Old but Gold: Secondary School Students’ Communication Attitude Scale

Abstract

Communication as a skill is not something new; however, it has become much more important than ever before as the way and with whom we communicate have changed. That is why educators need to have valid and reliable tools to understand how this skill is perceived by students. This study aims to provide a valid and reliable secondary school students’ communication attitude scale (SSSCAS). A draft form for the scale was prepared with 32 items depending on the relevant literature and reviewed by experts in the field. The revised form was applied to 397 students at a state secondary school in Aksaray city of Turkey in the 2020-2021 academic year. First, explanatory factor analysis that tests construct validity was carried out and three items were extracted from further analysis due to insufficient factor loadings. The remaining 29 items are placed under four sub-dimensions called openness to communication, body language and preferences, self-confidence, and obstacles. The structure was tested through confirmatory factor analysis and the validity of the scale with the four sub-dimensions was found to be appropriate. The Cronbach’s alpha values of all sub-dimensions and the scale were above the required level. As a result, the developed scale is a valid and reliable scale to assess communication attitudes of secondary school students.