Measuring parental behaviors supporting higher order thinking skills in children: A scale development study

Abstract

This study aimed to develop a measurement tool to assess parental behaviors supporting the higher order thinking skills of children aged 4-7 years. An item pool was created by reviewing relevant literature and gathering parental opinions, which was then finalized through expert review. The scale's psychometric properties were examined in two stages. In the first stage, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted with 272 parents, resulting in a 12-item scale with a single factor explaining approximately 75% of the variance. In the second stage, the 12-item scale was administered to a different group of 357 parents, and confirmatory factor analysis was conducted. The results indicated satisfactory construct validity, strong reliability (Cronbach's alpha and omega), as well as convergent and concurrent validity. The consistent psychometric findings from two separate study groups support the conclusion that the developed scale is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring parental behaviors that support higher order thinking skills in children aged 4-7 years.