Development of the Scale of Social Justice Perception in Universities: Validity And Reliability Study
Onur Balı, Nesip Demirbilek, Hasan DemirtaşThe purpose of this research is to develop a valid and reliable measurement tool that measures the social justice perceptions of university students towards their universities. The data of the research were collected from associate and undergraduate students studying at Bingöl University. Two different samples were used for the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. There were 602 students in the first sample and 591 students in the second sample of the study. As a result of the exploratory factor analysis, a three-dimensional structure with 25 items was reached, and this structure explained approximately 71% of the variance in social justice perception. As a result of the confirmatory factor analysis, it was determined that the goodnessof-fit indices of the three-dimensional structure were at acceptable and good levels (x2 /df = 3.942, p = .000, RMR = .08, SRMR = .04, GFI = .91, AGFI = .88, NFI = .94, NNFI = .95, CFI = .95, RMSEA = .06). Cronbach’s Alpha internal consistency coefficients for the three-dimensional structure were determined as .93, .94 and .88 for the equality, justice and support dimensions of the scale, respectively, and .96 for the whole scale. Based on the research findings, it was concluded that the “Social Justice Perception in Universities Scale” is a valid and reliable measurement tool that can be used to measure the social justice perceptions of university students towards the universities they study at.
Üniversitelerde Sosyal Adalet Algısı Ölçeğinin Geliştirilmesi: Geçerlik ve Güvenirlik Çalışması
Onur Balı, Nesip Demirbilek, Hasan DemirtaşBu araştırmanın amacı, üniversite öğrencilerinin öğrenim gördükleri üniversitelere yönelik sosyal adalet algılarını ölçmeyi amaçlayan, geçerli ve güvenilir bir ölçme aracı geliştirmektir. Araştırmanın verileri Bingöl Üniversitesi’nde öğrenim görmekte olan önlisans ve lisans öğrencilerinden elde edilmiştir. Araştırmada açımlayıcı ve doğrulayıcı faktör analizleri için iki farklı örneklem grubu kullanılmıştır. Araştırmanın birinci örneklem grubunda 602 öğrenci, ikinci örneklem grubunda ise 591 öğrenci bulunmaktadır. Yapılan açımlayıcı faktör analizi sonucunda, 25 madde ve üç faktörlü bir yapıya ulaşılmış ve bu yapının sosyal adalet algısına ilişkin varyansın yaklaşık %71’ini açıkladığı tespit edilmiştir. Doğrulayıcı faktör analizi sonucunda ise, üç faktörlü yapıya ilişkin ulaşılan model uyumu değerlerinin kabul edilebilir ve iyi düzeyde olduğu (x2 /sd = 3.942, p = .000, RMR = .08, SRMR = .04, GFI = .91, AGFI = .88, NFI = .94, NNFI = .95, CFI = .95, RMSEA = .06) tespit edilmiştir. Üç boyutlu yapıya ilişkin ulaşılan Cronbach’s Alpha iç tutarlık katsayıları ise, ölçeğin eşitlik, adalet ve destekleme alt boyutları için sırasıyla .93, .94 ve .88 olarak, ölçeğin tamamı için ise .96 olarak tespit edilmiştir. Araştırma bulgularından hareketle, “Üniversitelerde Sosyal Adalet Algısı Ölçeği’nin”, üniversite öğrencilerinin öğrenim gördükleri üniversitelere yönelik sosyal adalet algılarını ölçmede kullanılabilecek, geçerli ve güvenilir bir ölçme aracı olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.
Introduction
The welfare of the society is related to the distribution of social resources among the members of the society. Questions about how social resources and services should be distributed among individuals are connected with the concept of social justice (Çoban Kaynak, 2017). John Ryan, an American Catholic priest, was the first one using the concept of social justice (Han ve Demirbilek, 2022). Ryan was also the first to use the concept of minimum wage. According to Ryan (1945), social justice is the regulation of the relations between individuals and the society for maintaining the collective good. In short, social justice can be expressed as the fair distribution of blessings and burdens in society. In this context, the presence of a social opinion that there is a fair share in the society is an indicator of the existence of social justice (Bell, 2007; Sunal, 2011).
Smith (2018) stated that concepts such as social cohesion, equality and fairness come to the fore in ensuring social justice and that the concept of social justice can be approached from different points of view. At this point, it can be said that since individuals are not equal at the beginning, equal distribution of resources can maintain inequality among individuals, but distribution of resources at different levels (fairly) in line with the needs of individuals can eliminate the inequality among individuals over time (Smith, 2018). However, social justice is a concept that expresses more than the distribution of resources among individuals and emphasises community rather than individuality (Turhan, 2007).
When the literature is examined, it is seen that the concept of social justice in education is tried to be explained by associating it with concepts such as multiculturalism, justice, equality and democratic society (Tomul, 2009). However, the difficulty in defining the concepts of justice and social justice is also seen in the definition of the concept of social justice in education. In general, social justice in education can be achieved if each individual has an education that is appropriate to his or her abilities and needs. (Polat, 2007). Social justice in education aims to reduce or eliminate the negative effects of individual differences on the success of students in the educational processes (Ocak & Yamaç, 2011). Bates (2006) positioned social justice at the centre of educational processes and argued that social justice should also be at the centre of educational administration practises.
When institutions are managed according to the principles of social justice, they are more adopted by people and people’s commitment to the institution increases. This is also true for universities. The higher education period is one of the most important phases of students’ life. The higher education period is not only a learning process but also a common living place where students experience and learn life as adults, have a profession, and interact with people from different cultures and environments. This common living place should be managed fairly and the resources should be shared fairly among the students. This can be possible with the establishment of social justice in all processes at the universities. Elimination of the negativities that may be caused by social injustice can only be possible with a good understanding of the concept of social justice.
In a literature review of the available measures of social justice perception, it is noted that, although a limited number of scales have been developed to assess this perception, none of them appear to be intended to examine the social justice perceptions of university students towards their university. (Cırık, 2015; Demirdağ, 2017; Karacan, Bağlıbel & Bindak, 2015; Turhan, 2007). For this reason, there is a need for a valid and reliable measurement tool to be used in scientific studies on the subject. In line with this need, this research aims to develop a valid and reliable measurement tool to determine the social justice perceptions of university students towards their university.
Method
This study was carried out with an exploratory sequential design in a mixed method in which qualitative and quantitative research methods were used together. In the exploratory sequential design, after the qualitative data are collected and analysed, the quantitative stage of the research is carried out based on the qualitative data (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2018).
The study was carried out with the data collected from two different samples. The first sample of the study consists of 602 and the second sample consists of 591 undergraduate and associate degree students studying at different faculties and colleges of Bingöl University. While determining both samples, convenient sampling method was used as it provides convenience in time, cost and data collection process (Büyüköztürk, Kılıç Çakmak, Akgün, Karadeniz, & Demirel, 2014).
In the development process of the items, the theoretical background of the concept of social justice was determined by examining the similar studies in the literature (Bell, 2007; Boyles, Carusi, & Attick, 2009; Connell, 1993; Çetin, 2015; Çoban Kaynak, 2017; Demirbilek, Atila & Korkmaz, 2021; Polat, 2007; Schulz, 2007; Todd, 2015; Torres Harding, Siers, & Olson, 2012). In addition to these studies, other measurement tools aimed at determining the perception of social justice were examined (Cırık, 2015; Demirdağ, 2017; Karacan, Bağlıbel, & Bindak, 2015; Ludlow, Enterline, & CochranSmith, 2008; Torres Harding et al., 2012). Considering these studies, practises that could contribute to social justice in universities were determined and these were used in the preparation of the draft scale items. After the literature review, a draft scale consisting of 68 items was prepared. This form was simplified with expert reviews, and a final form consisting of 34 items was reached.
Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to test the construct validity of the scale, and Cronbach’s alpha internal consistency coefficients were calculated for reliability.
Findings
The construct validity of the scale was first tested with exploratory factor analysis. Exploratory factor analysis was performed with 34 items and a sample of 602 students. The KMO and Bartlett tests were performed to check the sampling adequacy (KMO = .976; x2 = 19611.249; df = 561; p = .000). As a result of the factor analysis, a structure consisting of 19 items in three factors was reached, and these three factors explained 71.30% of the variance regarding the perception of social justice. The factor loadings of the items ranged from .58 to .87, the communalities of the items were between .58 and .83, and the item-total correlation values were between .54 and .82. These three factors were named as “equality”, “fairness” and “support”.
As a result of the confirmatory factor analysis performed with the data of 591 students, the goodness of fit indices for the scale were reached as x2 /df = 3.942, p = .000, RMR = .08, SRMR = .04, GFI = .91, AGFI = .88, NFI = .94, NNFI = .95, CFI = .95, RMSEA = .06. When the achieved values are compared with the reference values for the goodness of fit indices in the literature, it can be said that the scale has high construct validity.
The reliability of the scale was examined with Cronbach’s Alpha internal consistency coefficients calculated using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses data. The Alpha coefficients of the entire scale and its dimensions were calculated between .88 and .96. In this respect, these Alpha coefficients can be inferred as evidence of the scale’s reliability.
Conclusion
This research aims to develop a valid and reliable scale to measure the social justice perceptions of university students towards their university. As a result of the analyses, significant results were reached regarding the validity and reliability of the scale. As a result, the Social Justice in Universities Scale was found to be a valid and reliable measurement tool that can be used to measure university students’ social justice perceptions regarding their universities.
The increase in the scale scores is interpreted as the students’ perception of social justice is increasing, and the decrease in the scale scores is interpreted as the students’ perception of social justice is diminishing. There is no reverse-scored item or dimension in the scale.
