Validity and reliability of the Very Short form of the Physical Self-Inventory among Turkish adolescents

The study aimed to test the validity and reliability of the Very Short form of the Physical Self-Inventory (PSI-VS) among a sample of 635 Turkish adolescents. These adolescents have completed the 12 original items of the PSI-VS, plus a positively worded reformulation of the single reverse-keyed item of the physical attractiveness subscale. A series of confirmatory factor analyses was used to examine the psychometric properties of the original and modified versions of the PSI-VS. Findings revealed superior psychometric properties with the modified version than with the original set of items. The modified version was thus subsequently used to examine its factor structure invariance across sexes, age groups and sport practice involvement. Results not only report that this version was fully invariant across, but also that latent means were significantly different across sexes and sport practice involvement. In sum, the Turkish modified version of the PSI-VS presents acceptable psychometric properties and may be used to repeatedly and/or intensively assess participants’ physical self-perceptions in the context of sport and exercise interventions.     

A comparison of teacher and principal perception of an outstanding science teacher

The purpose of this study was to determine the level of agreement or disagreement between principals and teachers when using established criteria to measure the effectiveness of a science teacher. To obtain this information, 28 principals and 81 science teachers were randomly selected to complete an instrument for their perceptions of an outstanding science teacher. The respondents involved in this study were employed in the English-speaking high schools in the Province of Québec, Canada. The questionaire was constructed from a model based on the theoretical framework of previous research in science education and instructional theories. The data collected from the two populations were tested using the arithmetic mean, Pearson chi-square and cross tabulation using the Lambda & Gamma tests to determine the strength or form of the association between the two variables (position and perception). Results indicated that the high school principals and science teachers agree on the relative importance for most of the evaluative criteria. From such results it was possible to construct a profile of the attributes of an outstanding science teacher, and also, to make recommendations to school board officials, school principals, science teachers, and researchers in the field of education.