Vaux’s (2015) investigation of academic optimism and its effect on school effectiveness prompted the use of confirmatory factor analysis to examine the stability of the School Academic Optimism Scale (SAOS) factor structure with elementary teachers from 67 school in Northern Alabama. The reciprocal nature of academic optimism’s subscales warrants further examination into the explanation of greater school effectiveness.

1. Construct Validity of the School
Academic Optimism Scale
among Elementary School
Teachers
Nicole Vaux, University of Alabama
Jessica M. Harlan, University of South Alabama
Roxanne Mitchell, University of Alabama

2. School Academic Optimism
 Bandura’s social cognitive & self-efficacy theories (Bandura,
1986; 1997)
 Coleman’s social capital theory (1990)
 Hoy & colleagues’ work on culture and climate (Hoy, Tarter,
Kottkamp, 1991; Hoy, Tarter, Hoy, 2006a; 2006b)
 Seligman’s study of learned optimism (1998)

3. School Academic Optimism
School
Academic
Optimism
Collective efficacy
Faculty Trust
Academic Emphasis
School Academic Optimism Scale (Hoy, Tarter, Hoy, 2006a; McGuigan & Hoy, 2006; Smith &
Hoy, 2007)

4. Present Research
Previous research examined construct validity at scale
level (e.g., Smith & Hoy, 2007; Kirby & DiPaola, 2011)
Present research tests model at item level
Data from larger investigation
 Relationships between academic optimism and organizational climate
 Determine if they predicted academic achievement and school
effectiveness

5. Participants
 N = 468 from 67 schools from 20 districts in a mid-south state
 48% of schools were free and reduced lunch
 41 were Title 1 schools

6. Hypothesized Model
School
Academic
Optimism
Collective
efficacy
12 items
Faculty
Trust
10 items
Academic
Emphasis
8 items

7. Goodness of Fit Statistics
Χ2 df CFI RMSEA SRMR
1411.08 402 .826 .073 .0743
Attempted to improve model fit, but did not see
improvement

8. Exploring the Factor Structure
Factor
Eigenval
ue
Variance Explained
1 9.754 32.51%
2 2.664 8.88%

9. Factor 1
Trust and Support
These students come to school ready to learn.
Home life provides so many advantages that students are bound to learn.
The opportunities in this community help ensure that these students will
learn.
Teachers in this school trust the parents.
Parents in this school are reliable in their commitments.
Students in this school can be counted upon to do their work.
Teachers can count upon parental support.
Teachers think that most of the parents do a good job.
Teachers can believe what parents tell them.

10. Factor 2
Academic Emphasis
The school sets high standards for performance.
Students respect others who get good grades.
Academic achievement is recognized and acknowledged by the school.
Students try hard to improve on previous work.
The learning environment is orderly and orderly.
The students in this school can achieve the goals that have been set for
them.
Teachers in this school believe that their students have the ability to
achieve academically.

11. Conclusions
Model does not fit for this sample
Explanations
Factor structure differs because of sample characteristics
Ill-defined construct

12. Limitations & Future Research
Limitations
Non-random data
Sample size
Moving forward
Findings on other measures for this sample differed from
prior research – why?
Replication with other groups (e.g., regions, grade levels)

13. Questions?
Nicole Vaux
nicolevaux@yahoo.com