Yuen HK, Azuero A, Lackey KW, Brown NS, Shrestha S. Construct validity test of evaluation tool for professional behaviors of entry-level occupational therapy students in the United States.
JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONS 2016;
13:22. [PMID:
27246495 PMCID:
PMC4914482 DOI:
10.3352/jeehp.2016.13.22]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2016] [Accepted: 05/31/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE
This study aimed to test the construct validity of an instrument to measure student professional behaviors in entry-level occupational therapy (OT) students in the academic setting.
METHODS
A total of 718 students from 37 OT programs across the United States answered a self-assessment survey of professional behavior that we developed. The survey consisted of ranking 28 attributes, each on a 5-point Likert scale. A split-sample approach was used for exploratory and then confirmatory factor analysis.
RESULTS
A three-factor solution with nine items was extracted using exploratory factor analysis [EFA] (n=430, 60%). The factors were 'Commitment to Learning' (2 items), 'Skills for Learning' (4 items), and 'Cultural Competence' (3 items). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on the validation split (n=288, 40%) indicated fair fit for this three-factor model (fit indices: CFI=0.96, RMSEA=0.06, and SRMR=0.05). Internal consistency reliability estimates of each factor and the instrument ranged from 0.63 to 0.79.
CONCLUSION
Results of the CFA in a separate validation dataset provided robust measures of goodness-of-fit for the three-factor solution developed in the EFA, and indicated that the three-factor model fitted the data well enough. Therefore, we can conclude that this student professional behavior evaluation instrument is a structurally validated tool to measure professional behaviors reported by entry-level OT students. The internal consistency reliability of each individual factor and the whole instrument was considered to be adequate to good.
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