Developing Valid and Reliable Map Literacy Scale

Abstract

The purpose of the present study is to develop a valid and reliable map literacy scale that is able to determine map literacy of individuals, especially that of high school and university students. The study sample was composed of 518 students studying at various faculties at Cumhuriyet University and high schools in Sivas and its counties. With this aim in mind, an initial item pool for piloting was prepared in line with the literature, and expert opinion was sought on the item pool. After the piloting exercise, the draft scale was administered to the study sample. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was carried out to investigate the factor structure of the scale; confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was carried out to test construct validity of the scale along with other validity analyses. As a result of the exploratory factor analysis, it was seen that the scale was composed of 4 factors. These factors are as follows: reading and interpreting maps, using maps, carrying out procedures in maps, and sketching maps.