Pre-Service Physical Education Teachers' Teacher Identity Scale (PPET-TI): Adaptation Study to Turkish Culture

Abstract

In Turkey, the lack of measures for assessing the teacher identity of pre-service physical education teachers remains a significant challenge. Developing quantitative instruments grounded in a robust theoretical framework is crucial, as such tools would not only advance research in this field but also contribute to improving the quality of physical education teacher education. This study aims to test the reliability and validity of the Pre-service Physical Education Teachers' Teacher Identity Scale (PPET-TI) to Turkish pre-service physical education teachers. The PPET-TI is a 7-point Likert-type scale comprising 17 items and three subscales: self-definitions, teaching goals, and professional responsibilities. Two hundred fifty pre-service physical education teachers (96 females and 154 males; (x) over bar (age) = 21.25 +/- 2.36) voluntarily participated in the study. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) were conducted to evaluate the construct validity. The results of the CFA indicated that S-B chi(2)/df 1.90, CFI 0.95, TLI 0.94, RMSEA 0.06, and SRMR 0.05. The results of the ESEM indicated that S-B chi(2)/df 2.79, CFI 0.98, TLI 0.97, RMSEA 0.08, and SRMR 0.03. The item factor loadings ranged from 0.58 to 0.97 in the CFA and ranged from 0.45 to 0.82 in the ESEM. The findings indicated that the scale exhibited both discriminant and convergent validity, with CR and Cronbach's alpha being strong. An evaluation of the fit indices, item factor loadings, and inter-item relationships revealed that the CFA results were more consistent with the original structure of the scale. Based on all the findings, it can be concluded that the Turkish version of the scale is suitable for assessing the teacher identities of pre-service physical education teachers.