Development of Distance Education Attitude Scale for Higher Education Students

Abstract

Distance education has been constantly developed for decades and became the only choice for education during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the Turkish higher education, distance education practices were carried out for three semesters during the pandemic. Once again, distance education became the only means of education for higher education after the devastating earthquakes that hit Türkiye in February 2023. Assessing the students’ attitudes towards distance education gained importance in order to enhance the learning outcomes of distance education and to define the problems the students had faced. Thus, the researchers aimed to develop a Distance Education Attitude Scale for Higher Education Students in this study. The data were collected from 875 undergraduate students from Turkish state universities. Explanatory Factor Analysis (nEFA= 583) unfolded a two-factor structure with 16 items – explaining 57% of the total variance. For the scale and its two factors, the Cronbach Alpha internal consistency coefficient (.917, .914, .807) and McDonalds Omega coefficient (.920, .925, .811) were found satisfactory. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (nCFA= 292) supported the model-data fit and confirmed the reached structure. The "Distance Education Attitude Scale for Higher Education Students" is found to be valid and reliable. The scale is believed to contribute to the quality and efficiency of tertiary distance education practices.