Scale development study of problem-focused mathematical creativity self-efficacy perception

This study aims to develop the Problem-Focused Mathematical Creativity Self-Efficacy Perception Scale to determine perceptions of mathematical creativity self-efficacy of pre-service elementary mathematics teachers as valid and reliable. The research was designed using an exploratory sequential mixed design. In the study, qualitative procedures (literature review, expert opinion) were followed at the stage of preparing the item pool, while the psychometric properties of the scale were investigated using quantitative procedures. The research was conducted with two study groups. While the first study group consisted of 311 pre-service mathematics teachers studying at a state university in the Eastern Anatolia Region, the second study group included 364 pre-service mathematics teachers studying at four state universities in the Eastern Anatolia Region, Southeastern Anatolia Region and the Black Sea Region. After Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) which was performed with the data obtained from the first group, 6 items were removed from the Problem-Focused Mathematical Creativity Self-Efficacy Perception Scale consisting of 27 items and the final scale of 21 items and 3 factors (fluency, flexibility, originality) was obtained. Also, the 3-factor structure of the scale was tested with Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), which was performed with the data obtained from the second study group. It was determined that the model tested had acceptable fit indices. The convergent, discriminant and nomological validities of the scale were examined using the results obtained from CFA. In addition, independent group t-test results comparing mean values of 27% lower and 27% upper groups and corrected item-total correlations provided evidence about construct validity. Cronbach Alpha=.951 reliability coefficient showed that the scale are reliable. As a result, the results of the validity and reliability of the scale show that the scale is valid, reliable and useful to determine the perceptions of mathematical creativity self-efficacy of pre-service mathematics teachers.