Sense of Belonging in Science: A Focus on the Construct

Abstract

The importance of the construct to the fields of measurement and cognitive science cannot be overstated. Without an understanding of the construct, including clarity and scope of the substantive and structural aspects, one cannot ensure valid use and interpretation of a constructed measure. In this sense, measurement and cognitive science are fundamentally connected through the construct. One important construct that lacks clarification in definition and structure is a sense of belonging in science. This is especially true for adolescent age students. Unfortunately, this attribute is often vaguely conceptualized and largely missing from the literature for school-age students, and therefore, in need of a rigorous theoretical foundation supported by empirical evidence to ensure meaningful use of any assessment or interpretation of results. Using the BEAR Assessment System's approach to constructing measures, which includes using Rasch family modeling, data were collected from high school students through eight exploratory interviews, 12 think-aloud interviews, focus groups comprised of 9-12 participants per group (45 students in total), and 537 surveys; and from five experts to develop and validate a 12-item self-report survey of high school students’ sense of belonging in science. Sources of evidence for reliability, validity (content, internal structures, response processes, and relation to other variables), and fairness were collected and analyzed to produce a construct-centered survey. Overall, findings produced strong evidence for the valid, reliable, and fair interpretation and use of the Sense of Belonging in Science Survey (BiSS). This research highlights the importance of the construct as the driver of the design and quality assurance of a measure.