Centering Student Voice to Inform Teacher Practice and Research: Validation of an Asset-Based Identities Measure

Abstract

Collectively, measures created for research use—whether self-report or observational—have contributed to evidence underscoring the importance of ensuring teachers develop knowledge and skills to engage in asset-based pedagogy. Teachers who wish to enhance their practice, however, do not have a way to elicit students’ perspectives of their instruction with a validated instrument designed to do so. Given that student identity is a robust predictor of minoritized students’ academic and non-academic outcomes, this study reflects the development and validation of Asset-Based Identities Measure that centers student voice to formatively inform teacher practice. The iterative design of the study included expert educators, students, and a larger validation sample of N = 860 students. Cognitive interviews and focus groups contributed to the refinement of the pilot measure across three identity domains. Factor structures were examined through confirmatory factor analyses resulting in a robust measure. Use of the measure is discussed.