Assessing the willingness of Spanish pre-service secondary school teachers to use group dynamics techniques. Design and validation of an instrument

Abstract Nowadays, secondary school teachers are expected to adopt didactic methods that encourage student interaction and increase motivation. The Master’s Degree in Secondary School Teaching prepares pre-service teachers to design and implement group-based teaching methods. To this end, the programme provides both theoretical and practical training, prioritising direct experience with group dynamics techniques for future application in the classroom. This study had two objectives: first, to develop and validate an instrument to assess pre-service teachers’ willingness to use group dynamics techniques; and second, to examine the influence of sex on the instrument’s factorial structure. A mixed-methods approach was applied, structured in two phases: content validity was established through expert judgement, followed by statistical analyses to assess internal structure. The results demonstrated adequate expert agreement, strong internal consistency and a good model fit. Additionally, multigroup analysis supported factorial invariance across sexes. The instrument serves as a valuable tool to assess the willingness of Master’s students to employ group techniques. Findings from this assessment can help tailor support for trainees with different profiles during initial training and inform selection and guidance processes. Moreover, it gauges pre-service teachers’ preparedness to adopt active methodologies, offering a means to measure the programme’s effectiveness in promoting methodological change.