Evaluation of Reading Habits of Teacher Candidates: Study of Scale Development

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable scale for printed and digital competencies (“The Printed and Digital Reading Habits Scale”). The problem statement of this research can be expressed as: “The Printed and Digital Reading Habits Scale: is a valid and reliable scale?” In this study, the scale development method was employed, and two instruments were used: “The Personal Information Form” (sex, age, university, department, and grade)” and 5 Likert-Type “Printed and Digital Reading Habits Scale”. Five hundred twenty-four teacher candidates (1^st and 4^th grades) from the departments of Turkish Teaching, Elementary School Teaching, and Pre-School Teaching at Marmara University and Kocaeli University participated in this study. Based on the results of the validity and reliability analyses obtained in the present study, the number of items in the scale was reduced to 18. The KMO value of the scale was found to be .904. The coefficient of Cronbach’s Alpha of the scale was found to be .82. Based on the factor analysis of the scale, it was discovered that it had three sub-factors. The test-retest results indicated that the scale would not change at any time (t: -1.664, p< 0.05). In conclusion, it is possible to describe “The Printed and Digital Reading Habits Scale” is a valid and reliable scale.