Abstract:

In an effort to increase the quality of education and training, it is significant for teachers to have academic enthusiasm for their professional and personal development via postgraduate education. The aim of this research is to develop a valid and reliable measurement tool suitable for examining teachers' academic aspiration. Within the scope of the research, four common main dimensions were determined by taking advantage of similar studies in the literature and a draft item pool of 38 items was created. Research data were collected from two different groups. A total of 640 teachers, 313 in the first stage and 327 in the second stage, participated in the study. In the analysis of the data, item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, first and second level confirmatory factor analysis were performed and reliability coefficients were calculated. As a result of item analysis and EFA, a 24-item scale consisting of four sub-dimensions was obtained. The findings obtained out of CFA showed that the scale had an acceptable fit. The Cronbach Alpha internal consistency coefficient calculated as .96 for the reliability of the scale, revealed the scale was quite reliable. With reference to these findings, it can be stated that the Teacher Academic Aspiration Scale is a valid and reliable measurement tool that can be used to measure teachers' academic aspiration.

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