Adapting a self-efficacy scale to the task of teaching scientific reasoning: collecting evidence for its psychometric quality using Rasch measurement

Virginia Deborah Elaine Welter; Merryn Dawborn-Gundlach; Leroy Großmann; Moritz Krell

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1339615

Adapting a self-efficacy scale to the task of teaching scientific reasoning: collecting evidence for its psychometric quality using Rasch measurement

Front Psychol. 2024 Feb 7:15:1339615. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1339615. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Virginia Deborah Elaine Welter¹, Merryn Dawborn-Gundlach², Leroy Großmann³, Moritz Krell¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biology Education, IPN - Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education, Kiel, Germany.
² Faculty of Education, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
³ Department of Biology Education, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.

Abstract

Besides teachers' professional knowledge, their self-efficacy is a crucial aspect in promoting students' scientific reasoning (SR). However, because no measurement instrument has yet been published that specifically refers to self-efficacy beliefs regarding the task of teaching SR, we adapted the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI) accordingly, resulting in the Teaching Scientific Reasoning Efficacy Beliefs Instrument (TSR-EBI). While the conceptual framework of the TSR-EBI is comparable to that of the STEBI in general terms, it goes beyond it in terms of specificity, acknowledging the fact that teaching SR requires very specific knowledge and skills that are not necessarily needed to the same extent for promoting other competencies in science education. To evaluate the TSR-EBI's psychometric quality, we conducted two rounds of validation. Both samples (N₁ = 114; N₂ = 74) consisted of pre-service teachers enrolled in university master's programs in Germany. The collected data were analyzed by applying Rasch analysis and known-group comparisons. In the course of an analysis of the TSR-EBI's internal structure, we found a 3-category scale to be superior to a 5-category structure. The person and item reliability of the scale proved to be satisfactory. Furthermore, during the second round of validation, it became clear that the results previously found for the 3-category scale were generally replicable across a new (but comparable) sample, which clearly supports the TSR-EBI's psychometric quality. Moreover, in terms of test-criterion relationships, the scale was also able to discriminate between groups that are assumed to have different levels of self-efficacy regarding teaching SR. Nonetheless, some findings also suggest that the scale might benefit from having the selection of individual items reconsidered (despite acceptable item fit statistics). On balance, however, we believe that the TSR-EBI has the potential to provide valuable insights in future studies regarding factors that influence teachers' self-efficacy, such as their professional experiences, prior training, or perceived barriers to effective teaching.

Keywords: Rasch measurement theory; STEBI; item response theory; rating scale; scientific reasoning; self-efficacy; validation.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. The research reported in the manuscript was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of the Federal Republic of Germany in cooperation with the German Academic Exchange Service, Grant Number: 57559255. The funding sponsors had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to publish the results.