Trends in attitudes of young people about to begin their studies at university: Research to develop a measuring instrument

Abstract

Objective: In our study we aimed to develop a scale to evaluate the effective factors in the choice of faculty by students who are about to start university within the scope of the "Wholistic Approach" one of the core competences recommended by WONCA.Methods: In the study 434 students completed a questionnaire. In the pilot study, we evaluated the form we had developed containing 25 attitude statements with a positive and negative direction under certain conditions. Before use, the questionnaire was evaluated for validity of content and scope. In order to investigate the structural validity of the questionnaire, it was then given to students who had gained places in various faculties of Uludag University in Bursa who were asked to mark the items according to their own preferences. The reliability and factor analysis of the scores was calculated using the SPSS statistical programme and the validity was evaluated.Results: After removing the items which reduced the reliability of the questionnaire, the general Cronbach-Alpha value of the remaining 18 items was 0.779 (corrected to 0.811). Upon factor analysis of these items, we obtained a scale containing 5 factors and 18 statements. We named this scale "The Goktas Faculty Orientation Scale." We determined that the factors of the scale were "Expectations of the Faculty", "Aims and Ideals", "Previous Schooling", "Family Status" and "Faculty Choices".Conclusion: As a result, we have developed a scale with high reliability which can be used in a wide range of future research on student orientation and attitudes.