Abstract:

Socioscientific issues, one of the popular concepts of science education, are associated with reasoning and decision-making skills in the science curriculum. In this context, it is very important for teachers to have reasoning skills because they have duties and responsibilities to provide their students with these skills. The aim of this study is to evaluate the validity and reliability of the QuaSSR (Qualitative Assessment of Socioscientific Reasoning) scale, which was developed by Romine, Sadler, and Kinslow (2017) to determine socioscientific reasoning, in a teacher sample by adapting it to culturally appropriate, national/global socioscientific issues. Within the scope of the adaptation study, "Nuclear Power Plant Project in Sinop" scenario was created instead of the "Hydraulic Fracture in Pavilion Wyoming" scenario, and "Childhood Vaccinations" scenarios were created instead of the "Branville Bay" scenario. The data obtained from 10 questions belonging to the scenarios were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis separately, and the data of the whole scale in which both scenarios took place together were subjected to Rash analysis. Cronbach's Alpha coefficient was calculated for reliability evaluation. When the analysis results were compared with the reference values accepted in the field, it was concluded that the measurement tool called the Socioscientific Reasoning Scale (SSRS) was a valid and reliable tool suitable for use in the teacher sample.

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