Children'S Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory

The Children's Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (CAIMI), published by Psychological Assessment Resources (http://www.parinc.com), measures intrinsic motivation for school learning. CAIMI items are based on theories of intrinsic motivation measuring enjoyment of learning; an orientation toward mastery; curiosity; persistence; and the learning of challenging, difficult, and novel tasks. It is a self-report instrument consisting of 44 items, to which children rate their agreement or disagreement. There are five subscales, four being subject-area specific (reading, math, social studies, and science) and one addressing school in general. The CAIMI was originally developed (in 1985) for students in Grades 4 through 9 and in 2001 was extended through the end of high school. A modified downward extension (YCAIMI) for Grades 1 through 3 was developed in 1990.

The CAIMI may be administered to a group or to individuals and in a classroom or an office setting. Children with sufficient reading ability may complete the CAIMI on their own after instructions and practice items are read aloud. Individual, oral administration is recommended for those with learning, reading, or perceptual difficulties. Individual administration takes approximately 20–30 minutes, and for administration to a group, sufficient time must be allocated for distribution and collection of materials, bringing total time to about an hour. Percentiles and T scores are available. Advantages of the CAIMI are that it allows for distinguishing motivation from ability and [Page 139]achievement, provides a motivational profile across the four subject areas and for school in general, is easily administered and scored, and may be applied to a variety of settings. For example, the CAIMI can be used by psychologists and practitioners; teachers and school administrators in regular and special education, including programs for gifted students; program evaluators; and researchers. It has been used by school districts to help identify children for inclusion in programs for the gifted.

The CAIMI has excellent psychometric properties and has been used nationally and internationally. It has been translated into several languages, including Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, and Slovene. Major research findings made with the CAIMI include the following: (a) Motivation is uniquely related to achievement above and beyond IQ; (b) the CAIMI provides stable measurement of children's motivation from upper elementary school through the end of high school; (c) children with higher academic intrinsic motivation function more effectively in school (higher achievement, more positive self-perception of performance, lower academic anxiety, lower extrinsic motivation) from the elementary school years through the end of high school; (d) children whose parents encourage intrinsic motivation and provide a stimulating environment have greater academic intrinsic motivation; (e) intellectually and motivationally gifted children have significantly higher academic intrinsic motivation; and (f) children with exceptionally low motivation (motivationally disadvantaged children) can be identified as early as Grade 4, and such children evidence a variety of associated poor school functioning from that time though the end of high school. Research has been conducted using the CAIMI in the Fullerton Longitudinal Study, in school settings, and with a variety of children, including students in regular and special education populations. Thus, the validity of the CAIMI has been generalized across a variety of populations and settings.

...