Situated goals questionnaire transcultural adjustment and validation: comparison between Colombian and Spanish students

Abstract

Introduction. This research aims to adjust and validate the Situated Goals Questionnaire to the Colombian higher education population and compare the results with those obtained previously in the Spanish population Method. A total of 500 university students from the Faculty of Education of the National Pedagogic University of Colombia participated. Four Confirmatory Factor Analysis were made to identify the factorial validity of the Situated Goal Questionnaire for the University population: 1) original model with a subsample 2) original model cross-validation analysis between two subsamples, 3) multi-group analysis between the two main phases of career 4) multi-group analysis between Colombian and Spain sample. Six regression analyses using the class's final grade as a predictive variable were made to identify predictive validity. Results. As a result, the adjusted questionnaire has good fit and reliability values. The aspects that predicts performance is the desire to learn positively; whereas, the desire to pass the class affects it negatively. The main difference between Colombian and Spanish students is that the former have a more significant relationship with the desire to pass in the performance orientation. Discussion and Conclusion. SGQ-U is a good tool for teachers to identify the activities and their impact. The type of academic task the teacher uses in the classroom influences the student' specific goals. Besides, the students differ also in their sensitivity to different academic tasks. These differences show that it is essential to consider how teachers select and use academic tasks in the classroom.