Navigating interconnected complexities: validation and reliability of an instrument for sustainable development of education 5.0

Abstract

Sustainability actions in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) profoundly affect students, employees and their communities. These aim at social and economic benefits for local communities. Sustainability must be measured, and its goals must be achieved as part of the university’s mission to impact the community significantly. This work provides the validation results for an instrument that assesses academicians’ perceptions of HEI sustainability activities. The study began with a preliminary investigation of 121 Mexican public HEI students. The scale dimensions were constructed and validated in three steps: (a) establishing a theoretical framework to identify the necessary dimensions, (b) content validation through the judgment of five experts and (c) factor analysis and determination of instrument internal consistency to establish its reliability. The validation yielded three main findings: Aiken’s V coefficient (>0.89) showed high content-based validity indicators. Also, Cronbach’s alpha was 0.937. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) calculated correlation coefficients for the 18-item instrument. The four variables tested in the study (economic and social impact, human rights and gender perspective, environment and work experience and social impact) yielded satisfactory internal consistency. The research affirms a methodology to measure the progress of sustainability models for Education 5.0 using technologies and resources to maximize human well-being.