Validation study of the Early Childhood Educators’ Spiritual Practices in the Classroom (ECE-SPC) instrument using Rasch

Abstract

Three validity evidence sources (test content, internal structure, and relationships to other variables) from the responses of 365 educators, purposely sampled from 36 US states, are presented to explore the use of the instrument, Early Childhood Educators' Spiritual Practices in the Classroom (ECE-SPC). Findings show expert panel agreed items accurately represented the desired construct and recommendations for revising multidimensional items were made by a psychometrician. The Rasch measurement analysis recommended collapsing the five-point frequency scale to four-point and removing two reverse-scored items. The revised instrument demonstrated excellent item fit, person and item reliability, separation, and practical unidimensionality. Relationships to other variables were established through no significant differences based on educator demographics. Differences were found based on school setting and educator values of spirituality, which aligned with expected differences. ECE-SPC is recommended as a self-report instrument, to determine to what extent early childhood educators nurture children’s spirituality in secular educational settings.