Development of Teacher Support Scale for Secondary School Students (TSSSSS): A Validity and Reliability Study

Abstract

In this study, a valid and reliable scale (TSSSSS) was aimed to develop to measure secondary school students’ perceptions of teacher support. The research was carried out on a total of 773 students studying in 6 different secondary schools in Ankara’s Yenimahalle district in the Spring Term of the 2021-2022 Academic Year. The students who participated in the research voluntarily were divided into four study groups. The first study group consisted of 7th and 8th grade students for the pre-application of the scale. The second study group and the third study group consisted of 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students to determine the structure of the scale and verify the structure of the scale. The fourth study group consisted of students studying in the 7th and 8th grades of the school where the pre-application was made for the reliability study of the scale. The application form of the scale, which was created based on the literature review, was submitted to expert opinion for content and face validity and rearranged in line with the recommendations of the experts. As a result of the pre-application, some statements in the scale were changed based on the students’ opinions. A structure with 36 items and four factors was gained with EFA, which explained 66.56% of the total variance. The factors of the scale were categorized under the names of emotional support (10 items), instructional support (5 items), guidance and orientation support (12 items), and problem-solving support (9 items). The structure of the scale was confirmed by CFA. Reliability coefficients obtained by Cronbach Alpha, composite reliability, and the test-retest method were examined for the reliability of the measurements related to the dimensions of the TSSSSS, and it was found that the reliability was quite high. The analyses carried out to determine the distinctiveness of the items on the scale revealed that all of the items were distinctive. In addition, as a result of examining the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients calculated for the sub-dimensions of the TSSSSS after the item analysis, it was determined that the compatibility and the correlation between the dimensions of the scale were high. Based on these findings, it can be said that TSSSSS is a valid and reliable scale that can be used to measure secondary school students’ perceptions of teacher support.