Development of A Preschool Teacher’s Guidance Qualifications Scale and Its Psychometric Properties

Abstract

The goal of this study is to develop a Guidance Qualification Scale for Preschool Teachers and examine the validity and reliability of the scale. The research was conducted with 374 teachers working in preschools in Istanbul and they were chosen by the random sampling method. Factor analysis was carried out for the construct validity of the scale. Internal consistency coefficients and test-retest reliabilities were examined and item analysis was performed for reliability studies. As a result of the factor analysis, 59 items which explained 55,989% of the total variance (Total Variance Explained 45,050%), were obtained under four factors. When the factor weights of the scale are examined, items were found to have weight values ranging from .746 to .453. Cronbach’s Alpha internal consistency coefficients of the “Preschool Teacher’s Guidance Qualifications Scale” were found to be .977 for the total scale, .954 for the "Supporting Educational Development and Interpersonal Relationships" sub-dimension, .943 for the "Supporting Individual Development and Orientation" sub-dimension, .904 for the "Self-acceptance, Support for Self and Social Development" sub-dimension and .909 for the "Recognizing Individuals, Identifying Problems and Supporting Parents" sub-dimension. Also, the test-retest reliability study of the scale was conducted with 44 teachers. According to the results of the t-test applied for differences between the average item scores of upper 27% and lower 27% groups of items on (in?) the scale, all differences were found to be significantly in favor of the upper 27% group. In light of these findings, it can be said that the “Preschool Teacher’s Guidance Qualifications Scale” can be used as a valid and reliable measurement tool in the field of education.