Constructing and validating a questionnaire for an international comparative analysis of teachers' conceptions of biology, health and environment: the european project of research Biohead-Citizen

Abstract

This workshop intends to discuss how a large international questionnaire should be constructed to be applied in several countries with different cultural background and languages. We will present and discuss the methodology used in our European research project Biohead-Citizen to analyse the conceptions of in-service and pre-service teachers in 18 countries concerning biological, health and environmental issues. We will work on some specific examples coming from this project. The several steps of the questionnaire construction – which will be the bases for the discussion in the workshop – are the following: - A clear definition of the goals of the research and of the theoretical background; - Gathering questions (in English) related to the goals, either tested in prior research or entirely new. Collective discussion on these questions; - Questionnaire translation (from English) in each country and, very important, validation of the translations, using procedures that we will present and test during the workshop; - Teachers' interviews to identify difficulties related to particular questions; - Questionnaire pilot test to analyse the reliability of each question (two tests on the same sample groups a month apart); - Application of statistical methods (MCA and PCA) for the selection of the most discriminating questions and the most pertinent ways to analyse data; - Improvement of the initial questionnaire to prepare the final questionnaire; - Definition of the sample groups and delineation of the precise context and way to apply the questionnaire; - Finally, gathering all the data and their analysis: Some of them will be used and discussed. Each step will be a matter of discussion to raise awareness of the difficulties in this process and to find out alternatives also reliable for the construction and application of a questionnaire to a variety of cultural contexts.