Validating the personal accountability measure for Turkish teachers

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objective: Although there is an emerging worldwide interest in understanding teacher accountability as a subjective reality, tools to measure this concept are not available in many countries. For this reason, this study aims to test the validity of using the Turkish version of the Personal Accountability Measure (PAM) on the Turkish K12 teacher population. Method: The entire dataset (n = 643) was randomly splitted into three subsets, and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted on Group 1 (n = 221), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA1) on Group 2 (n = 212), and a new CFA analysis for cross-validation on Group 3 (n = 210). Findings: These analysis validated the Turkish version as a two-factor/12-item structure, partially inconsistent with the English version. The subsequent analysis for internal consistency reliability, convergence, and discriminant validity provided adequate support for the valid use of the scale in measuring accountability dispositions for Turkish K12 teachers. Conclusion: The PAM-TR-12 can help educational psychologists and school leaders better assess and understand teacher accountability as subjective reality and develop interventions to improve teacher motivation, professional capacity, and well-being, thereby promoting a high quality school learning environment.