Development and validation of an instrument to measure the perception of teaching excellence in Higher Education: Pro-Excellence-ES Scale

Introduction. The main objective of this study was to analyse the psychometric properties of a newly developed scale for assessing teaching excellence in higher education, named "Escala Pro-ExcellenceES". Methods. This research was divided into 3 phases. A first phase in which, using the Delphi method, the different items of the scale were elaborated and developed, which underwent variations after its study by the experts and the responses received in the pilot study with the participation of two focus groups (one of students and the other of teaching staff). This phase started with a total of 113 items and 4 categories and ended with 82 items in 3 categories (methodology, personal and institutional). In the second phase, the factor structure of the scale, its internal consistency and invariance by gender were tested with a total of 562 university students (310 males and 252 females) aged between 17 and 55 years (M = 20.67, SD = 3.79). Finally, in the third phase, an independent sample of 463 university students (247 males and 216 females) aged between 17 and 55 years (M = 20.69, SD = 3.85) was used to test the convergent validity of the model by means of a predictive model using the student involvement dimension. Results. The results showed this scale to be a valid, reliable and gender-invariant instrument for assessing teaching excellence in higher education. Discussion. However, this is a preliminary validation of the scale, and future studies are needed to further explore the potential of the instrument.