Ayşe Negiş IŞIK, Deniz DERİNBAY
Assist. Prof. Dr., Mevlana University, Faculty of Education, Department of Educational Sciences, Konya, Turkey.
Res. Assist., Necmettin Erbakan University, Faculty of Education, Department of Educational Sciences.
Doi: 10.14689/ejer.2015.60.1

Abstract

Problem Statement: Principals are known as important actors in effective schools. So it is important to know which variables influence principals’ success. One of these predictors can be self-efficacy. However, there is very few research about principals’ sense of efficacy.

Purpose of the Study: The purpose of this research was to test the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Principal Sense of Efficacy Scale (PSES-T).

Method: Confirmatory and Exploratory factor analysis were conducted in order to determine the factor structure of the scale. Two independent samples of school administrators were used for this analysis. The relationship between social support and PSES-T were also examined in order to test the concurrent validity of the scale. Finally, internal consistency of scale was tested by using Cronbach alpha.

Findings: Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were performed using maximum likelihood estimations, in order to assess the structural validity of the Turkish version of PSES. The model indices were χ2/df= 2,80, CFI=.873, TLI=.87, RMSEA= .100, SRMR=.064, suggesting an unacceptable fit of the model to the data. Concluding that 3 factor 18-item PSES did not fit the data obtained from a Turkish sample, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted to further explore the factor structure of the 18-item PSES that better represented the sample data. EFA results showed strong evidence for a single factor structure of scale. Total variance explained by a single factor was 41% and factor loadings ranged from .50-.74 (M=.64). Based on the results of the EFA, the single factor model with 18 items was tested on a second sample by using CFA with the maximum likelihood method. Results indicated that single factor PSES met goodness-of-fit criteria; χ2/df= 1.6, CFI=.95, TLI= .94, RMSEA= .06, and SRMR=.04. As to the reliability results, Cronbach’s Alpha was calculated as .94 for the whole scale. Also, low to moderate correlations were found between social support, and PSES was evidence for concurrent validity of scale.

Conclusion and Recommendations: The overall findings of the present study provide evidence for the validity and reliability of the PSES with a Turkish sample. Validation and reliability studies of the PSES within different cultural contexts and samples are crucial for the generalizability of the scale. The current study is important in terms of bringing this scale into Turkish literature.

Keywords: Principals’ sense of efficacy, self-efficacy, validity, reliability.