Validation and adaptation of the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scales (PALS) in a French-speaking context: A psychometric study of secondary school students

Abstract

This paper tends to validate and adapt the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scales (PALS) to measure achievement goals in a francophone school context. The study, which involved more than 650 secondary school students, confirmed a stable five-dimensional structure after exploratory and confirmatory analyses. Criterion validity showed significant links between achievement goals, perceived stress and teacher feedback. The resulting structure of the questionnaire, due to the amalgam between several dimensions, reflects the cultural specificities of the education system studied. These findings open new perspectives on the influence of teaching practices on pupils' motivation to learn.