A Scale Development Study for the Determination of Students’ Sense of Belonging to Place

Gönülaçar H., ÖZTÜRK M., MUTLU N.

Educational Practice and Theory, cilt.48, sa.1, ss.69-89, 2026 (Scopus) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 48 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.7459/ept/480105
  • Dergi Adı: Educational Practice and Theory
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Scopus, Education Abstracts, Educational research abstracts (ERA), ERIC (Education Resources Information Center)
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.69-89
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Adolescents’ sense of belonging to place, factor analysis, geography education, scale development, secondary school
  • Erciyes Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

This study developed a scale to measure adolescents’ sense of belonging to place, a construct shaping identity, cohesion, and well-being while fostering resilience and responsibility. Data were collected from eighth-grade students, 398 for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and 250 for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The final scale comprises 26 items across three dimensions: local belonging (14 items), national belonging (6 items), and global belonging (6 items). Cronbach’s alpha values ranged from 0.93 to 0.94, demonstrating high reliability. Findings confirm the scale’s validity, offering a robust instrument to investigate adolescents’ multilevel belonging in education research.