Longitudinal Measurement Invariance of the Dual School Climate and School Identification Scale (SCASIM-St15) in Chilean Adolescents

Abstract

School climate is a highly relevant construct in the educational field; however, most research adopts cross-sectional designs, which limits the understanding of its stability and development over time. Consequently, this study aimed to assess the degree of the longitudinal invariance of the SCASIM-St15 in a sample of adolescent students throughout their secondary education trajectory. A longitudinal panel design was used, with one-year intervals, covering the entire secondary education cycle and following the same cohort of 679 Chilean students across four measurements: wave 1 = 1st year of secondary school with a mean age of 14.53 Sd = 0.625; wave 2 = 2nd year with a mean age of 15.60 [Sd = 0.629]; wave 3 = 3rd year with a mean age of 16.55 [Sd = 0.602]; and wave 4 = 4th year with a mean age of 17.49 [Sd = 0.587]. The results from factorial invariance modeling across the four time points indicate that the SCASIM-St15 shows an overall good fit, with satisfactory goodness-of-fit indices, suggesting that the factorial structure of the SCASIM-St15 remains stable over time.