Learning climate scale: Construction, reliability and initial validity evidence

Abstract

The current study developed an instrument for measuring learning climate in organizations. A review of the organizational learning and facilitation of workplace learning literature resulted in three theoretically relevant dimensions referring to facilitation, appreciation, and error avoidance. The 3-dimensional learning climate scale (LCS) was tested in a heterogeneous sample of Dutch wage earners (N = 1013). Confirmatory factor analysis and analysis of measurement invariance were conducted to establish the factorial structure of the measure. Also, convergent, divergent, and construct validity of the LCS were investigated. The findings showed that the newly developed instrument for learning climate has good psychometric properties: the three-factor structure was supported and the sub-scales were reliable. Furthermore, the LCS showed good convergent and divergent validity.