Development of an instrument to measure NEET-youth self-directed learning skills

The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable and valid self-report instrument to measure self-directedness in learning for young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET-youth). Accomplishing this purpose involved two stages: (a) formulating scale items that describe the factors of self-directed learning (SDL), and (b) validating the factor structure of the questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis produced a six-factor structure of openness to experiences, resilience, attitudes, future orientation, metacognition, and responsibility. The confirmatory factor analysis revealed a satisfactory model fit and factor loadings. The reliability and convergent validity of the instrument were assessed and the results of the six factors were described and compared across different samples. The resultant 34-item SDL Scale for NEET-youth (SDL-NEET) is a highly reliable (alpha = 0.927) instrument for using with students and NEET-youth.