Evaluating the Content Validity of Self-Evaluation Checklist for EFL Teachers in Japan

Abstract

The aims of this study are to evaluate the content validity of a reflection tool for EFL teachers’ professional development in Japan, called Self-Evaluation Checklist for EFL Teachers (SECEFLT), and to provide validity evidence for interpreting and using SECEFLT scores through Kane’s (2006) argument-based approach. SECEFLT was originally developed by Mikami (2015) to promote EFL teachers’ reflection on their professional competencies. It was revised by Mikami (2018) through the validation process of construct validity, using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. To gather further validity evidence related to content aspect for the revised SECEFLT, a survey was conducted with a panel of experts including six English language teachers (all English language education majors) at teacher education departments in national universities in Japan. The experts were asked to evaluate the extent to which each item in the revised SECEFLT was relevant to the content domain it aimed to measure, as well as the overall extent of relevance of the revised SECEFLT to the content domain it aimed to measure. The results showed that each individual item in the scale was appropriate in content validity and the whole scale was also appropriate judging from individual item evaluations. It was confirmed that experts judged the revised SECEFLT as content-valid when asked directly whether it was appropriate overall. Based on the study results, interpretive arguments are discussed using Kane’s (2006) framework for indicators of theoretical constructs.