IV. Learning and Life Skills: Life Effectiveness Questionnaire-H (LEQ-H)

Background

The 24-item Life Effectiveness Questionnaire – Version H (LEQ-H) was developed by Neill and his colleagues (Neill, 2008; Neill, Marsh, & Richards, 2003) to measure the levels of, or changes in, personal development in certain life skills domains as a result of intervention programs, particularly in the outdoor adventure domain. Life skills are conceptualised as “the psychological and behavioural aspects of human functioning which determine a person’s effectiveness or proficiency in any given situation” (Neill et al., 2003, p. 6).

Abstract

The present study examined the psychometric properties of the LEQ-H, an instrument for the assessment of life skills in project work (PW) context with Singaporean students. Specifically, we examined the internal consistency, as well as discriminant and convergent validity of the subscales in LEQ-H. Second, we tested the proposed measurement model against four other alternative models and confirmed with a second sample. In addition, we examined the invariance of the measurement tool across gender. A total of 1,264 secondary school students were recruited from nine typical government funded co-educational secondary schools in Singapore. All the subscales had adequate internal consistency, but two subscales lacked convergent validity. Five competing models were compared using confirmatory factor analyses. The results provide evidence of a seven first-order measurement model of the LEQ-H. Multigroup analysis demonstrated invariance of the factor forms, factor loadings, factor variances, and factor covariances, error variances and disturbances across gender. In summary, the findings affirm that the LEQ-H, with the seven first-order measurement model, can be an appropriate measurement tool to assess the effects of PW on students’ life skills such as time management, social competence, achievement motivation, task leadership, emotional control, active initiative and self-confidence.

Scales and Subscales

LEQ-H consists of 7 subscales, that is, time management, social competence, achievement motivation, task leadership, emotional control, active initiative and self-confidence.

Funding

This research is made possible by the funding obtained from the Education Research Fund EP 3/05 TOS: Enhancing Learning for Normal Stream Students: Insights into cognitive and motivational processes in Project Work awarded by the Ministry of Education, Singapore.

References

Neill, J. T. (2008). Enhancing life effectiveness: The impacts of outdoor education programs. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Submitted for examination.

Neill, J. T., Marsh, H. W., & Richards, G. E. (2003). The Life Effectiveness Questionnaire: Development and psychometrics. Unpublished manuscript, University of Western      Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia. Retrieved September 10, 2005, from http://wilderdom.com/abstracts/NeillMarchRichards2003LEQDevelopmentPsychometrics.htm

Citation

Wang, C. K. J., Neill, J. T., Liu, W. C., Tan, O. S., Koh, C., & Ee, J. (2008). Project work and life skills: Psychometric properties of the life effectiveness questionnaire for       project work. Educational Research Journal, 23(1), 21-43.