Unidimensionality of the scales of the teacher leadership styles inventory - TLSI

Abstract

Exploratory factor analysis can be used to verify the unidimensionality of scales constructed to evaluate aspects related to specific dimensions of the teacher-student interaction. This study aimed to demonstrate the evaluation of unidimensionality for the three scales (Responsiveness, Demandingness and Coercive Control) of the Teacher Leadership Styles Inventory - TLSI, using exploratory factor analysis. Participants of the study were 113 students of the 4th and 5th years of elementary education, aged between 8 and 11 years, from public and private schools of cities in the state of Paraná. The 70 item TLSI was used. The application of the instrument was performed collectively with groups of no more than 25 students, in the classrooms. The results demonstrated the normal distribution of the data and that the scales that compose the TLSI are unidimensional. From the analysis of the factor loadings, the number of items in each scale was reduced: from 22 to 21 items in the Responsiveness scale, from 22 to 16 items in the Demandingness scale and from 26 to 19 items in the Coercive Control scale. Thus, the new version of the TLSI contained 56 items that showed factor loadings > .3.