Revitalizing the Oddi Continuing Learning Inventory

The Oddi Continuing Learning Inventory (OCLI) is one of the most popular instruments for measuring self-directed learning (SDL). Although several previous studies have validated it, an exploratory application of confirmatory factor analysis had not been attempted; such an analysis provided new insights. Responses from 159 students from Aalborg University, a Problem-Based Learning institution known for its high degree of self-directed project work, were analyzed. This investigation examines all previously suggested factor structures against commonly applied measures and further develops the most promising, identifying a new three-factor structure reaching standard thresholds of model fit. The newly identified underlying dimensions of the OCLI - internal locus of control, the ability to be self-regulating, and avidity for learning - simplify the interpretation of the factors and help mitigate some of the instrument's previous problems. This will serve to keep the OCLI relevant as an instrument for measuring self-directed learning in the future. We recommend further studies to revise the OCLI, rephrasing and reconceptualizing items that have aged poorly as well as investigating the pattern of the reverse-coded items. Lastly this paper suggests that other statistical instruments might be revitalized through the application of similar methods, taking advantage of the advances in computation and statistical analysis.