The development and validation of a scale on L2 writing teacher feedback literacy

Feedback literate teachers play a central role in promoting students’ writing performance. In L2 writing, however, there is a paucity of research on teacher feedback literacy, and instruments that investigate L2 writing teacher feedback literacy are virtually non-existent. Heeding the call for research on scale development to measure teacher feedback literacy, this two-phase study is an attempt to develop and validate a feedback literacy scale (FLS) for teachers to illuminate this budding concept in L2 writing. The factor structure of the 34-item FLS was determined through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with the participation of 223 writing teachers. The results revealed a three-factor solution, namely Perceived Knowledge, Values, and Perceived Skills. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed which aimed to verify the structure of the scale and its three sub-scales, based on a sample of another 208 writing teachers. It was found that the model fits the data well (e.g., the RMSEA with 0.052 (90 % CI=0.045–0.059)), proving that the FLS yields psychometrically reliable and valid results, and it is a robust scale to measure the self-reported feedback literacy of L2 writing teachers. In light of these findings, the factor structure and sub-scales of the FLS are discussed. Practical implications for teachers, teacher trainers and teacher education programs, as well as implications for feedback literacy research are provided.