A Lifelong Learning Scale for Research and Evaluation of Teaching and Curricular Effectiveness

A 16-item lifelong learning scale (LLS), appropriate for college students and others, was evaluated using a sample of 575 college students. The scale demonstrated excellent reliability and was correlated with college grade point average (GPA), agreeableness, conscientiousness, and intellect/imagination. Scores were higher for those who had studied abroad. First-year and senior management majors differed whereas first-year and senior psychology majors did not. Women and seniors had higher scores, whereas the difference between senior men and women was almost negligible. Through its association with a broad array of measures associated positively with academic performance (e.g., college GPA), and negatively (e.g., sending text messages while in class), the scale showed excellent construct validity.