Advisory Committee Chair
Retta Evans
Advisory Committee Members
Peter Hendricks
Margaret Pope
Scott Snyder
Collin Webster
Document Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
2017
Degree Name by School
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) School of Education
Abstract
Children do not meet current physical activity (PA) guidelines. Movement integration (MI), which is defined as infusing PA into regularly scheduled classroom time, is an effective school-based strategy to increase children’s daily participation in PA while also supporting their academic performance. Classroom teachers (CTs) are the primary facilitators of MI. Thus, understanding CTs’ beliefs toward MI is vital to successful MI implementation. The purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable measure of CTs’ MI beliefs from a Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) perspective. The study used a cross-sectional design and encompassed three phases. Phase I elicited behavioral, normative, and control beliefs through an open-ended survey from 26 CTs enrolled in graduate teacher education programs in Alabama, which informed generation of a preliminary survey instrument that embodied the beliefs identified. Phase II (N = 43) and Phase III (N = 527) targeted CTs in grades K-6 in Alabama. Seven TPB subscales were represented in the final instrumentation, which comprised a 122-item survey through face and content validity analyses by ten experts, temporal stability via test-retest, internal consistency applying Cronbach’s alpha, and construct validity through confirmatory factor analysis. Results indicated temporal stability for the attitude subscale (r = .917; p < .05), internal consistency for all subscales (α = .684 – .986), and adequate construct validity for intention (Chi-square, χ2 = 4.99; Comparative fit index, CFI = .998; Tucker-Lewis index, TLI = .994; Root mean square error of approximation, RMSEA = .087; Standardized root mean square residual, SRMR = .002), attitude (χ2 = 26.25; CFI = .859; TLI = .812; RMSEA = .219; SRMR = .069), perceived behavioral control (χ2 = 33.85; CFI = .856; TLI = .713; RMSEA = .250; SRMR = .084), and normative beliefs (χ2 = 18.20; CFI = .845; TLI = .811; RMSEA = .181; SRMR = .053). The entire hypothesized model showed marginal fit of the data (χ2 = 4.10; CFI = .773; TLI = .765; RMSEA = .077; SRMR = .082). Findings demonstrate a need for instrument modification and further refinement of incremental fit to inform the final disposition of the scale.
Recommended Citation
Moses, Gina, "Development of a psychometrically sound instrument to assess classroom teachers' beliefs about movement integration" (2017). All ETDs from UAB. 2523.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/2523