Development and psychometric validation of the Problem-Posing Ability Scale for secondary school students

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Assessing problem-posing ability is crucial for student development.
• Existing measures may not adequately capture the multifaceted nature of problem-posing skills.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a psychometrically sound Problem-Posing Ability Scale (PPAS).
• To provide a reliable instrument for measuring problem-posing ability in secondary school students.

Main Methods:

• Scale items were generated based on theory, interviews, and expert review.
• Data from 961 students underwent item analysis and exploratory factor analysis (EFA).
• Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and validity assessments were conducted on an independent sample of 577 students.

Main Results:

• The final 24-item PPAS has four dimensions: Questioning Courage and Initiative, Ability to Articulate and Organize Problems, Depth and Criticality of Thinking, and Problem Awareness and Sensitivity.
• The scale demonstrated excellent model fit in CFA, strong internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.94), high test-retest reliability (r = 0.955), and strong criterion-related validity (r = 0.903).
• The four factors accounted for 62.5% of the total variance.

Conclusions:

• The Problem-Posing Ability Scale (PPAS) is a psychometrically sound instrument.
• The PPAS is suitable for assessing problem-posing ability in secondary school students.
• The scale has potential applications in educational research and instructional practice.