https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4370-238X
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Abstract
There is a need for valid and reliable instruments to assess learning outcomes in education for sustainable development (ESD). Measurement invariance (MI) needs to be established before results of these instruments can be validly compared between groups. Despite its importance, establishing MI is an often overlooked validation step. To provide an example of testing for MI in the field of ESD, thereby setting a precedent for subsequent studies, this study tested the MI of the Action Competence in Sustainable Development Questionnaire (ACiSD-Q). First, Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFAs) were carried out to make refinements to the original model. Subsequently, nested multiple-group CFAs were performed to test for MI of the ACiSD-Q for the grouping variables of educational level (primary versus secondary), language spoken at home (instructional language versus other languages), and gender. Model fit indices of the refined model and the ACiSD-Q’s proneness to MI are discussed.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS:
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Data availability statement
The data for this study could not be made publicly available due to privacy considerations. The developed R-code for this study is publicly available at https://osf.io/xq9wc/?view_only=69536ba32fcc40cba3e9573f332a5c1b.
Additional information
Funding
Notes on contributors
M. Van Harskamp
Michiel van Harskamp is employed at the Freudenthal Institute at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, as a postdoctoral researcher for the EU-funded IMP > ACT project. His work focusses on assessment of action competence as a learning outcome in a lifelong learning context. Prior to that, Van Harskamp was employed as an educational researcher at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, where he researched measurement invariance in the field of education for sustainable development. In November 2023, he obtained his PhD at the Freudenthal Institute of Utrecht University. His PhD focussed on fostering Environmental Citizenship through science education at Lower Secondary level. To do so, the educational approach developed in the PARRISE project, Socio-Scientific Inquiry-Based Learning (SSIBL), was applied in practice. Together with a team of six chemistry and biology teachers, he performed four main and multiple subsidiary cycles of Lesson Study.
S. De Maeyer
Sven De Maeyer is a full professor at the Department of Training and Education Sciences at the University of Antwerp where he teaches statistics and methodology courses. He is associated with the research group Edubron (www.edubron.be). His research focuses on the measurement of (learning) processes, (formative) assessment and rating in education (with an emphasis on the merits of comparative judgment), and (Bayesian) mixed-effects modeling. Next to her work as a teacher in secondary education.
W. Sass
Wanda Sass is a postdoctoral researcher at Karlstad University (Sweden) and with research unit Edubron at the University of Antwerp (Belgium). Her current research focuses on quality education for sustainability teaching (QUEST) and action competence. She developed the concept of Professional Action competence, investigating the professional concept knowledge, self-efficacy, motivation, and task perception of teachers regarding ESD implementation in formal education. She was involved in research into nature-connectedness, motivation towards the environment, and a whole institution approach in a context of implementing education for sustainable development in compulsory and higher education. Currently, she is collaborating on an operationalization of action competence, using International Large Scale Assessments. In 2022, she obtained a doctoral degree in educational sciences with a dissertation on action competence as a learning outcome of education for sustainable development (University of Antwerp).
P. Van Petegem
Peter Van Petegem was a science teacher and is now a full professor in education sciences at the Department of Training and Education Sciences of the University of Antwerp (Belgium). His research focuses on educational evaluation at the pupil, institution, and system level. He has a special interest in research in Environmental Education and Education for Sustainable Development.
J. Boeve-de Pauw
Jelle Boeve-de Pauw is an associate professor of science education at the Freudenthal Institute at Utrecht University. As a biologist and educational scientist, he is interested in environmental education, education for sustainable development, science and STEM education and citizenship education. Issues of measurement and evaluation in these fields are central to his research. He received his PhD degree in 2011 at the University of Antwerp in Belgium and was awarded the 2014 Rudi Verheyen early career award for best research with relevance for environmental policy in Flanders. At Utrecht University he teaches in the master programme Science Education and Communication, with a focus on subjects relating to science-society dynamics and research methods in the educational sciences.