In this study, it was aimed to find out the characteristics of inspiring teachers who inspired teacher candidates to do teaching profession properly. In the study, “An Exploratory Sequential Design” a mixed method where qualitative and quantitative approaches are used concomitantly, was employed to determine the inspiring teacher characteristics. In this design, two steps were respectively followed by the researcher. In the first step grounded theory research design as a qualitative research design was used and in the second step survey research model as a quantitative research design was used. Inspiring Teacher Scale (ITS) was developed by the researchers to collect the data. In the second phase, the study group was extended to continue the quantitative studies. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used first to analyze the data. The results of analysis have demonstrated that the items loaded on four factors, which reflect inspiring teacher characteristics as “teacher communication”, “personal characteristics”, “professional development” and “supporting students in different ways”. Findings suggest that ITS, which has four-factor structures with 36 items, can be suggested as a valid and reliable instrument to determine the characteristics of inspiring teacher. Therefore, in this study the characteristics inspiring teachers were specified according to opinions of teacher candidates and presented to be o model for teacher candidates.

This study aims to conduct Turkish adaptation, validity and reliability studies of the Teacher Rating Scales of Early Academic Competence. This study also aims to examine and improve early academic competence thoroughly on the basis of teachers’ ratings in Turkey, and lastly to contribute an assessment and measurement instrument to the literature which will enable to conduct further research in the field. This study was designed in a general survey model. The study included normally developing 619 36-72 month-old preschoolers attending to nursery classes and kindergartens affiliated to Afyonkarahisar Ministry of National Education in 2015-2016 academic year. The validity and reliability studies of the data obtained following the implementation of TRS-EAC, was completed. The Cronbach Alpha, split half test, test-retest reliability of the scale and its subscales were measured. TRS-EAC was found to be valid and reliable for 36-72 month-old children. It can be considered that the various studies that can be used TRS-EAC in Turkey will provide important contributions to the measurement power of this test.

The aim of the study is to examine the pre-service teachers’ problem solving skills and curiosity levels according to different variables and to determine whether there is a relationship between them. The research was designed as a descriptive study in the survey model. The sample of the study consists of 1st and 4th grade pre-service teachers in the departments of German, Science, English, Mathematics, Music, Pre-school, Painting, English, Mathematics, Turkish Language Teaching at a university in Turkey. “Curiosity Scale” adapted into Turkish by Demirel and Diker Coskun, “Problem Solving Inventory” adapted into Turkish by Sahin, Sahin and Heppner  and “Personal Information Form” prepared by the researcher were used as data collection tools. In the analysis of the data obtained, SPSS-Windows 22.00 package program was used and descriptive statistics and parametric tests were applied in accordance with the sub-problems of the study. In addition, a correlation analysis was conducted to determine whether there was a relationship between pre-service teachers’ problem solving skills and curiosity levels. Based on the findings, suggestions about the problem solving skills and curiosity levels of the prospective teachers were presented.

The aim of this study is to develop an Entrepreneurship Scale to measure the entrepreneurial skills of 5th grade students and to conduct the reliability and validity of the scale. This research is a descriptive survey method. The pilot application was made with 432 students in Amasya City in Turkey. SPSS 23 and LISREL 8.80 programs were used to analyze the data. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was performed to construct the validity. As a result of exploratory factor analysis, a 4-factor structure emerged on the scale. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the structure, and it was determined that the developed model was in compliance with the criteria in the literature. These sub-factors were identified as meaningful in terms of self-confidence, need for success, personal benefit and leadership and responsibility. The Cronbach Alpha internal consistency coefficient of the scale was determined as 0.77. At the end of the research, a reliable and valid measurement scale about entrepreneurship was developed for the 5^th grade students.

Computational thinking is a way of thinking that covers 21st century skills and includes new generation concepts such as robotics, coding, informatics and information construction. Computational thinking has reached an important point especially in the field of science in line with the rapid developments in technology. Robotics applications, software-based activities, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) education and problem-based studies are some of the areas where this thinking is used. In this study, which is based on this point, it is aimed to develop a scale for computational thinking. Exploratory sequential design, one of the mixed research methods, was used in the study. First of all, a detailed literature review was conducted and needs analysis was carried out. This study consists of two stages. In the first stage, exploratory factor analysis was performed and analyzed with SPSS 23 program. In the second stage, confirmatory factor analysis was performed and analyzed with LISREL 9.2 program. As a result of the study, the goodness of fit indexes of the scale was found. According to this; X²/df value 1.81; NNFI value 0.97; NFI value 0.93; CFI value 0.98; RMR value 0.05; SRMR value 0.04; AGFI value 0.91 and GFI value was found to be 0.93. When the reliability values of the study were examined, Cronbach’s Alpha value was found to be 0.86. As a result of the research, a computational thinking scale consisting of 3 factors and 30 items was developed. This scale was developed for prospective teachers and can be used at all levels of prospective teachers.

This study describes the development and validation of a psychometrically-sound instrument, the Active Learning Strategies Inventory (ALSI), designed to measure learners’ perceptions of their active learning strategies within an active learning context. Active learning encompasses a broad range of pedagogical practices and instructional methods that connect with an individual learner's active learning strategies. In order to fulfill the study's goals, a conceptual framework on learners’ active learning strategies was developed and proposed, drawing upon the research literature on active learning. The development and construct validation of the Active Learning Strategies Inventory (ALSI), based on the conceptual and methodological underpinnings, involved identifying five scales of learners’ active learning strategies: engagement, cognitive processing, orientation to learning, readiness to learn and motivational orientation. An item pool of 20 items was generated following an extensive review of the literature, standardized card sorting procedures including confirmatory factor analysis and scale validation of a pilot (n = 407) survey. The ALSI scale demonstrated strong internal consistency and reliability with a Cronbach's alpha ranging from 0.81 to 0.87. High item loading scores from the factor analysis provided initial support for the instrument's construct validity of the five-factor model. The ALSI scale provides a reliable and valid method for researchers and academicians who wish to measure learners' perceptions of their active learning strategies within an active learning context. Finally, we discuss the implications and address the limitations and directions for future research.

Positive attitude towards statistics is a desirable aspect in developing statistical thinking and understanding statistical concept. The attitude towards statistics instrument in previous study on rural school students lacked evidence in the validity analysis. Therefore, there is a need to provide a valid instrument that can assess rural secondary school students’ attitude toward statistics. For this purpose, this study was carried out to investigate the validity and reliability analysis of the Survey Attitude towards Statistics (SATS-36) instrument from a sample of rural secondary school students. The SATS-36 is a 7-point Likert type scale questionnaire, used to measure students’ attitude towards statistics. The SATS-36 instrument was distributed to 217 Tenth grade science stream students from a rural district in Sabah, Malaysia, which comprised of 66 (30.4%) boys and 151 (69.6%) girls. A second order Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was carried out to analyze the validity of the SATS-36 instrument as well as to confirm the 6-factor model of SATS-36. The reliability of SATS-36 instrument was assessed through the Cronbach’s Alpha value. Overall, the analysis showed that the SATS-36 instrument shows favorable indices for both its validity and reliability. Thus, it can be concluded that the SATS-36 was a valid and reliable instrument for measuring students’ attitude towards statistics among rural science stream secondary school students.

Pearson product–moment correlation coefficient between item g and test score X, known as item–test or item–total correlation (Rit), and item–rest correlation (Rir) are two of the most used classical estimators for item discrimination power (IDP). Both Rit and Rir underestimate IDP caused by the mismatch of the scales of the item and the score. Underestimation of IDP may be drastic when the difficulty level of the item is extreme. Based on a simulation, in a binary dataset, a good alternative for Rit and Rir could be the Somers’ D: it reaches the ultimate values +1 and –1, it underestimates IDP remarkably less than Rit and Rir, and, being a robust statistic, it is more stable against the changes in the data structure. Somers’ D has, however, one major disadvantage in a polytomous case: it tends to underestimate the magnitude of the association of item and score more than Rit does when the item scale has four categories or more.

Contemporary studies related to teacher autonomy mostly deal with research into how autonomy is perceived by teachers and which variables it is associated with. On the other hand, there are very few studies dealing with how teachers’ instructional autonomy over the curriculum is reflected in the education process. The aim of this study is to reveal in depth the practices carried out in the context of instructional autonomy by science teachers who have different levels of autonomy. The study is based on data gathered from eight teachers employed at different schools in the province of Izmir in Turkey. Interviews, observations and documents were used for collecting the data. The results reveal that while teachers with high instructional autonomy successfully apply contemporary teaching methods, alternative evaluation techniques, high-order thinking skills and effective classroom management, teachers with low instructional autonomy fall short in all of these areas.

This study aims to produce empirical evidence of the validity and reliability of instrument items for the competency framework of agricultural teaching staff in Malaysian agricultural vocational colleges. The validity and reliability of the framework were analyzed using Rasch Model Measurement assisted by Winsteps 3.72 software. This research instrument contained 116 items, which was distributed to 30 instructors at the Teluk Intan Agricultural Vocational College, Malaysia. The selection of respondents was made by strata random where the researcher makes the strata of the population according to the percentage and then selects randomly based on the desired percentage. Validity analysis of the instrument was done through four functional testings. For reliability and separation of respondents, it was found that the individual reliability value was very good and acceptable. The results of the item polarity analysis detected no negative value (-) in the Point Measure Correlation value. Item matching analysis found that 11 items had to be dropped as they failed to meet the required conditions. From the analysis on local dependence that determines dependent items based on the standardized residual correlation value, it was discovered that the correlation value for the items used was detected; 13 items need attention. The results of the data analysis checking the functionality of the items suggested that some items should be dropped. The omission of these items has provided evidence that the instrument of competence of agricultural instructors is crucial to have a high level of validity and reliability for use in actual studies.

The early phase is the decisive period for the teachers’ career. Intellectual styles (particularly thinking styles) play a vital role in teachers’ professional development. With the purpose of measuring thinking styles of teachers at the early phase, this study was designed to validate a revised inventory of thinking styles (TSI-R2) for pre-service and early career teachers. A sample of pre-service teachers (n = 248) were invited to join the pilot study and a sample of teachers with one year work experience (n = 252) participated in the main study. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and reliability analysis were performed. The results suggested that with slight modification, TSI-R2 was a reliable and valid instrument to measure thinking styles of pre-service teachers and early career teachers, which has some implications to enhancing teacher education and development.

Purpose in life is a key construct in the development of young adults, particularly college students. There are many instruments measuring sense of purpose in life, but few studies have examined their measurement properties among college students. The current study compares the measurement invariance properties of the Purpose in Life (PIL) scale and the Claremont Purpose Scale (CPS) across college year and undergraduate school. Using both a unidimensional and a two-dimensional model, we found that the PIL’s interpretability is limited among college students. Using a three-dimensional model, the CPS was invariant with respect to both grouping variables. The study suggests that the CPS can be used to make meaningful comparisons among college students categorized by school year and undergraduate school. The study also has some implications about the construct of purpose in life; namely, scale structures that work well statistically and theoretically among adults might not generalize to young adults.

This study explores the relationship among the internal locus of control, entrepreneurial alertness, entrepreneurial opportunity recognition, and entrepreneurial intentions of college students. The scales of internal locus of control, entrepreneurial alertness, entrepreneurial opportunity recognition, and entrepreneurial intention have been used to conduct a questionnaire survey among 921 undergraduates from four universities in China. The results show four key findings. First, the internal locus of control has a positive and significant impact on entrepreneurial intention. Second, entrepreneurial alertness plays a mediating role in the relationship between internal locus of control and entrepreneurial intention. Third, entrepreneurial opportunity recognition plays a mediating role in the relationship between the internal locus of control and entrepreneurial intention. Finally, entrepreneurial alertness and entrepreneurial opportunity recognition have a chain mediation effect on the relationship between the internal locus of control and entrepreneurial intention. The study proposes suggestions and future research directions based on the research results, serving as a reference for entrepreneurial education and entrepreneurship planning of college students.

This study examined the effect of Yunnan’s ethnic minority college students’ acculturation on their academic achievement under the risk of the Matthew effect. Additionally, the role played by learning motivation in the relationship between ethnic minority college students’ acculturation and academic achievement was explored. A total of 403 valid questionnaires were collected from four areas in Yunnan province, China. Consequently, the Acculturation Scale, Academic Achievement Scale, and Learning Motivation Scale were used for measurement materials. These items of scales were evaluated on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). SPSS (statistical package for the social sciences) and AMOS (analysis of a moment structures) softwares were used for data analyses. In addition, items were analyzed through item analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, reliability analysis and regression analysis. These results indicated that ethnic minority college students with low acculturation and learning motivation or high acculturation and low learning motivation can become objects of the Matthew effect. However, this study also observed that in certain students, high acculturation and high learning motivation can prevent the Matthew effect. Thus, high acculturation is crucial for improving academic achievement in ethnic minority college students. A level of high learning motivation is a powerful moderator promoting the academic achievement of students with high acculturation.

This research aims to develop the product of the life skill education program (LSEP) which is accurate, credible, and effective. This research used the Plomp model. The model covers the input, process, output, outcome and consists of instrument, scoring guidance, and good or bad criteria. The instruments used in the model are the questionnaire, observation sheet and interview guide. The content validity of the questionnaire and observation sheet was proved by expert judgement and continued by using the Aiken Formula, the construct validity of the questionnaire was proved by the construct validity using the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The content validity of the questionnaire and observation sheet involved 9 validity experts. The questionnaire construct was done in two steps; the first step involved 65 students analyzed using EFA and the second step involved 199 students analyzed with CFA. The reliability of the observation sheet and questionnaire was estimated by using the Cronbach Alpha technique. The result of the trial model and its analysis shows that all the instruments are good. LSEP model is tested by involving 15 students in the course and training institute. The result of the trial model shows that the model is effective because the users explains that the model is: a) comprehensive, covering many components and sub component programs such as the input, process, output, outcome, b) practical, simple and easy in usage, c) economical, not needing much cost, energy, and time, also d) supported by valid and reliable data collection instrument.

This work describes the design and validation of a questionnaire to assess the expectations of higher education professors regarding virtual education (CEDVES). The sample included 546 professors, 299 men (54.66%) and 247 women (45.23%), from different scientific disciplines of a university in Chile. The final version consisted of 38 items answered using a five-point Likert scale. Nine factors were identified from the exploratory factor analysis. This configuration accounts for 75% of the variance. The structure of the instrument was studied using confirmatory factor analysis. It was found that nine factors produced a good fit, derived from a hierarchical solution in which all these factors depend on a factor of second general order. Each of the scales, like the general factor, present good indicators of reliability. The analysis indicates that this questionnaire has adequate validation and could be broadly used in higher education.

The field of studies in metacognition points to some limitations in the way the construct has traditionally been measured and shows a near absence of performance-based tests. The Meta-Text is a performance-based test recently created to assess components of cognition regulation: planning, monitoring, and judgment. This study presents the first evidence on the structural validity of the Meta-Text, by analyzing its dimensionality and reliability in a sample of 655 Honduran university students. Different models were tested, via item confirmatory factor analysis. The results indicated that the specific factors of planning and monitoring do not hold empirically. The bifactor model containing the general cognition regulation factor and the judgment-specific factor was evaluated as the best model (CFI = .992; NFI = .963; TLI = .991; RMSEA = .021). The reliability of the factors in this model proved to be acceptable (Ω = .701 & .699). The judgment items were well loaded only by the judgment factor, suggesting that the judgment construct may actually be another component of the metacognitive knowledge dimension but having little role in cognition regulation. The results show initial evidence on the structural validity of the Meta-Text and give rise to information previously unidentified by the field which has conceptual implications for theorizing metacognitive components.

Higher education institutions around the world had to implement an emergency remote education (ERE) modality due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to determine the individual and relational factors that affect the perception of learning in engineering, education, and health students during emergency distance education. Through a quantitative, non-experimental, and correlational study, an online survey was administered to a sample of 929 higher education students regarding their ERE experience. They were surveyed regarding their perceived learning, empathy, classroom interaction, self-regulation of learning, positive agency, student engagement, learning approaches, and use of digital resources. Data was analyzed using quantitative methods, namely correlations, comparisons of means and a linear regression analysis. Education students showed a more positive perception of learning, used a deep learning approach, and rated more positively the empathy shown by their professors and the possibilities for class participation than other students. Engineering students had the lowest scores on perceived learning and on almost all other variables. In general, students with a better perception of learning presented a higher engagement in their studies and a lower use of surface learning approach.

Curiosity is one of the most important characters for elementary school students. However, the facts in the field show that the measurement model used by the teacher to identify the student's curiosity is not yet available in a standardized manner. This study aims to develop a model for measuring the curiosity of elementary school students using the graded response model (GRM) approach. This research uses quantitative method with descriptive type. The research sample used was 236 elementary school students who were randomly selected. Data were collected using a questionnaire of 16 statement items using a Likert scale approach. The data were analyzed using the response item theory approach with the GRM. The results showed that the model for measuring student curiosity in elementary schools had good location parameters, a good discriminant index, a fairly good information function with a small estimation error. The curiosity measurement model in this study can be used as an alternative for teachers to identify students' curiosity in elementary schools.

This study aims to develop a schoolpreneur model appropriate for Malaysia's secondary school environment. The current study surveyed students participating in the Program Tunas Commerce (PROTUNe) and the Young Entrepreneurs Association (PUM) in the states of Perak, Selangor, and Negeri Sembilan to accomplish these purposes. A survey-based technique was used to collect data, and 400 students participated. With a cross-sectional research design, this research uses a quantitative research methodology. This research employed exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM) for statistical analysis. The study's findings show that six highlighted factors can be incorporated to develop a schoolpreneur model. These factors all significantly affect the schoolpreneur model. A significant correlation of the schoolpreneur model of more than 60% indicates the significance of talent skills, mentors, incubators, individual personality, role models, and family background in the development of the schoolpreneur model. As a result, secondary schools can conduct entrepreneurial activities better due to the development of the schoolpreneur model.