Reliability assessment of learning goal setting orientation survey in Nigerian High Schools: Implications for administration
Chidubem Deborah Adamu
Abstract
Developing a goal-setting orientation that promotes positive learning achievement among students in Nigeria can be challenging. This study assessed the reliability of the items in the Learning Goal Setting Orientation Survey (LGSOS) for secondary school students in Osun State, Nigeria, and explore the implications for school administrators. A survey research design was utilised, with a mixed-method sampling technique used to select 40 senior secondary one and two students from 20 schools, totaling 800 students. An 84-item self-designed questionnaire titled “LGSOS” was administered to collect data from the student respondents. Results indicated that the items on LGSOS had high reliability indices, with Cronbach's alpha at 0.934, Guttman Split-half at 0.789, Spearman Brown at 0.797, and Lambda at 0.952, effectively measuring goal setting orientations and learning achievement among secondary school students in Osun State, Nigeria. Additionally, the responses showed a weak positive correlation value (r = 0.12) with a p-value less than 0.05, suggesting that school administrators were not consistently implementing learning goal setting orientation as a continuous process. One key implication of the study is the necessity of school administrators to provide resources and support to help students develop and maintain their learning goal setting orientations. The findings highlight the need for further research into revisiting the goal setting orientation of high school students in Southwestern Nigeria to enhance lifelong learning achievement.
Keywords
administration, goal orientation, learning, secondary education, reliability
Author information & Contribution
PhD. in Education Tests and Measurement, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Education Leadership and Management, Faculty of Education, University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Email: cadamu@uj.ac.za
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Funding
This work was not supported by any funding however the APC is paid by the University of Johannesburg, located in Johannesburg City, South Africa.
Institutional Review Board Statement
The study presented no potential risk or harm to participants. As such, ethical review and approval were waived for the study.
Data and Materials Availability
AI Declaration
The author declares the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in writing this paper. Specifically, Grammarly was used to search for references. The author takes full responsibility in ensuring proper review and editing of contents generated using AI.
Notes
Acknowledgement
The author is grateful to all the principals, vice principals, and teachers of the secondary schools included in the study for granting permission to conduct the research in a conducive atmosphere. Moreover, the author sincerely appreciates all the student participants who devoted time and energy to volunteer for the study.
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Cite this article:
Adamu, C.D. (2025). Reliability assessment of learning goal setting orientation survey in Nigerian High Schools: Implications for administration. International Journal of Educational Management and Development Studies, 6(1), 136-157. https://doi.org/10.53378/ijemds.353160
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