Validating the conceptual domains of elementary school teachers’ knowledge and needs vis-à-vis the CLIL approach in Chinese-speaking contexts

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of this research is to validate the conceptual domains of teachers’ knowledge and needs vis-à-vis content and language integrated learning (CLIL) within bilingual taught programmes in the Chinese-speaking setting of Taiwan. A Chinese version of a ‘CLIL teachers’ conceptual domain’ scale was developed and administered to measure teachers’ competence in using CLIL, the challenges they may face, and the training to be offered in their CLIL classrooms. Using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, the results show that the internal consistency was supported by satisfactory Cronbach’s alphas, the composite reliability of all three measures ranges from 0.75 to 0.93, and the AVE (average variance extracted) is between 0.43 and 0.70. These results suggest that the measures possess high internal validity, and there exists factorial and external convergent and discriminant validity. This validated questionnaire is an effective instrument for providing valuable insights for CLIL practitioners and training providers in Chinese-speaking contexts.