Validity and Reliability of the Scale for Evaluating Critical Thinking through Philosophical Inquiry (P4C) in Primary, Secondary, and High School Students

Authors : Filiz Karadağ, Vesile Yıldız Demirtaş, Tuğba Yıldız
Pages : 3719-3736
Doi:10.53444/deubefd.1559931
View : 88 | Download : 87
Publication Date : 2025-12-29
Article Type : Research Paper
Abstract :The aim of this study is to develop and conduct validity and reliability studies for the \\\"Scale for Evaluating Critical Thinking through Philosophical Inquiry for Primary, Secondary, and High School Students.\\\" The study group for the scale development phase consisted of teachers and students from the 2021-2022 academic year. For primary school students, the scale was completed by their teachers, while secondary and high school students filled it out themselves. In this context, the study included 37 teachers for 235 primary school students and 369 secondary and high school students. To increase the representativeness of the sample, data were collected from a total of 604 students from 14 primary schools, 10 secondary schools, and 7 high schools in Izmir. The suitability of the obtained data was determined through normal distribution, linearity, and outlier analyses. For construct validity of the scale, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to examine the underlying structure, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to assess model fit. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin and Bartlett\\\'s tests were applied to determine the appropriateness of the data for factor analysis. The results of the EFA for the primary school form indicated no need to remove any items, confirming that the scale consisted of a single factor with 27 items. The secondary school form resulted in a five-point Likert scale with 4 factors and 20 items, categorized as \\\"Focus on Stimulus,\\\" \\\"Question Formation,\\\" \\\"Thought Sharing,\\\" and \\\"Inquiry.\\\" The factors identified through EFA were tested with CFA, and the results showed that the primary and secondary school forms of the scale were valid and reliable.
Keywords : Çocuklar için felsefe, ölçek, eleştirel düşünme, ilkokul, ortaokul, lise

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