Developing an Ethical Tendencies Scale Based on the Theories of Ethics

The aim of this study is to develop an ethical tendencies scale for educators based on ethics theories. The study is a quantitative scale-development study, and 312 volunteer education-faculty students joined in the study. From among the purposeful sampling methods, convenience sampling was used. Content and language validity were provided by following a scale-development process and receiving expert opinions. After administering the scale in order to test items' distinctiveness, item-total correlations were calculated and those less than .30 were omitted. As a result of confirmatory factor analysis the scale and theoretical model were found to show a fit between normal and perfect. To test the reliability of the scale, Cronbach's alpha. Guttman, split-half, and test-retest coefficients were calculated. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for teleological ethics was found to be .74; for deontological ethics, .67; and for virtue ethics. .73. Furthermore, the coefficients for teleological ethics were calculated as Guttman = .75, split-half = .76, and test-retest = .93; for deontological ethics, Guttman = .70, split-half = .74, and test-retest = .91; and for virtue ethics, Guttman = .71, split-half = .75, and test-retest = .90. As a result of the study, a valid and reliable ethical tendencies scale (ETS) consisting of three factors (teleological ethics, deontological ethics, and virtue ethics) has been obtained.