Evaluating teaching readiness using the TPACK model: factor, reliability and validity analyses for Indonesian economics teacher candidates

Abstract

Introduction. The preparedness of future economics teachers matters as it affects the quality of education, student results, workforce training, critical thinking abilities, global mindset, college prep, and adjustment to shifting economies. The future generation needs educated people to act as members of society and the world economy; hence, it requires a cadre of trained economists and teachers and is significantly shaped by intrinsic factors such as technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK). This study refines and validates a measurement instrument to reliably and validity assess the essential competencies of these teachers, tailored to meet the evolving standards of economics education. Materials and Methods. The study used an online questionnaire with a purposive sample of 100 pre-service economics educators from Indonesia for Explanatory Factor Analysis (EFA) and 389 samples for Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), all of whom had completed their teaching practicums. Then, statistical analysis was conducted using EFA in SPSS and CFA in AMOS. The EFA was employed to determine how well the instrument’s items capture the components of the TPACK framework and their relevance to the prospective teachers’ readiness for professional practice post-graduation. The CFA is Performed to guarantee that each variable analyzed has the validity of the configuration and the reliability of the construct as needed and is used to establish the extent to which the measured variable may represent the construct or variable that has previously been considered. Results. This study first developed seven factors, namely Technological Knowledge (TK), Pedagogical Knowledge (PK), Content Knowledge (CK), Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK), Technological Content Knowledge (TCK), and Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK), consisting of 39 items. However, four items were removed because their factor loading was below 0.50. As a result, 35 items were retained as the factor loading was significantly greater than .50. The Cronbach's alpha value for each item of the TPACK construct was > .60 and met all the criteria of goodness of fit index, which means that it meets the requirements and can measure the TPACK construct in measuring job readiness of prospective teachers in Indonesia. As this study fulfills the requirements of validity and reliability of the constructs that lead to TPACK, the results of this study will help prospective teachers prepare themselves to become professional economics teachers. Conclusion. The teaching readiness of prospective teachers can be assessed using valid and reliable tools such as EFA in pilot testing and CFA in large-scale analysis assessments of the TPACK construct with 35 question items.