Promising Practices for School Organization of Mental Health Supports
Category: Student Well-Being
Instrument Overview
Expert Notes AvailableView expert commentary on strengths and cautions for this instrument
Strengths
Measures not only engagement but avoidance, enabling differentiation between lack of interest and active disengagement.
Cautions
Mentions of media types where students might encounter science content need updating (e.g. magazine subscriptions)
Take care when scoring: Some items are reverse-coded.
Not to be used as a diagnostic for individuals.
If you want to use it for ages other than late elementary/middle, verify its reliability and validity with those other age groups first.
Doesn't make sense with populations who don't have internet access.
Zoos, nature hikes, and natural history museums are left out of the survey items because they weren't relevant to the population originally tested on
The Continuing Motivation Survey (CMS) is a survey that assesses students' engagement with science content outside of school. It is composed of 19 instruments, and studies students' motivation around science education outside of school and school-mandated education.
The term "continuing motivation" comes from Maehr (1976) who conceptualized it as a “behavior in which the individual, relatively free from external constraints, returns to a task or task area and works on it on his own.”
This survey can be used to examine how students’ continuing motivation relates to learning, development, and longer-term outcomes, including connections between middle school experiences and later educational or career choices. It is also useful for evaluating educational programs and settings by capturing affective dimensions of science learning—such as engagement and disengagement—allowing researchers to consider both potential benefits and unintended negative effects over time.
Maehr, M. L. (1976). Continuing motivation: An analysis of a seldom considered educational outcome. Review of Educational Research, 46(3), 443–462.
Organization
Topic
Collection Category(ies)
Content
Grades
5th Grade,
6th Grade,
7th Grade,
8th Grade
Languages
English,
Hebrew
Respondent
Student
Administration Information
Length
19 items
Access and Use
Price
Free
Contact
David Fortus:
Phone: 972-8-9342493
Email: david.fortus@weizmann.ac.il
Dana Vedder-Weis:
Email: vedderwe@bgu.ac.il
Open Access
No
Use in Research
None indicated
