “Family orientation,” “Rich-person orientation,” “Improving good sense orientation,” and “Easygoing orientation.” Reliability of the scale was verified by examining its internal consistency, which was conducted twice at B junior high school, as well as by the test-retest method. Results indicated the sufficient reliability of the scale except for easygoing orientation. Thirdly, cross-validation was examined with first and second-grade students (N=254) enrolled in C junior high school. Results indicated the validity of the scale after excluding the easygoing orientation. Therefore, the future orientation scale was developed with three factors and 10 items; Family orientation, Rich-person orientation, and Improving good sense orientation. Furthermore, criterion-related validity was examined from the perspective of school maladaptation. The results indicated that the scale had sufficient reliability and validity.