Measurement Scale Development - Researcherly Disposition in Teacher Education in Turkey

Oct 15, 2026

Measurement Scale Development: Researcherly Disposition in Teacher Education in Turkey explores researcherly disposition as a key yet insufficiently emphasized dimension of initial teacher education. Researcherly disposition is defined as an intentional affective, cognitive, and operational tendency to follow research in context, produce and share knowledge, and strengthen links among learning, research, and teaching. The study develops and validates an instrument using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, then applies the final 18-item four-factor scale, reporting strong reliability and construct validity.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages30

Reading Time1 h 16 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Research Purpose and Scale Development

Methodology and Factor Analyses

Results and Reliability

Discussion and Recommendations

Measurement Scale Development: Researcherly Disposition in Teacher Education in Turkey Gürol Yokuş* and Tuğba Yanpar Yelken** Abstract Despite being an important dimension of teachers’ professional development, researcherly disposition is not sufficiently emphasized in initial teacher education. Researcherly disposition can be explained as intentional affective, cognitive and operational tendency to follow existing research in specific contexts, engaging in research production and sharing research, in order to strengthen the link between learning, research and teaching and to direct instruction. This research aims to develop an instrument for identifying researcherly disposition in teacher education context. For the construct validity, exploratory factor analysis was conducted with data collected from 350 pre-service teachers and confirmatory factor analysis with another study group of 325 preservice teachers. Then, final scale was used with 338 participants. After the model was verified, the Researcherly Disposition Scale was developed as 18-item four-factor scale. Cronbach Alpha coefficient correlation of scale was found out to be (α)=.88 and the total explained variance appeared to be %55.60 . Thess four-factor structure indicated that the Researcherly Disposition Scale was valid and reliable for future studies. Additionally, female pre-service teachers in Turkey have higher researcherly disposition. Those who participated two or more congress have higher researcherly dispositions compared to those who participated to one or none. Also, those who follow one or more journals have higher researcherly dispositions compared to those who do not follow any journal. Researcherly disposition differs by departments of pre-service teachers. For recommendation, pre-service teachers should meet up with research-oriented professionals who elaborate on teaching and they should be encouraged to follow educational research journals and academic congresses in initial teacher education. Keywords: Teacher-researcher; researcherly disposition; inquiring-teacher, scale development; teacher education and Turkey *Sinop University, Sinop, Turkey, Department of Educational Sciences, Sinop University, Email: [gurolyokus@gmail.com](gurolyokus@gmail.com) **Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey Introduction Dispositions of teachers towards research play a major role in the quality of teaching service as well as pedagogical technological content knowledge. As implied by Dunn (2021), disposition development is necessary in teaching profession for sustainable development and teaching expertise, with a focus on developing the attributes of teachers to critically engage with subject content and knowledge. Knowledge in teaching profession brings researcherly disposition on agenda. A better understanding of teachers’researcherly dispositions connected to teaching practices could lead to developing more successful learning environments and a better classroom management. Cochran-Smith and Lytle (2009) claim that research basically serves two goals in teacher education. The first one is improving practice and knowledge which leads to enhancing local practices, and the latter is contributing to the broader knowledge on teaching which leads to literature development and stronger research community in teacher education. Some recent studies also stress the significance of supporting development of researcherly disposition especially in professional learning networks and communities (Hadar & Brody, 2016; Yokuş % Yanpar Yelken, 2019) . When the literature is reviewed about researcherly dispositions of teachers, it is seen that the issue of researcher-teacher is not sufficiently emphasized, which is an important dimension of in initial teacher education and teachers’ professional development. There should be a balanced relationship between research and teaching as it is similar to that of knowledge and action. Edward (2001) claims that it is unnecessary

FAQs

What does the study mean by researcherly disposition in teacher education?

It refers to an intentional affective, cognitive, and operational tendency to follow existing research in specific contexts, engage in research production and sharing, and strengthen connections between learning, research, and teaching.

How was the measurement instrument developed and validated?

The authors conducted exploratory factor analysis with data from 350 pre-service teachers, confirmatory factor analysis with another group of 325, and then used the final scale with 338 participants. After verification, the Researcherly Disposition Scale was developed as an 18-item four-factor scale.

Which participant factors were associated with higher researcherly disposition?

In Turkey, female pre-service teachers showed higher researcherly disposition. Participants who attended two or more congresses, and those who follow one or more journals, also reported higher researcherly dispositions.

Oct 15, 2026

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