Validation and cultural adaptation of the flourishing scale in Teacher Education

Flourishing has been recognized as a significant construct in assessing well-being, and the Flourishing Scale (FS) has demonstrated strong psychometric properties across diverse contexts. However, cultural influences on the conceptualization of flourishing remain underexplored, particularly in Teacher Education settings.

This study aimed to validate the Burmese version of the FS and explore how flourishing is conceptualized among Myanmar student teachers.

Cross-sectional survey research with a stratified random sampling was employed. To enhance representativeness, data were collected from both Upper and Lower Myanmar. Participants were approximately 20.5 years old on average and completed survey questionnaires, including two open-ended items analyzed thematically. Sample 1 (n = 304) from five Education Degree Colleges (EDCs) underwent exploratory factor analysis, and Sample 2 (n = 593) from two EDCs was used for confirmatory factor analysis.

Findings confirmed the unidimensional structure of the Burmese FS, with satisfactory factor loadings and reliability. Measurement invariance was established across gender and age groups at the configural, metric, and scalar levels, although scalar invariance was not supported across institutions. Correlations with life satisfaction, resilience, and psychological distress supported the convergent validity of the FS. Qualitative insights revealed contextually grounded themes (professional achievement, practicum experience, EDC teaching-learning environment, and moral-religious values), aligning with the core dimensions of Diener's flourishing.

Overall, these findings support the validity of the Burmese FS and highlight the value of incorporating qualitative insights to capture culturally grounded understandings of flourishing in non-Western educational contexts.