Validity evidences study of causal attributions scale for elementary school students (CAS-EE) and its implications for the school context

• Grant number: 17/01370-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: May 01, 2017
• End date: January 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Fundamentals and Assessments in Psychology
• Agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Acacia Aparecida Angeli dos Santos
• Grantee: Adriana Satico Ferraz
• Host Institution: Universidade São Francisco (USF). Campus Campinas. Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 17/21441-6 - Expansion of validity evidences of the causality attribution scale in elementary school students, BE.EP.MS

Abstract

Causal attributions refer to a motivational construct that encompasses the set of emotions and affections generated in the student as a result of the interpretation of situations involving school success and failure. It is composed of four factors, namely, intelligence, effort, task difficulty and luck, which encompass three dimensions: locus, stability and controllability. Another motivational construct that has been much studied in Brazil is the motivation to learn, in the perspective of achievement goals, that alludes to the way in which the student realizes at the school activities and behaves in the classroom. Can be classified as learning goal (student engaged in acquiring new knowledge), performance approach goal (student concerned about getting good grades and standing out from classmates) and performance avoidance goal (student affected by fear of taking low grades and looking less intelligent). Due to the relevance of investigating these constructs and the importance of the elaboration of instruments with good psychometric parameters for their evaluation, the present project will investigate the validity evidence of the Causal Attributions Scale for Elementary School Students (CAS-EE) by comparison with measures that evaluate related constructs (achievement goals), using the Learning Motivation Scale (LMS). It is also proposed to verify the criterion validity evidence of the CAS-EE by comparing students' scores considering the variables gender and school grade. It is estimated a sample of 700 studants, from the first and second cycle of elementary school (3rd to 9th grade), coming from public educatonal institutions. As mentioned, the instruments used will be the Causal Attributions Scale for Elementary School Students and Learning Motivation Scale. For its execution, ethical procedures in human research will be adopted in accordance with Resolution CNS 510/2016 of the National Health Council (Brazil, 2016). The data analysis will be carried out through the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) using statistical tests compatible with the investigation of validity evidences proposed in the objectives of this project. (AU)