A Factor Analytic Study of the Adult Classroom Environment Scale

Abstract

This study explored the factor structure of Darkenwald and Valentine's Adult Classroom Environment Scale (ACES). The Student Ideal form of the ACES was administered to 449 adult students from a variety of educational settings and a factor analysis was performed. All but 15 of the original 49 items loaded clearly with a five-factor orthogonal solution, which only partially supported the seven dimensions proposed by Darkenwald and Valentine. A revised version of the scale was then administered to an additional 287 adult students. A second factor analysis largely confirmed the stability of the five factor solution, although a tentative sixth factor was identified.