The Scale of Attitudes toward the Information Technologies and Software Course: A Scale Development Study

Abstract

In this study, the aim was to develop a Likert-type scale to measure students’ attitudes toward the Information Technologies and Software course taught in secondary school. The developments in the field of science and technology and the changing needs of society necessitate an update to the Information Technologies and Software course curriculum and its implementation, starting from the 2021–2022 academic year. With this update, students are provided with the means to take the first step toward programming with block-based learning activities (Blockly, Scratch, Arduino, etc.). For this reason, it is thought that previously developed scales may be insufficient to measure students’ attitudes toward the updated Information Technologies and Software course. The study was designed by survey method. A total of 600 students for an exploratory factor analysis and 300 different students for a confirmatory factor analysis were included in the study. As a result of conducting the exploratory factor analysis, a scale with 4 factors and 27 items was obtained. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to confirm the obtained structure. The scale that was developed, as a result of validity and reliability studies, is thought to be a valid and reliable measurement tool that can be used to measure attitudes toward the Information Technologies and Software course.