Abstract:

This study aims to develop a valid and reliable measurement tool that will serve to determine the level of primary school fourth grade students’ attitude towards water. While determining the items that make up the scale, first of all, the literature was examined. At the same time, opinions were taken from experts, teachers and students. An item pool of 40 items was created in line with the literature review and opinions. The item pool was reduced to 34 items after receiving expert opinions and making necessary corrections. In order to conduct exploratory factor analysis, 325 fourth grade students were reached in the 2021-2022 academic year. As a result of the exploratory factor analysis, a 3-point Likert-type (1 = Disagree, 2 = Somewhat agree, 3 =Agree) tool with 20 items collected in three dimensions was reached. As the scores obtained from the scale increase, the attidude towards water. As a result of the exploratory factor analysis performed to determine the scale’s validity, it is seen that the three dimensions included in the scale explain 40,23% of the total variance. Scores obtainable from the scale range from 20 to 60. Confirmatory factor analysis was carried out with the data obtained from 234 students to test whether the constructed structure was verified as a model. As a result of confirmatory factor analysis, the structure formed as a result of exploratory factor analysis was confirmed. The reliability of the Attitude Towards Water Scale (ASAS) was examined by Cronbach's Alpha coefficient, item-total correlation coefficient, comparison of lower-high-end groups and split-half methods, and high reliability coefficients were reached. The findings obtained within the scope of this study show that the Attitudes Towards Water Scale is a valid and reliable measurement tool that can be used to determine the level of attitude towards water of fourth-grade primary school students.

Keywords: