Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the items and the dimensionality of a scale to measure professional commitment of teachers in Thailand. Data were collected by in-depth interview and questionnaire. The content analysis was conducted with the qualitative data for the purpose of item writing. Differential item functioning (DIF), exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and bi-factor CFA model analysis were conducted to establish validity evidence. As a result of EFA and CFA, the study showed that a 3-dimensional scale can effectively measure professional commitment of teachers, which was achieved by the 18-item measure. A polytomuos item response theory model was also fitted to estimate item parameters and to examine the test information function.
Highlights
Measuring professional commitment is important for many reasons
As a result of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), the study showed that a 3-dimensional scale can effectively measure professional commitment of teachers, which was achieved by the 18-item measure
We believe the 18-item scale has potential utilities and impacts. This scale can be used to measure teacher professional commitment for prospectus teachers, as well as beginning in-service teachers, to become aware of their own professional commitment levels to be successful in their career. Both literature and results from this study indicated that both professional commitment and organizational commitment are well represented by three factors
Summary
The construct of professional commitment has been defined based on several different focuses, including attitude, behavior, motivation, and psychological states. Some authors focused on attitude to define professional commitment (Blau, 1988, 1989; Lee et al, 2000; Morrow, 1993; Morrow & Wirth, 1989; Vendenberg & Scarpello, 1994; Wallance, 1993, 1995), while some other authors focused on behavior (Benkhoff, 1997; Price & Mueller, 1981; Welsch & LaVan, 1981). On the other hand, London (1983), Noe et al (1990), and Grzeda and Prince (1997) focused on motivation, while Bagraim (2003), Irving et al, (1997), Meyer et al, (1993), Meyer and Herscovitch (2001) focused on psychological states
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