Developing environmental sensitivity for children scale: reliability and validity studies

Abstract

This study a This study aims to develop an Environmental Sensitivity Scale for pupils aged between 9-15 who attend primary School. In an attempt to develop questionnaire items, the relevant literature has been reviewed, and the studies of the researchers of Environmental Science and Education have been investigated. In order to ensure the reliability of 90-item-Likert scale which has been administered to an experimental group consisting of 4th and 5th grade students in primary school twice with one-week intervals through the method of Scale Test-Retest. Both subject scoresobtained from the two different administrations of environmental sensitivity scale were tested by means of Pearson-moment correlation technique and a correlation coefficient of .72 has been found. In addition, students’ enviromental sensitivity was measured by both Children’s Environmental Attitude and Knowledge Scale which was developed by Leeming and Dwyer (1995) and the Environmental Sensitivity Scale for Children. The data were analysed by Pearson-moment correlation technique with a correlation coefficient of .64. These two findings indicate that the reliability and validity coefficients of the scale developed by the researcher are quite high.