Attitude toward science teaching of Spanish and Turkish in-service elementary teachers: Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis

Abstract

Elementary school teachers' having a positive attitude toward science teaching might encourage students to develop positive attitudes toward science learning. This cross-cultural study aimed to validate the seven-factor structure of the Dimensions of Attitude toward Science (DAS) scale by applying it in two countries. Moreover, it aimed to determine the percentage distributions of in-service elementary school teachers' attitudes on the confirmed seven categories. The DAS scale was translated into Turkish and Spanish and administered to 185 teachers in Burdur and 202 teachers in Almeria. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that the factor structures of the translated scales for the two countries correspond to the same seven-factor structure by fitting the theoretical model. The DAS scale was compatible for both countries at an adequate level. In both samples, most of the teachers were against gender stereotyping in the science teaching/learning process, and they indicated they did not have any anxiety, fear, or stress toward teaching science. The crucial difference between the two samples was seen in the teachers' responses to items measuring "Enjoyment" and "Perceived Dependency Context Factors."