Importance of the attitude of the university teacher: Validation of a scale for consideration

Abstract

The study of the quality and improvement of university teaching is mostly based on teacher training, leaving aside other transcendental factors such as attitude. Considered as the behavior of the teacher based on their knowledge and experiences, this work shows the validation of a scale of attitude towards teaching based on 3 dimensions: Personal, teaching and research. After content validation by judges, the scale is applied to a representative sample, by branch of knowledge and professional category, of 161 university teachers at the University of Salamanca. The psychometric analysis of the scale, made up of 13 Likert type items with five answer possibilities, shows correlations between average and low total items, an acceptable reliability index (α de Cronbach=.75) and a clear and consistent factor structure where the existence of the three factors is confirmed. In addition, there is a greater distinction between the teaching (.854) and professional (.885) dimensions, as opposed to the researcher (.553). It concludes by stressing the importance of considering the attitudes of teachers as a relevant indicator of study in higher education, using valid and reliable scales such as that offered in this article. As future lines of research, the door remains open to a new validation of the instrument in new contexts of higher education.