Recycling awareness scale: A scale development study

Abstract

This study aimed to develop a scale to determine the awareness levels of secondary school students towards recycling. The sample of the research consists of 275 secondary school students studying in Afyonkarahisar, Turkey in the 2020-2021 academic year. In the research, exploratory sequential design, which is one of the mixed methods, was employed. In the study, exploratory factor analysis and item-total correlations were calculated within the scope of determining the validity of the scale. In order to determine the reliability of the scale, the Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient, item analysis based on the difference between the lower and upper group means (based on the internal consistency criterion) were performed. As a result of the analysis, a scale was developed consisting of two factors. The first factor was named ‘Awareness’ consisting of 12 items, and the second subfactor was named ‘Consciousness’ consisting of 8 items. The Cronbach alpha coefficient of the factors was calculated as 0.916 and 0.871, respectively, and the reliability coefficient for the total scale was calculated as 0.92, and it was concluded that it was a reliable measurement tool. As a result of the research, it can be said that a reliable scale in 5-point Likert type with 20 items and 2 factors was created.