THE BELONGING TO THE UNIVERSITY SCALE

Omer Karaman, Yuksel Cırak

Abstract: The aim of the study is to develop a belonging to the university scale (BUS) in order to determine the level of fulfillment of the need to belong among university students at the higher education institutions they attend. The population of the investigation includes university students studying at the campus of Ordu University. A 5 point Likert-type scale was created in the study. The SPSS 15 and LISREL-8.15 programs were used in the statistical analysis performed during development of the scale. Content validity and construct validity techniques were used for validity analysis. The internal consistency checks of belonging to the university scale were completed. The research data is given as mean and percent, and t-test and one-way variance analysis were conducted in order to determine the differences between the groups and the values of belonging to the university. The internal consistency Cronbach α reliability coefficient values of the scale and the test-retest reliability of the test results were satisfactory. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed for the construct validity of the scale and three dimensions (Motivation, Expectations and Identification) were identified. The level of belonging of university students to the university they attend was examined with the scale with the validity and reliability tested and suggestions are presented in accordance with the obtained results.

Key words: The Belonging to the University Scale, University Students, Expectations, Motivation, Identification.

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