Abstract:

The aim of this research is to examine validity and reliability of Turkish adaptation of "Beliefs about The Nature of Mathematics Scale" developed for international TEDS-M Study. The research was conducted on 583 senior preservice elementary mathematics teachers from different universities selected randomly from seven geographical regions of Turkey. In order to examine construct validity of the scale, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used. As a result of the exploratory factor analysis, it was found that total explained variance was 57% and that the items were grouped under two factors (rule orientation and discovery orientation). Results of confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the scale yielded two factors as the original form and that the model was well fit (X2=151.58, sd=53, RMSEA=0.08, GFI=0.93, AGFI=0.88, CFI=0.95, NFI=0.91, NNFI=0.96). In order to examine the reliability of the scale, item-total correlations and Cronbach alfa were calculated. Item-total correlations ranged from 0.46 to 0.66 in Turkish form of the scale. Internal consistency coefficients were found as 0.88 for Rule orientation subscale and 0.92 for Inquiry orientation subscale. These results show that the Turkish form of the scale is a valid and reliable instrument.

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