Development of an Active Global Citizenship Scale for Lower Secondary School Students in Thailand: An Application of Item Response Theory
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Abstract
Development of an active global citizenship scale for lower secondary school students; an application of item response theory, aimed to (1) identify the factors of Active Global Citizenship and (2) evaluate the quality of the Active Global Citizenship Scale for lower secondary school students. Employing a quantitative research design, the study sampled 600 Grade 7–9 students using multi-stage random sampling. The instrument was a 5-point rating scale, initially consisting of 56 items. Data were analyzed with Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and Item Response Theory (IRT) using the Graded-Response Model. The findings were as follows: (1) EFA identified five main factors of Active Global Citizenship across 21 items, accounting for 63.205% of the total variance. These factors were: (a) Constructive Engagement and Adaptability, (b) Respect for Rights and Diversity, (c) Political and Social Awareness, (d) Self-Regulation and Critical Thinking, and (e) Civic Responsibility. (2) The five-factor model demonstrated excellent fit with the empirical data (χ² = 165.990, df = 140, p = 0.066, CFI = 0.995, TLI = 0.993, RMSEA = 0.018, SRMR = 0.024). (3) IRT analysis showed high discrimination parameters (α = 1.203–2.118) and correctly ordered difficulty parameters (β) for all items. The scale provided the most information for students with low to moderate trait levels (θ ≈ -2.0 to +1.0), and overall reliability was very high (Marginal Reliability = 0.937). These results confirm that the developed scale is a structurally valid, reliable, and precise measurement tool.
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