Development of a Scale of Field Commitment Among Theology Students and the Effect of Theology Education Process on Field Commitment

Abstract

Inspired by the idea of professional commitment, the aim of this study is to develop a scale related to theology field commitment and to reveal the effect of theology education process on field commitment. Designed using a mixed-methods exploratory sequential design, the study included 315 students studying at Y & uuml;z & uuml;nc & uuml; Y & imath;l University's Faculty of Theology during the spring semester of 2022-2023 who volunteered to participate in the survey. In the study, we used the survey technique. We obtained the data from the 49-item scale form designed in the first stage. In the second stage, we utilized the exploratory factor analysis with the SPSS program (KMO value 946; Bartlett test (p<.001) significant). In the data, 21 items that disrupted the item indicator value factor structure were eliminated, and a 4-dimensional structure containing 28 statements and a variance value of 56.48% was revealed. Taking into account the theoretical basis and the meanings of the items, we labeled the factors "affective commitment," "normative commitment," "rejection of commitment," and "anxious commitment." The first two factors include the positive aspect of field commitment and the other two include the negative aspect of field commitment. In the third stage, we subjected the measurement tool to confirmatory factor analysis using the Amos program. The findings regarding the chi-square value (chi 2 = 667.42 (df=343, p<.001), chi 2/df=1.95) revealed that the overall model fit was ideal.The values obtained with the other model fit indices, GFI (.867), RMR (.076), RMSEA (.055), CFI (.924), NFI (.857), TLI (.916) and IFI (.925), showed that the four-factor structure was confirmed. The internal consistency (Cronbach alpha) value of the scale was found to be .92 for affective commitment, .76 for normative commitment, .84 for rejection of commitment, and .82 for anxious commitment. In the final stage, where the scale was compared in terms of independent variables, we observed that girls compared to boys, and Imam Hatip graduates compared to other high school graduates, differed positively in terms of field commitment. In terms of the theological education process, it has been determined that as the grade level of the students increases, their field commitment differs negatively.