Abstract:

It is important to determine at what extent transparency, accepted as a principle in the managementof the organizations and having an indisputable influence on determination of attitudes andbehaviors of people working in organizations, comes out at schools. The purpose of this study was todevelop the School Transparency Scale (STS) and conduct validity and reliability study of theinstrument which can be used in the evaluations concerning transparency at the schools. The sampleof this study comprised of 246 teachers working at 13 different schools, 3 were vocational highschools and 2 were Anatolian high schools chosen at random. An item pool was created based onexperts’ advice. The construct validity of the scale was investigated through EFA and CFA analyses.The relationships between sub-dimensions of School Transparency Scale and of Organizational TrustScale were explored to measure criterion validity of School Transparency Scale. The scale consistedof 26 items and 3 factors. Fit indices values obtained as a result of CFA proved that the modelsupplied sufficient congruity. Sub-dimensions were named as transparency in practice, transparencyin evaluation and transparency of information. The general reliability coefficient of the scale wascalculated as Cronbach Alpha ,95, which was quite high. Explained variance was 62,14%. Therelationships between sub-dimensions of School Transparency Scale and of Organizational TrustScale were explored to measure criterion validity. The School Transparency Scale is highly reliableand has sufficient internal validity. At the end of the research, the scale was found out to be a reliableand valid measurement instrument apt to determine the transparency levels of the schools.Therefore, the findings proved that the scale had sufficient validity to determine the transparencylevels of the schools. As a result of this study we can conclude that School Transparency Scale ishighly reliable, valid and has an adequate internal consistency. 

Keywords: