A cross-cultural validation of the Technology-Rich Outcomes-Focused Learning Environment Inventory (TROFLEI) in Turkey and the USA

Background

Studies exploring the relationship between students’ achievement and the quality of the classroom learning environments have shown that there is a strong relationship between these two concepts. Learning environment instruments are constantly being revised and updated, including for use in different cultures, which requires continued validation efforts.

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to establish cross-cultural reliability and validity of the Technology-Rich Outcomes-Focused Learning Environment Inventory (TROFLEI) in both Turkey and the USA.

Sample

Approximately 980 students attending grades 9–12 in Turkey and 130 students attending grades 9–12 in the USA participated in the study.

Design and method

Scale reliability analyses and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were performed separately for Turkish and US participants for both actual and preferred responses to each scale to confirm the structure of the TROFLEI across these two distinct samples.

Results

Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficients, ranging from α = 0.820 to 0.931 for Turkish participants and from α = 0.778 to 0.939 for US participants, indicated that all scales have satisfactory internal consistency for both samples. Confirmatory factor analyses resulted in evidence of adequate model fit across both samples for both actual and preferred responses, with the root mean square error of approximation ranging from 0.052 to 0.057 and the comparative fit index ranging from 0.920 to 0.982.

Conclusions

This study provides initial evidence that the TROFLEI is valid for use in both the Turkish and US high-school populations (grades 9–12). However, the psychometric properties should be examined further with different populations, such as middle-school students (grades 6–8).

Keywords:

• TROFLEI
• cross-cultural validation
• classroom environment
• technology-rich classroom
• confirmatory factor analysis

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Dr Serhat İrez, Dr Hakan Akçay and Özgur Kıvılcan Doğan from Marmara University, Dr Emine Ferda Bedel from Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Dr Doğan Çömez from North Dakota State University, Dr Alper Kesten from Ondokuz Mayıs University, Dr Bülent Tarman from Selcuk University, Dr Yakut Gazi from Texas A&M University and Dr Funda Şahin from the University of Tennessee for their assistance with the translation of the TROFLEI. This research (in part) was supported by National Science Foundation grant no. HRD-0811239 to the NDSU Advance FORWARD program.