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Abstract

The development and validation of the Course Structure Inventory (CSI), a measure of student attitude toward course structure and course difficulty, is described. A sample of 215 college students was given the CSI along with measures of arousal-seeking tendency, achievement motivation, and dogmatism. A significant negative correlation was found between scores on the arousal seeking measure and those on the attitude toward course structure subscale of the CSI (high scores indicating preference for high structure). A significant positive correlation was observed between scores on the dogmatism measure and the attitude toward course structure subscale. Finally, a significant negative correlation was found between scores on the dogmatism measure and those on the subscale representing attitude toward course difficulty (high scores indicating a preference for more difficult courses). Potential applications of the CSI are discussed.

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The Course Structure Inventory: Discriminant and Construct Validity

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