Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ): Adaptation, validation, and development of a short form in the Chinese context for mathematics

The Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) is one of the most widely used instruments to measure students' motivation and self‐regulated learning. However, the MSLQ was developed and has been predominantly used in the Western context, is a domain‐general measure, and is quite lengthy. Hence, adapting the MSLQ to the Chinese educational context, validating its application in specific subjects, and developing a short form would be an optimal way to improve its accessibility. This study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the MSLQ in mathematics learning (i.e., MSLQ‐C) and develop a short form (i.e., MSLQ‐CS) using set exploratory structural equation modeling. The sample consisted of 563 senior secondary students in China. Results demonstrated that both MSLQ‐C and MSLQ‐CS showed acceptable construct validity, reliability, and concurrent validity. Furthermore, structural relationships and interrelationships among the subscales and their relationships with mathematics achievement were highly similar for MSLQ‐C and MSLQ‐CS. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Practitioner Points We developed the MSLQ‐CS as a short form of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) in the Chinese context for mathematics learning Each variable of the MSLQ‐CS was reduced to three items but we kept the MSLQ's conceptual scope unchanged The MSLQ‐CS is psychometrically sound and able to reproduce the information obtained from the longer form of the MSLQ The MSLQ‐CS could reduce participants' burden and be used when test time is limited