A Science Curiosity Scale for Middle School Students: A Validity and Reliability Study
A Science Curiosity Scale
Abstract
The primary objective of this study was to develop a valid and reliable scale capable of measuring the multi-dimensional curiosity levels of middle school students in the context of science education. The scale’s development commenced with an initial pool of 36 items, which were formulated based on a comprehensive literature review and expert consultations. Following content validity assessments and a pilot administration, the item count was refined to 21. The finalized scale was administered to a total of 668 middle school students during the 2024–2025 academic year. The collected data were analyzed using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The exploratory factor analysis identified a robust three-factor structure for the scale: Curiosity for Discovering Scientific Knowledge, Curiosity for Using Science in Daily Life, and Experience-Based Scientific Curiosity. These three factors collectively accounted for 45.89% of the total variance. A confirmatory factor analysis further validated this three-factor structure, demonstrating a strong model fit (CFI = .96; TLI = .98; RMSEA = .019). The overall Cronbach’s α reliability coefficient for the entire scale was calculated as .92, with the sub-dimensions exhibiting reliability coefficients ranging from .82 to .88. These findings suggest that the newly developed instrument is a comprehensive, valid, and reliable tool for assessing the cognitive, behavioral, and experiential facets of curiosity within science education. The scale is poised to be a valuable resource in the literature for researchers and educators seeking to quantitatively assess the impact of various instructional activities on students' curiosity levels.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the Publisher. The Editors reserve the right to edit or otherwise alter all contributions, but authors will receive proofs for approval before publication.
Copyrights for articles published in International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction are retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the journal. The journal/publisher is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. It is the author's responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author.
