The Construct Validity of the Science Teacher Inventory of Need: Recommendations and Modifications

Abstract

The Science Teacher Inventory of Need (STIN) was developed specifically to assess the perceived needs of science teachers in developing nations. During that process factor analysis was completed post hoc with data from a heterogeneous population of Jordanian science teachers to provide evidence of the construct validity of the STIN. The present study was conducted to clarify further the factorial composition and construct validity of the STIN. Data collected from 1162 (78% returns from a 20% randomized, cluster sample of Malaysian secondary science teachers) were factor analyzed via the principal components method with varimax rotation. Six nontrivial factors accounting for 91.9% of the total variance were identified, with 72 of the 76 closed items found to be interpretable. Item rearrangement under the six factors is suggested. Also, confirmatory factor analysis is suggested to test the obtained factor structure. In the interim, the extant data on STIN reliability and validity warrant its continued use to assess the perceived need of science teachers.