Design, construct validation, and integrated application of a happiness teaching perceptions inventory (HTPI)

Abstract

This paper reports a three-phase study. Phase 1 of the study was aimed at developing a self-report scale to assess language teachers’ perceptions toward the inclusion of happiness components in language teaching materials. To this end, we developed a 20-item Happiness Teaching Perceptions Inventory (hereafter HTPI), using Seligman’s (2002) theory of authentic happiness as a frame of reference. In Phase 2 of the study, we examined the reliability and construct validity of the HTPI using data collected from 152 teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Having determined a factorable sample through the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test of Sampling Adequacy (KMO) and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity, we employed an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). Results from Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and the Screen test supported a three-factor solution for the grouping of the items in the inventory. Moreover, reliability analyses revealed that the HTPI enjoys a high internal consistency (α=0.95). Phase 3 of the study involved an examination of teachers’ perceptions both by analyzing the results from the newly-developed scale and through conducting semi-structured interviews with language teachers. © National Academy of Psychology (NAOP) India 2015.