Design and validation of a questionnaire to assess the geographic knowledge of third-year Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO) students in the Balearic Islands

This study is the first stage of a research project that examines the geographic knowledge of third-year ESO students. The article is aimed at designing and validating a questionnaire to assess the geographic knowledge of third-year ESO students. For this purpose, an ad-hoc questionnaire consisting of two sections was designed. The first section is arranged into four parts: items about sociodemographic, educational, and socioeconomic data; items about spatial competence; items about the local dimension; and items about the global dimension. The second section proposes online PLK assessment exercises. The validity of the questionnaire was tested by a panel of experts who determined the sufficiency, coherence, relevance, and clarity of each item. Reliability was established through a pilot test used on 136 students, and applying the Kuder-Richardson formula, which estimated a reliability value above KR 0,68 for each of the measurement scales. Thus, this instrument offers sufficient guarantees to assess the geographic literacy of third-year ESO students and provides a tool to determine the learning achievements in the area of geography that are promoted by certain interventions that are part of the general project envisaged.