Abstract:

Learning habits are children’s actions that are essentially performed to accomplish academic activities and promote their educational performance (Dungon et al., 2024). The development of effective learning habits in first graders is crucial for their academic success and future outcomes (Simpkins et al., 2020). However, the measurement of learning habits may not always be straightforward, as it can be influenced by various factors (Tus et al., 2020). Therefore, this study aimed to confirm the content validity of a newly developed tool for assessing how teachers cultivate children’s learning habits in first grade.

By the review of related literature, a new questionnaire was comprised of 60 items based on ten dimensions:
(1) habits building a positive relationship with the teacher,
(2) habits contributing to the school environment,
(3) habits serving peers and community,
(4) habits developing the study environment,
(5) habits promoting learning strategies,
(6) habits relating to a daily schedule,
(7) habits taking the responsibility of a learner,
(8) habits encouraging learning motivation,
(9) habits relating to formative and self-assessments,
(10) habits supporting parental involvement.

The survey along with the research aim and related literature was distributed to four experts in the field of early childhood education. The experts assessed the questionnaire with Rubio et al.'s (2003) recommended criteria:
(1) inclusiveness of the content domain,
(2) clarity of the item,
(3) factor structure, and
(4) comprehensiveness of the measure.

In methods, the content validity index (CVI) of each item was computed by tallying the experts who gave a rating of three or four and dividing this count by the total number of experts. The values of CVI that are higher than 0.80 are accepted. The findings showed that 10 items out of 60 items were removed from the questionnaire due to their lack of inclusiveness of the content domain, clarity of the item, and comprehensiveness of the content domain. 50 items are above 0.80 in CVI, indicating the content validity of how items are clear, consistent with the target factors, comprehensible for the measurement, and representative of the content or the subject matter that the instrument intends to measure (Newman et al., 2006). Moreover, the content-validated questionnaire of 50 items was also distributed online to 269 participating teachers to assess its reliability measures. The measurement was evaluated by two main aspects, such as the importance of habits for children and the frequency of using habits. The internal consistency reliability of both aspects of the questionnaire showed the acceptability with Cronbach’s alpha (> 0.93), composite reliability, CR > 0.72, and average variance extracted, AVE > 0.53. Therefore, this validated questionnaire can contribute as a valuable tool for educators, administrators, and researchers to gain insights into and improve the cultivation of effective learning habits in first-grade children.

Acknowledgement:
This study was funded by the Scientific Foundations of Education Research Program of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (grant number: SZKF-10/2021).

Keywords:

Content validity, learning habits, children, first grade, reliability.