Crafting and Validating the Essence of Professional Identity in Higher Secondary Educators -

Abstract

This study addresses the critical need for a quantitative instrument to measure the professional identity of teachers in higher secondary schools. While existing research has explored professional identity, a gap exists in the lack of a valid and reliable multidimensional tool. The Teacher's Professional Identity Scale (TPIS) is introduced as an innovative instrument, drawing on insights from various studies and uniquely integrating elements of social responsibility. The study emphasizes the significance of teachers as nation-builders and includes an assessment of their pro-environmental behaviors. The research employed a four-stage scale development process to create the TPIS. The initial phase involved the creation of an item pool, followed by expert opinion validation to ensure content validity. Subsequently, EFA and CFA were conducted to assess the scale's construct validity. The sample comprised 525 teachers. The scale comprises five factors, contributing to a total variance of 61.02%. CFA results demonstrated a strong fit with various indexes. This study underscores the pivotal role of professional identity as a determinant of teacher success, with broad implications for student well-being. The TPIS not only enhances our understanding of professional identity in the Indian context but also presents a promising instrument for cross-cultural assessments of teachers' professional identities.