The Learning Behaviors Scale (LBS; McDermott, Green, Francis, & Stott, 1999) provides a cost and time effective measure of key learning behaviors that influence student learning and includes American national norms. Canivez and Beran (2011) replicated McDermott’s (1999) original LBS standardization sample structure in a Canadian sample (N=393) as did Canivez, Willenborg, and Kearney (2006) with an American sample (N=241). However, Canivez and McDermott (2015) reexamined the LBS structure in the standardization sample (N=1,500) using polychoric correlations and oblique modeling and both EFA and CFA supported a bifactor structure with one general factor and three group factors (all 29 items uniquely assigned to one group factor). The present study reexamined the LBS structure from the Canadian sample (N=393) using identical methods as Canivez and McDermott (2015).

The 29X29 item smoothed polychoric correlation matrix was generated using EQS due to the ordinal items. EFA (PAF, Promax rotation of correlated factors) included multiple criteria (Gorsuch,1983) to determine the number of factors to retain. The latent factor correlation matrix was then analyzed using the Schmid–Leiman (SL; 1957) procedure. CFA (EQS) tested various models including a unidimensional model, the original LBS orthogonal model, and present oblique, higher-order, and bifactor solutions.

Of the EFA models, three oblique factors appeared best and most items were consistently associated with the latent factor observed in the LBS standardization sample. The SL orthongonalized higher–order EFA illustrated dominance of the general factor also observed by Canivez and McDermott (2015). Of the various CFA structural measurement models tested the bifactor model consistent with the higher–order EFA (SL) results appeared best. A strong general learning behaviors factor and three smaller group factors was reflected in a bifactor structure similar to that of the LBS standardization sample (Canivez & McDermott, 2015), likely restricting interpretability to the general factor.