Exploratory Factor Analysis for Professional Development, Technological Skills, Teacher Competence and Self Determined Learning (Sdl)

Abstract

Teachers have an important role in 21st-century education as the main agent or facilitators in their teaching approach. Moreover, the teacher's teaching approach is a significant part of the overall effectiveness with regard to the Teaching and Learning (TnL) process. Consequently, this research focuses on the development process as well as instruments validation to measure four constructs, namely Professional Development, Technology Skills, Teacher Competence, and Self-Determined Learning (SDL). The researcher adapted and modified all these items by referring to theories, models and opinions given by experts related to each construct. This newly developed 100-item instrument by assessing its validity and reliability through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and examining the relationships between constructs as Pearson Correlation. The instrument was given to a sample of 140 primary school teachers. After EFA analysis, 10 items were removed, leaving a total of 90 items. The EFA produced high Kaiser-Meyer Olkin (KMO) values, which were 0.803 for Professional Development, 0.898 for Technology Skills, 0.876 for Teacher Competence, and 0.883 for SDL. The instrument indicated excellent internal consistency, having Cronbach's alpha values for each construct exceeding 0.80, indicating its suitability as a data collection tool. Reliability analysis also showed acceptable consistency with regard to the instrument. Subsequently, the validation process, with a total of 90 items remained as the final items for this instrument. Note that full details of reliability analysis, validation, along with research findings, are described in this paper. The findings of this research will encourage and motivate school teachers to develop their Teaching and Learning (TnL).