The validity and devolution of a concept: student alienation.

This study examined the correspondence between conceptual and empirical dimensions of student alienation. Responses from 2,056 secondary school students were analyzed using a multivariate technique, smallest space analysis. Except for a few items, there was a basic correspondence between a multidimensional conceptualization of alienation and empirical dimensions articulated by students. Such a correspondence for both intermediate and high school students serves to strengthen confidence in the concept of multidimensional alienation specific to the school context.