The adaptation and validation of the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire for Physical Education-Elementary School

Achievement emotions such as enjoyment, anxiety, and boredom significantly influence students’ motivation, engagement, and performance in physical education (PE). Despite growing interest in academic emotions, age-appropriate tools for younger students remain limited. This study aimed to adapt and validate a brief, visually supported scale to assess enjoyment, anxiety, and boredom in PE. The goal was to develop a developmentally suitable instrument grounded in structural, linguistic, and cultural equivalence. Participants were 772 third- and fourth-grade students (388 girls) from six public elementary schools, recruited through convenience sampling. The adaptation process involved forward–backward translation, expert evaluations to ensure semantic, idiomatic, experiential, and conceptual equivalence, a pre-test to verify item clarity, and a pilot study to refine the visual layout. Psychometric properties were examined using Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM). Results supported a clear three-factor structure with strong model fit indices. ESEM yielded high factor loadings and minimal cross-loadings, confirming distinct constructs. Internal consistency was satisfactory, with Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega values above .70. Construct validity was supported by acceptable AVE and CR values, and discriminant validity was confirmed. Multi-group CFA demonstrated measurement invariance across gender (male-female) and across grade level (3rd vs. 4th), indicating stable functioning across these groups. Overall, the findings show that the adapted scale is a reliable, valid, and practical instrument for assessing achievement emotions in elementary PE, offering a brief and visually accessible option for evaluating young students’ emotional experiences.