Engineering design test in early childhood: a validity and reliability study

Abstract This research investigates the psychometric properties of the Early Childhood Engineering Design Test (EDTEC), a tool developed to assess children’s engineering design skills. Within the scope of the study, the cognitive processes underlying engineering design are conceptualised in terms of verbal, numerical, and visual-spatial thinking. The scale development study was conducted with 1,410 children aged 5–7 years attending 15 preschools at various socioeconomic levels. “Early Childhood Engineering Design Test”, “Problem Solving Scale (PST)”, and “Cognitive Ability Test (CAT)” were used as data collection tools in the study. During the scale development process, the validity of the scope was examined within the scope of validity studies. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed for construct validity. Age, PST, and CAT measurement tools were used to determine the criterion validity of the scale. The scale’s reliability was determined using Cronbach’s alpha and test-retest methods. As a result of the analysis, the three-factor structure of the scale was confirmed, and it accounted for 39% of the total variance. Reliability coefficients for sub-dimensions. It ranges from 70 to 0.86. As a result of the test-retest, the Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.99 in the sub-dimensions of verbal thinking and numerical thinking; in the visuospatial sub-dimension, it was obtained as 0.98. According to the criteria validity results, it was observed that there was no significant relationship between PST and EDTEC. It has been revealed that the engineering design process differs from general problem-solving. In addition, analyses of the relationship between EDTEC and CAT revealed a partial overlap of cognitive structures between VT and VST, with a weak but positive correlation. This shows that engineering design involves cognitive abilities but has a distinct structure. The findings suggest that the scale is a valid and reliable measurement tool, which can be used effectively to assess children’s engineering design skills. The findings of this study provide an important tool for assessing engineering design skills in early childhood and for integrating these skills into educational programs. It can also guide the development of educational policies to support engineering and design-based learning processes from an early age.