Development of preschool teacher candidates' STEM awareness levels scale

The aim of this study is to develop the STEM Awareness Level Scale of Preschool Teacher Candidates. In line with this objective, the study was conducted during the fall semester of the 2024–2025 academic year with 369 pre-service early childhood teachers enrolled in the departments of early childhood education within the faculties of education at two public universities. This research employed quantitative methods, and the data analysis was conducted using the SPSS software package. During the analysis process, the following procedures were carried out in sequence: evaluation of the data set, item analysis, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), item analysis, and internal consistency analysis. Based on the analysis results, a six-factor scale structure was identified, explaining 72.242% of the total variance. These factors were labeled as Beliefs Toward STEM, Self-Efficacy Toward STEM, Engineering, Science, Technology, and Mathematics. The fit indices obtained from the CFA indicated acceptable model fit, thus confirming the scale model. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the scale was calculated as .959, indicating an excellent level of internal reliability. In light of these findings, a valid and reliable scale has been developed to assess the STEM awareness levels of pre-service early childhood teachers.