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An Assessment of the Reliability and Validity of the PERMA Well-Being Scale for Adult Undergraduate Students in an Open and Distance Learning Context

Author

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  • Ishmael Magare

    (Department of Educational Psychology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa)

  • Marien Alet Graham

    (Department of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa)

  • Irma Eloff

    (Department of Educational Psychology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa)

Abstract

Background: The PERMA well-being scale measures the multidimensionality of well-being in human populations. It highlights positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment. Despite the empirical advancement and evolution of the PERMA scale in different settings, its applicability to open and distance learning (ODL) has not been adequately established among undergraduate students in sub-Saharan Africa. Methodology: Our study examines the theoretical reliability, validity, and five-factor structure of the shortened 35-item version of the PERMA well-being scale as it was adapted in an ODL tertiary institution in Botswana. The PERMA model of well-being and self-determination theory (SDT) served as theoretical frameworks. We evaluated the adapted PERMA scale’s reliability, construct validity, confirmatory factor analysis, and measures of invariance to assess if the data of undergraduate students in an ODL context study fitted the PERMA model of a well-being five-factor structure. We used a multi-stage sampling scheme incorporating a convenience sampling approach where the respondents were invited to voluntarily participate in the study through a WhatsApp group, followed by snowball sampling where we asked the participants to add others to the WhatsApp group during the timeline of the survey; the sample comprised 215 respondents (age: mean = 38.17, standard deviation = 6.472). We collected data from former and active undergraduate B.Ed. (Bachelor of Education) degree students from five regional campuses of the open university through an online survey built into the Qualtrics platform. The Cronbach’s alpha indicated that one item should be removed from the engagement domain. Results: The overall adapted scale retained a 34-item PERMA well-being scale in the particular ODL context. The goodness of fit indices confirmed the five-domain structure with the 34 items. Conclusions: The psychometric properties of the 34-item adapted PERMA well-being scale suggest that it can be a valuable and feasible instrument in ODL in sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, the adapted scale can be applied in educational settings moving towards open and distance e-learning forms of delivery.

Suggested Citation

  • Ishmael Magare & Marien Alet Graham & Irma Eloff, 2022. "An Assessment of the Reliability and Validity of the PERMA Well-Being Scale for Adult Undergraduate Students in an Open and Distance Learning Context," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-14, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:24:p:16886-:d:1004908
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. United Nations UN, 2015. "Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," Working Papers id:7559, eSocialSciences.
    2. L. Lambert D’raven & N. Pasha-Zaidi, 2016. "Using the PERMA Model in the United Arab Emirates," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 125(3), pages 905-933, February.
    3. Felicia Huppert & Timothy So, 2013. "Flourishing Across Europe: Application of a New Conceptual Framework for Defining Well-Being," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 110(3), pages 837-861, February.
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