Fennema - Sherman Mathematics Attitude Scales: Adaptaition to Turkish Culture

Abstract

The aim of this study is to adapt the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitude Scales developed by Fennema and Sherman in 1976 to Turkish language and culture. Data were collected from 1123 middle-school students and 967 highschool students a in order to adapt the scale to Turkish culture. The scale was first translated from its original version in English to Turkish by three linguists, and then the translation was revised upon consultation with two domain experts and one measurement and evaluation expert. None of the scale items were discarded during these stages. The construct validity of the Turkish translation of the scale was examined using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and reliability analysis was conducted using Item Analysis, Cronbach's Alpha, internal consistency coefficient, and split-half correlation. Exploratory factor analysis and reliability calculations were conducted on SPSS 20.0, and the confirmatory factor analysis calculations were conducted on the Lisrel 8.7 software package. Following the validity and reliability studies, the scale is composed of nine subscales and 108 items as in the original form. As a result of the adaptation of the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitude Scales, a valid and reliable scale suitable for Turkish and Turkish cultures was obtained.