European Journal of Education Studies
ISSN: 2501 - 1111
ISSN-L: 2501 - 1111
Available on-line at: www.oapub.org/edu
10.5281/zenodo.162029
Volume 2│Issue 7│2016
A DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCALE FOR PROBLEM SOLVING
IN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION:
THE STUDY OF VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY
Ayşegül Ulutas1i, Mehmet Sağlam2
1,2
Faculty of Health Sciences, Inonu University, Malatya, Turkey
Abstract:
This study aims to develop a valid and reliable instrument to assess the problem
solving skills of five-year-old children receiving environmental education. The study
included 156 children selected from the study population using the simple random
sampling method. The literature was reviewed for Turkish and foreign studies on
environmental education for children, improvement of problem solving skills,
environmental education and problem solving skills to develop the Scale for Problem
Solving in Environmental Education (SPSEE). Specialists' opinions were obtained,
exploratory factor analysis was performed, and total item correlation, bottom and top
group mean difference, Cronbach's Alpha internal consistency coefficient and test-retest
correlation coefficients were calculated. The data were analysed using the SPSS 22
package. The exploratory factor analysis showed that the scale has 14 questions and two
factors. Questions were prepared for each activity and the answers for these questions
were formed in a three-point Likert-type scale. One of the researchers applied this scale
to each child. The researchers prepared a guidebook, activities, a CD including these
activities and a booklet including pictures to apply the scale. The pictures in the booklet
were obtained from various activity books used in preschool education. The first
researcher applied the scale by asking the questions in the booklet. The items of the
SPSEE were found to sufficiently discriminate the individuals according to the scale's
factor loads and total item correlation, and the study sample was determined to be
appropriate and sufficient for factor analysis. The significant difference (p<0.01)
between the mean scores of the bottom 27% and top 27% groups was used to determine
how the SPSEE subscales discriminated the individuals who have the characteristic to
be assessed at a higher and lower level. Test-retest correlation and the Cronbach's
Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved
Published by Open Access Publishing Group ©2015.
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Ayşegül Ulutas, Mehmet Sağlam A DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCALE FOR PROBLEM SOLVING IN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION:
THE STUDY OF VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY
Alpha coefficient were used for the reliability analyses of the SPSEE. The Cronbach's
Alpha coefficient was found to be 0.77 for the scale. During the test-retest analysis, a
high correlation was observed between the scores of the two tests performed at a 20-day
interval concerning the subscale and total scores. The validity and reliability analyses
indicated that the Scale for Problem Solving in Environmental Education (SPSEE) is
valid and reliable for five-year-old children.
Keywords: environmental education, problem solving, scale development, validity and
reliability
1.
Instruction
The first years of life are extremely important for children's development. During this
period, children both try to understand the world in which they live and acquire basic
information, skills and habits. Their environmental consciousness reaches its maximum
level during the preschool period, when they try to understand the reasons and results
of the situations they encounter by asking questions (Abbeduto and Beth, 2002;
Küçükturan, 2005). The education that children receive in preschool both buildson their
knowledge and guides their curiosity and search in the right direction (Solomon, 2005).
Being in different learning environments to see the world from a scientific perspective
will not only raise children's natural and environmental awareness but also contribute
to their problem solving skills in regards to the environment and nature around them
(Tuğrul, 2011; Stylianidou, 2012; Yayan ve Çelebioğlu, 2016).
While the recent industrial and technological developments have significantly
facilitated life, they have caused a negative impact on the environment. This requires us
to provide environmental education in each educational stage. Environmental
education, defined as an interdisciplinary field of study, is based on raising a certain
awareness of natural or artificial environments. The aim is that children acquire
environmental literacy and awareness along with gaining accurate information,
attitudes and skills about the environment (Gülay and Öznacar, 2010). The experience
and education about nature and the environment during childhood lead to
environmental awareness in later years (Shume, 2016). The environmental education
provided during early childhood coupled with the support of family and society is
important for children (Chepesiuk, 2007). Environmental education focuses on the
denaturalization of the environment and the resulting reduction in the quality of life
(Gough, 2002). Environmental education can be addressed under three categories:
education of natural environments, education about the environment and education for
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Ayşegül Ulutas, Mehmet Sağlam A DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCALE FOR PROBLEM SOLVING IN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION:
THE STUDY OF VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY
the environment (Barraza and Walford, 2002; Kesicioğlu and Alisinanoğlu, 2009).
Ramsey and Hungerford (2002) defined the first stage of environmental education as
the stage of environmental problem solving, including the information and skills to be
focused on during environmental problem solving.
Children are born with a sense of wonder. Providing children with settings
where they can become aware of their curiosity and gain experience is important for
children to solve the problems they encounter and develop scientific thoughts (Tu,
2006). Being a good problem solver depends on children's motivation, interest and selfconfidence. It has been reported that children’s active participation in problem solving
processes increases both their success level and their motivation (Akınoğlu and Akbaş,
2011). Dewey identified the steps of problem solving to be encountering a situation of
difficulty, finding the problem in this situation, determining possible solutions and
developing hypotheses, considering the results, and suspending, changing or correcting
the hypotheses according to the results (Kıray and İlik, 2011).
Problem solving is the process of deciding and selecting the appropriate method
to put forward effective solutions (D'Zurilla and Goldfried, 1971). It has cognitive and
behavioral aspects. Problem solving skillsmean the knowledge of searching, analysing
and determining alternative situations (Mac Nair and Elliot, 1992). It is also the ability
to understand and control the environment (Güldal, Şahin and Çağlar, 2001). Previous
studies show that children have problem solving skills from early ages, and they can
improve upon these skills when they are provided with the appropriate environments
(Helm and Gronlund, 2000; Faulkner-Schneider, 2005, Gallenstein, 2005; Ünal and Aral,
2014).
Children’s solution of environmental problems is closely related to receiving
environmental education and encountering environmental problems from early ages.
Robertson (2008) analysed the effect of environmental education on children aged
between 3 and 5 and found that the environmental awareness of these children
continued significantly when they reached the age of 10 to 12 and that environmental
education provided to children in preschool affected their attitudes in the future.
Various studies also indicated the effectiveness of environmental education provided at
early ages (Wilson, 1996; Musser and Diamond, 1999; Chepesiuk, 2007; Shume, 2016).
The problem solving scales developed for children generally concern interpersonal
relationships. Although the literature has various studies on problem solving and
environmental education, none of them addressed problem solving within the context
of environmental education. This scale is therefore expected to contribute to
determining children’s ability to solve the problems they encounter in environmental
education and supporting them on this subject. This study aims to develop a valid and
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Ayşegül Ulutas, Mehmet Sağlam A DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCALE FOR PROBLEM SOLVING IN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION:
THE STUDY OF VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY
reliable instrument to assess the problem solving skills of five-year-old children in
environmental education.
Method
A Study Population and Sampling
The study population consisted of 5-year-old children going to the independent
preschools affiliated with the Ministry of National Education in the Malatya city center
in the spring semester of the 2015–2016 school year. During sampling, the list of these
preschools was obtained from Malatya Provincial Directorate for National Education.
From this list, two preschools which were located in similar neighbourhoods and had
similar socioeconomic and sociocultural status were determined to be included in this
study. The list of all children going to these two preschools was obtained and a total of
156 children were selected for the study using the simple random sampling method.
Homogeneous groups were tried to be formed by selecting an equal number of children
from each class in order to eliminate the effect of teachers.
Data Collection Tools
Preparation of the Scale Form: The literature was reviewed for Turkish and foreign
studies on environmental education for children, improvement of problem solving
skills, environmental education and problem solving skills to develop the Scale for
Problem Solving in Environmental Education (SPSEE). The researchers determined
after the literature review that problem solving skills in environmental education
consisted of two substages. Literature review outcomes and specialists' opinions were
used to create a pool for this study. First, a 64-item pool of problems was created for the
SPSEE. The problems in the scale were formed based on the problems encountered in
the environmental education for 5-year-old children. The number of problems was
reduced to 28 due to various reasons such as some problems were inappropriate for
environmental education, above or below the children's developmental level, exceeded
the children's attention span, about different issues, expecting high-level skills from
children and were not encountered by children within their immediate environment.
The scale consisted of 28 activities of environmental education regarding the
problems encountered in environmental education. Questions were prepared for each
activity and the answers for these questions were formed in a three-point Likert-type
scale. One of the researchers applied this scale to each child. The researchers prepared a
guidebook, activities, a CD including these activities and a booklet including pictures to
apply the scale. The pictures in the booklet were obtained from various activity books
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Ayşegül Ulutas, Mehmet Sağlam A DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCALE FOR PROBLEM SOLVING IN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION:
THE STUDY OF VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY
used in preschool education. The first researcher applied the scale by asking the
questions in the booklet.
The Procedure
The exerciser opens the scale booklet, places it in sight of the child, and asks the child to
look at the picture in the booklet. He or she applies the instructions of the scale by
asking the questions on his or her side of the booklet. He or she ensures that the child
answers the questions respectively. The child's answers are scored as 2 if they are
correct, 1 if they are partially correct, and 0 if they are incorrect according to the
answers in the booklet. The following instructions are given to the child to apply the
scale.
“Now we are going to watch a CD with you. I ask you to look at the pictures in the CD
carefully and answer the questions that I will ask. You can say that you don't know if
you can't answer the question. We can start if you are ready.”
The child watches the CD after giving the instructions, and the exerciser tells the child
the environmental activities in the pictures. An example of these activities is given
below.
Microbes
Gains and Indicators
Cognitive Domain
Gain 1: They pay attention to the object/situation/event.
Indicators
They focus on the object/situation/event that draw their attention.
Additional Gains
1. They become aware of how to protect themselves from microbes.
2. They distinguish clean and dirty conditions.
Materials: A deep container, water, a bar of soap and black pepper.
Application: The container is half-filled with water. Some black pepper is put in the
water. The bar of soap is straightly submerged into the water. The black pepper is
observed to move away from the soap.
Evaluation Questions
1. Where and when do we use soap?
2. What should we do to protect ourselves from microbes? (Önder and Özkan, 2013:200)
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THE STUDY OF VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY
The exerciser asks the questions in the scale to the child after he or she performs
the activity. For example, the child's answers to the questions such as “Where and when
do we use soap?” or “What should we do to protect ourselves from microbes?” are scored as 0
if the child cannot answer or the answer is incorrect, 1 if the answer is partially correct,
and 2 if the answer is correct according to the answers in the booklet. The sum of the
score of each problem yields the respective scores of two subscales (protection and
regaining/improving); and the sum of the scores of these two subscales yields the score
of the Scale for Problem Solving in Environmental Education.
Findings
Validity
Validity is defined as the extent to which the instrument assesses the concept to be
assessed. The validity of an instrument is calculated using various methods: content
validity, predictive validity and construct validity. The validity of an instrument is
accepted to be ideal when the instrument has a high validity on all these methods.
However, validity on any of these methods is accepted since this obligation is usually
impossible to meet (Hovardaoğlu, 2007). Content and construct validity are analyzed in
this study. Content validity determines whether the items of the scale represent the
field to be assessed. Two processes which transform qualitative studies based on
specialists' opinions into quantitative studies are used for content validity analysis: The
Lawshe Technique and the Dawis Technique (Yurdugül, 2005). The Lawshe Technique
is the most frequently used technique to determine the content validity rates. This
technique calculates the content validity rates and indices of the scale. It consists of six
steps: a) Formation of a group of specialists, b) Preparation of candidate scale forms, c)
Obtaining the specialists' opinions, d) Obtaining the content validity indices of the
items, e) Obtaining the content validity indices of the scale and f) Finalization of the
scale form according to the content validity rates/indices. Opinions of a minimum of 5
and a maximum of 40 specialists who have sufficient knowledge on the study subject,
understand the importance of the study and have adequate time for the study can be
obtained (Tavşancıl, 2002).
The content validity rates of the SPSEE were determined using the Lawshe
Technique and shown in Table 1.
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Ayşegül Ulutas, Mehmet Sağlam A DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCALE FOR PROBLEM SOLVING IN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION:
THE STUDY OF VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY
Table 1: The Content Validity Rates of the Scale for Problem Solving in
Environmental Education
The
Scale
for
Appropriate
Problem Solving in
Partially
Inappropriate
Appropriate
Environmental
Education
Content
Item
Validity
Compliance
Rates
Level (%)
(CVR)
Item 1
9
2
0
0.63
63
Item 2
10
1
0
0.81
81
Item 3
9
2
0
0.63
63
Item 4
9
1
1
0.63
63
Item 5
10
0
1
0.81
81
Item 6
9
2
0
0.63
63
Item 7
11
0
0
1
100
Item 8
9
1
1
0.63
63
Item 9
10
1
0
0.81
81
Item 10
10
0
1
0.81
81
Item 11
9
2
0
0.63
63
Item 12
10
1
0
0.81
81
Item 13
11
0
0
1
100
Item 14
9
2
0
0.63
63
Number of
11
Specialists
Content Validity
0.59
Criteria
Content Validity
0.74
Index
*The items included in the study according to the factor analysis were shown in the table.
The scale was submitted to 11 specialists for their opinions on its content validity. The
specialists were academic members from different universities and were paid attention
to be working or have worked on environmental education and problem solving. The
specialists were asked to assess the items on the three-points rating scale as
“inappropriate,” “partially appropriate” and “appropriate” in terms of fitness for the
purpose and comprehensiveness of the item and give recommendations to improve the
items. The content validity rates are obtained by collecting the specialists' opinions on
any of the items. Content Validity Rates (CVR) is obtained by subtracting 1 from the
proportion of the number of specialists giving the opinion of “appropriate” for any item
to the total number of specialists giving their opinion on that item. The items with the
CVR values including negative values or zero are eliminated first. The items with
positive CVR values are tested for statistical criteria and significance. The Lawshe
content validity rate formula yields a percent value between -1 and +1 for each item
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THE STUDY OF VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY
(Yurdugül, 2005; Şencan, 2005). The minimum content validity rates are determined at
the significant level of α=0.05 in order to test the significance level of the content
validity rates obtained. To facilitate calculation, Veneziano and Hooper (1997) tabulated
the minimum CVR values at the significance level of p=0.05, and the minimum content
validity rate was determined to be 0.59 for 11 specialists (Yurdugül, 2005). A content
validity rate lower than 0.59 requires that the item be excluded from the data collection
tool. Since none of the items of the Scale for Problem Solving in Environmental Problem
Solving were found to have a content validity rate lower than 0.59, no items were
excluded from the scale. Of the items, 22 remained the same since they had a
compliance level between 90% and 100% and 6 were kept in the scale after making
corrections to them and their pictures since they had a compliance level between 70%
and 80%. Since none of the items were found to have a compliance level of 60% or
lower, no items were completely excluded from the scale (Büyüköztürk, 2011). The
Scale for Problem Solving in Environmental Education was made ready for the pilot
application with 28 problems. The scale was applied to 30 children, and no changes
were made on its content after this pilot application. Then the first researcher
individually applied the scale to 156 children. The researcher showed the pictures and
told the problems to the children and then gave them opportunity to answer. The scale
was applied in classrooms and took 15 to 20 minutes for each child.
Construct validity is the theoretical analysis of whether the items formed to assess
a variable actually assesses that variable or how this item is related to that variable.
Factor analysis and internal consistency analysis are used to provide evidence for
construct validity of instruments. In this study, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO)
coefficient and the Bartlett's Sphericity Test were used to determine the appropriateness
of the data obtained from the children for factor analysis. Then the exploratory factor
analysis, total item correlations and bottom and top group mean difference were
calculated to determine the scale's validity. The KMO coefficient should be higher than
0.5 and the Bartlett Sphericity Test result should be significant (Büyüköztürk, 2011).
Hair et al. (1995) state that the Bartlett's test gives the statistical probability of significant
relationships between some variables. The KMO value was assessed before analysing
the factor structure and was found to be 0.89. Kaiser-Meyer indicated that a KMO value
between 0.5 and 0.7 is acceptable, between 0.7 and 0.8 is good, between 0.8 and 0.9 is
great and higher than 0.9 is perfect (Transferred by Field, 2013). The results of the
validity analyses (KMO=0.89, Bartlett Küresellik Testi=0.00, p=0.00) showed that the
data were appropriate for factor analysis. The test of normality was used to determine
whether the data showed a normal distribution. Items 3 and 12 were excluded from the
scale since they showed an abnormal distribution; and items 4, 7, 10, 15, 18, 21 and 26
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Ayşegül Ulutas, Mehmet Sağlam A DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCALE FOR PROBLEM SOLVING IN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION:
THE STUDY OF VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY
were excluded from the study since they had a low factor load. The remaining 19 items
were subjected to factor analysis again, and items 1, 5, 9 and 16 were excluded from the
scale as they had a very low factor load. In addition, item 25 was excluded from the
scale as it represented both factors. The remaining 14 items were then categorized
under two factors and the Scale for Problem Solving in Environmental Education was
finalized with two subscales. Table 2 shows the factor loads and total item correlation.
Table 2: The Factor Loads of the Scale for Problem Solving in Environmental Education and
Total Item Correlations
Items
Factors
Problems Regarding
Problems Regarding
Environmental
Regaining/Improving the
Protection
Environment
Factor Load
Factor Load
Total Item
Correlation
Coefficients
Item 11
0.57
0.362
Item 17
0.77
0.348
Item 24
0.62
0.607
Item 2
0.54
0.542
Item 23
0.82
0.448
Item 14
0.76
0.464
Item 6
0.44
0.598
Item 28
0.75
0.381
Item 20
0.63
0.370
Item 22
0.46
0.562
Item 13
0.75
0.622
Item 8
0.64
0.345
Item 27
0.43
0.558
Item 19
0.53
0.349
Explained
25.22
18.68
Varience (%)
KMO
0.89
Barlett's Test
0.00
Df
140
Approx Chi-
346.124
Square
Table 2 shows the factor loads of the SPSEE and total item correlation. The factor
structure of the scale was analysed using the principal components analysis. The
analyses were based on the Varimax rotation. In line with the specialists' opinions, the
items under the first factor were included in the Problems Regarding Environmental
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Ayşegül Ulutas, Mehmet Sağlam A DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCALE FOR PROBLEM SOLVING IN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION:
THE STUDY OF VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY
Protection subscale as they focused on environmental protection. The items under the
second factor were included in the Problems Regarding Regaining/Improving the
Environment subscale as they focused on recycling and regaining the environment. The
factor loads of the first subscale ranged between 0.44 and 0.82. The factor loads of the
second subscale ranged between 0.43 and 0.75. Items were analysed to calculate total
item correlations. The item discrimination levels ranged between 0.348 and 0.607 for the
first subscale and between 0.345 and 0.622 for the second subscale. This showed that the
items sufficiently discriminate the individuals. A total item correlation value of 0.30 or
higher shows that the items sufficiently discriminate the individuals, between 0.20 and
0.30 shows that the items can be included in the scale if needed or should be corrected
and lower than 0.20 shows that the items should not be included in the scale
(Büyüköztürk, 2011). As seen in the table, the results of Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) and
Barlett' test were found to be 0.89 and 0.00, respectively, both of which were significant
at p<0.01 significance level. The KMO and Barlett's test indicated that the sample to
which the SPSEE was applied was appropriate and sufficient for factor analysis.
Table 3: The Mann-Whitney U Test Results Regarding the Mean Item Scores of the Bottom 27%
and Top 27% Groups Formed according to the Subscale and Total Scores of the Scale for
Problem Solving in Environmental Education
The Scale for Problem
X
Solving in
n
Min.
Max.
Sd
Mean
U
p
65
0.00*
44
0.00*
59
0.00*
Rank
Environmental
Education
Problems Regarding
Bottom 27%
1.03
36
1.13
0.80
0.98
13
Environmental
Top 27%
1.53
36
2.06
1.08
0.03
59
Bottom 27%
1.35
36
0.69
1.00
0.12
13
Environment
Top 27%
1.66
36
2.76
2.13
0.82
59
Total
Bottom 27%
1.24
36
0.29
1.09
0.66
13
Top 27%
1.60
36
2.08
2.57
0.74
59
Protection
Problems Regarding
Regaining/Improving the
*p<0.01
Item analyses were used to determine how the SPSEE subscales discriminated the
individuals who have the characteristic to be assessed at a higher and lower level. A
total of 72 participants were identified: 36 for the bottom 27% group and 36 for the top
27% group by ranking the scores obtained from the SPSEE. The subscales were tested
using the Mann-Whitney U test for whether they discriminate these two groups. The
significant difference (p<0.01) between the mean subscale and total scores of the bottom
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Ayşegül Ulutas, Mehmet Sağlam A DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCALE FOR PROBLEM SOLVING IN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION:
THE STUDY OF VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY
27% and top 27% groups indicated that the items discriminated the children's problem
solving skills in environmental education.
Reliability
Reliability is the ability of an instrument to measure the same characteristics every time
it is applied (Yılmaz and Sünbül, 2003). Test-retest correlation and the Cronbach's
Alpha coefficient were used for the reliability analyses of the SPSEE. The following
tables show the results of the reliability analyses of the scale.
Table 4: The Cronbach's Alpha Reliability Coefficients of the Scale for Problem Solving in
Environmental Education
Factors
Problems Regarding
Problems Regarding
The Scale for Problem
Environmental
Regaining/Improving the
Solving in Environmental
Protection
Environment
Education
0.69
0.70
0.77
Cronbach's
Alpha
Test-retest reliability was calculated to determine the level of the scale in order to make
consistent measurements (stability). The Cronbach's Alpha coefficient was analyzed as
an indicator of the internal consistency and homogeneity of the SPSEE and was found
to be 0.77.
Table 5:Test-Retest Correlation Results of the Subscale and Total Scores of the Scale for Problem
Solving in Environmental Education
The Scale for Problem Solving
in Environmental Education
Problems Regarding
Problems Regarding
Environmental
Regaining/Improving the
Protection
Environment
Problems Regarding
r
0.958
Environmental Protection
p
0.00*
n
58
Total
Problems Regarding
r
0.934
Regaining/Improving the
p
0.00*
Environment
n
58
Total
r
0.926
p
0.00*
n
58
*p<0.01
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Ayşegül Ulutas, Mehmet Sağlam A DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCALE FOR PROBLEM SOLVING IN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION:
THE STUDY OF VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY
Table 5 shows the test-retest results of the subscale and total scores of the SPSEE. A high
correlation was observed between the scores of the two tests performed at a 20-day
interval concerning the subscale and total scores. The correlation coefficient was found
to be 0.958 for the problems regarding environmental protection subscale, 0.934 for the
problems regarding regaining/improving the environment subscale, and 0.926 for the
total score. A significant relationship was found between the scores of these two tests
(p<0.01).
Discussion*
This study aims to develop a valid and reliable instrument to assess the problem
solving skills of five-year-old children receiving environmental education. The analyses
showed the Cronbach's Alpha coefficient to be 0.77 for the scale. The reliability
coefficient should be at least 0.70 for the scale tobe accepted as reliable (Tavşancıl, 2005;
Büyüköztürk, 2008; Büyüköztürk et al., 2009). Ünal and Aral (2014) found the
Cronbach's Alpha reliability coefficient to be 0.75 in their study titled Development of
the Problem Solving Scale in Science Education. Serin et al. (2010), on the other hand,
found the Cronbach's Alpha coefficient to be 0.80 in their study titled Development of
the Problem Solving Inventory for Elementary School Students. In addition, this
coefficient was found to be 0.87 for the Interpersonal Problem Solving Inventory for
Preschool Children (Kesicioğlu, 2015). Finally, Smith-Donald et al. (2007) found the
Cronbach's Alpha coefficient to be 0.89 and 0.87, respectively for each subscale of the
Preschool Self-Regulation Assessment. In the present study, the correlation coefficient
was found to be 0.958 for the problems regarding environmental protection subscale,
0.934 for the problems regarding regaining/improving the environment subscale, and
0.926 for the total score. A significant relationship was found between the scores of
these two tests (p<0.01). The test-retest correlation was found to be 0.96 in the study
titled Development of the Problem Solving Scale in Science Education and 0.85 in the
study titled Development of the Problem Solving Inventory for Elementary School
Students (Serin et al., 2010; Ünal and Aral, 2014). It was found to be 0.86 in the study
titled Preschool Self-Regulation Assessment (PSRA): Adaptation Study for Turkey
(Tanrıbuyurdu and Yıldız, 2014). When compared to the literature, the results of the
analyses carried out in the present study indicate that the Scale for Problem Solving in
Environmental Education makes a valid and reliable measurement.
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THE STUDY OF VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY
Conclusion and Suggestions*
This study aimed to develop the Scale for Problem Solving in Environmental Education
for 5-year-old children and to determine the validity and reliability of this scale. The
items of the SPSEE were found to sufficiently discriminate the individuals according to
the scale's factor loads and total item correlation, and the study sample was determined
to be appropriate and sufficient for factor analysis. The significant difference (p<0.01)
between the mean scores of the bottom 27% and top 27% groups was used to determine
how the SPSEE subscales discriminated the individuals who have the characteristic to
be assessed at a higher and lower level. Test-retest correlation and the Cronbach's
Alpha coefficient were used for the reliability analyses of the SPSEE. The Cronbach's
Alpha coefficient was found to be 0.77 for the scale. During the test-retest analysis, a
high correlation was observed between the scores of the two tests performed at a 20-day
interval concerning the subscale and total scores. The results of the present study
indicate that the scale can be used for 5-year-old children. Applying the scale to larger
samples and various age groups will positively affect the validity and reliability level of
the scale.
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