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.