Validating a Scale for Measuring Students' Perspectives toward Global Citizenship: A Case at a Private University in Vietnam

Abstract

Globalization is one of the most significant phenomena of the 21st century, affecting many aspects of human society. In the wave of this influence, higher education institutions in many countries have adjusted themselves in order to prepare their students to be global citizens. However, research shows a need to evaluate whether the integration of global citizenship education is effective among different institutions and contexts. Many scholars are in favor of measuring students' perspectives as a solution. Additionally, although many organizations, such as UNESCO, and other researchers have investigated this issue, the measurement model is mainly designed for large-scale research. Therefore, this study aimed to validate a scale for measuring student perspectives toward global citizenship in a particular context of a university. Notably, the adopted scale measures global citizenship perspectives via three components: social responsibility, global competence, and global civic activism. In the study, each component was measured separately via three smaller measurement models. All the models were validated by using the PLS-SEM approach. The data for validating were collected from 171 students at a private university in Vietnam through an online survey. The result of data analysis suggested that the original scale (which was designed for the context of developed countries) could be employed in the context of developing countries. Nevertheless, some adjustments should be made in term of social responsibility and global competence.