Factor Structure, Measurement Invariance, Criterion Validity, and Reliability of the School Kindness Scale: Turkish Middle School Sample

Abstract

The aim of the study is to adapt the School Kindness Scale (SKS) to Turkish, and to examine its psychometric properties. For this purpose, two separate samples were used. Totally, 611 middle school students (302 boys, corresponding to 49.43% and 309 girls, corresponding to 50.57%) participated in the Study 1, and 759 middle school students (369 boys, corresponding to 48.62% and 390 girls, corresponding to 51.38%) participated to Study 2. In Study 1, exploratory factor analysis suggested that the SKS has a unidimensional structure, with factor loadings varying from .64 to .72. The SKS total score appears to be reliable (Cronbach’s α = .71 in Study 1, and McDonald’s ω = .82 in Study 2). Using confirmatory factor analysis, the 1-factor model was found to fit the data well. The results of measurement invariance suggest that the SKS measures similar constructs for boys and girls. Significant positive correlations were found between SKS, student-rated school climate, resilience, and life satisfaction, providing further evidence of the construct validity of the Turkish version of the SKS. The evidence suggests that scores from the Turkish version of the SKS are reliable and suitable to be used to assess school kindness in Turkish middle school students.

Psychometric properties of the School Kindness Scale in Hong Kong, mainland China, and the Philippines

“…It is not surprising that school kindness was linked to higher emotional engagement as past research shows that school kindness was associated with higher overall engagement in middle (Yurdabakan & Uz Baş, 2019) and high school students (Datu & Park, 2019). In the same way, it is likely that school kindness was linked to higher likelihood of interacting actively with peers and teachers to learn math, given that past investigations have revealed that school kindness was linked to positive interpersonal constructs such as peer acceptance (Binfet et al, 2016), school belongingness (Lee & Huang, 2021), and satisfaction with interpersonal relations with family, school, and friends (Yurdabakan & Uz Baş, 2019). Given the positive associations of school kindness with adaptive academic outcomes, teachers, school psychologists, and counselors may use design psychoeducational interventions and programs (e.g., Pressman et al, 2015) that reinforce kind practices in children, adolescents, teachers, and nonteaching staffs.…”

“…Studies have shown that the SKS had acceptable psychometric properties among primary and middle school students in Canada (Binfet et al, 2016), middle school students in Turkey (Yurdabakan & Uz Baş, 2019), and high school students in the Philippines (Datu & Park, 2019; Datu et al, 2022). However, little is known regarding its measurement invariance in different cultural contexts.…”

“…First, unlike prior studies (Binfet et al, 2016; Yurdabakan & Uz Baş, 2019) which relied on monocultural samples, this study recruited a sample of adolescents in Hong Kong, mainland China, and the Philippines to investigate the psychometric properties of the SKS. Second, it extends findings (Yurdabakan & Uz Baş, 2019) on the construct comparability of school kindness through demonstrating the configural invariance of the modified unidimensional model of school kindness across settings and year levels. Given the limited evidence of measurement invariance across settings, future researchers are recommended to modify the SKS and evaluate its cross‐cultural generalizability in multiple contexts.…”

“…While there is research supporting the applicability of the SKS among adolescents in Canada (Binfet et al, 2016), Turkey (Yurdabakan & Uz Baş, 2019), mainland China (Datu & Lin, 2021), and the Philippines (Datu & Park, 2019; Datu et al, 2022), none of these investigations have simultaneously examined the factor structure of school kindness across multiple cultural contexts. Important socio‐contextual differences have been noted across developmental contexts that may influence people's attitudes, cognitions, and behaviors (Hofstede, 2011).…”

“…Important socio‐contextual differences have been noted across developmental contexts that may influence people's attitudes, cognitions, and behaviors (Hofstede, 2011). Additionally, although Yurdabakan and Uz Baş (2019) have shown that the SKS' scores were invariance across gender based on differential item functioning values, to date, no study has investigated the configural (i.e., factor structure), metric (i.e., factor loadings), scalar (i.e., item intercepts), and strict (i.e., error covariances) measurement invariance of the SKS. Establishing measurement invariance is important given that school kindness tends to differ by gender and grade level (Binfet et al, 2016).…”