Development and Validation of the Positive School Orientation Questionnaire

The main objective of this study was to develop and validate the Positive School Orientation Questionnaire and to assess its underlying factors, utilizing a representative group of female students in their first year of secondary school during the 2014 - 2015 academic year in Zanjan, Iran. In order to select a suitable sample size, a stratified random sampling approach was implemented, resulting in a sample of 303 participants. The study utilized a descriptive-contextualization research methodology. To extract the underlying components of the questionnaire, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was utilized. The data was analyzed using the SPSS software. To determine an appropriate sample size, the research team relied on the Kaiser-Meier-Olkin (KMO) index for guidance. The Principal Component Analysis showed that the Positive Orientation toward school Questionnaire comprised of four major factors: School Satisfaction, School Belonging Feeling, Academic Effort, and Attitude toward Classmates. The fourth component, with its small Cronbach's Alpha coefficient due to its limited number of items(4), was the sole exception among the others. The other items sustained an acceptable internal consistency score. Consequently, the Positive Orientation toward Schools Questionnaire is deemed a reliable instrument for examining the feelings and behaviors of students towards schooll.