Biotechnology Literacy Inventory: Development, Validity and Reliability
Abstract
Purpose: In this study, it is aimed to develop a biotechnology literacy inventory that deals with the different dimensions of literacy to determine the biotechnology literacy of 8th-grade students and to make validity/reliability studies.
Design/Methodology/Approach: The participants of the study consisted of 566 8th grade students determined by convenience sampling method.
Findings: The first measurement tool is the Biotechnology Awareness Test, which consists of 24 questions, which was developed to determine the biotechnology awareness of students, and includes yes / no answers. The difficulty index of the final test was 0.66, the discrimination index was 0.43. The second measurement tool is the Biotechnology Products Preference Scale, which was developed to determine the biotechnology products that students prefer in their daily lives, and consists of 13 items and 4 sub-dimensions. According to the results of the confirmatory factor analysis, χ2 / df value was found to be 1.30, and RMSEA value was calculated as 0.035. The third measurement tool is the Biotechnology Opinion Scale, which was prepared to determine students' opinions about biotechnology on factors such as ethics, risk, and consists of 12 items and 4 sub-dimensions. According to the results of the confirmatory factor analysis, χ2 / df value was found to be 1.04, and RMSEA value was calculated as 0.012. According to the findings, it was concluded that the measurement tools in the developed inventory were valid and reliable.
Highlights: Biotechnology Literacy Inventory consisting of three measurement tools including different dimensions of literacy was developed with this study. These tools are; Biotechnology Awareness Test, The Biotechnology Products Preference Scale, and Biotechnology Opinion Scale. Besides, a scoring table is included in the study to calculate a single biotechnology literacy score according to the data obtained from this scale.
Keywords
Biotechnology literacy, Inventory development, Science education
References
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