Disaster Management Awareness Scale: A Study on Validity and Reliability

The purpose of this study is to develop a scale aimed at determining the level of disaster management awareness among teacher candidates. The study group consists of 645 teacher candidates enrolled in different departments of the Faculty of Education at Kırşehir Ahi Evran University of Türkiye during the 2023-2024 academic year. 77.3% of the teacher candidates in the sample are female and 22.6% are male. After reviewing the relevant literature, the initial version of the scale consists of 63 items. To determine the validity of the scale, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted, and item factor total correlations and item discrimination values were calculated. To assess the reliability of the scale, internal consistency and stability levels were computed. Twelve items were removed from the scale due to their factor loadings being below 0.40, resulting in a final item count of 51. In conclusion, a 4-dimensional disaster management awareness scale was developed, comprising 51 items, including 4 reverse-scored items. The dimensions that make up the scale are identified as "damage reduction," "preparation," "intervention and recovery," and "negative perception." The analyses indicate that the scale is a valid and reliable tool for assessing the level of disaster management awareness among teacher candidates.