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Showing 5 results for Exploratory Factor Analysis


Volume 0, Issue 0 (2-2024)
Abstract

Although faculty members’ job satisfaction has received remarkable attention over the last two decades, there has been a long-lasting lack of a questionnaire to measure it in the Iranian context. Thus, the present study purported to develop and validate a questionnaire with adequate psychometric properties to measure Iranian English faculty members’ job satisfaction. To this aim, two samples of faculty members for the first pilot study (n = 62) and the second pilot study (n = 254) were selected from Ayatollah Borujerdi University and Lorestan University through a random sampling method. Based on the past literature, a pool of items (n = 74) was extracted and subjected to an eleven-step systematic procedure: content analysis and sampling; creating an item bank; running the first pilot; creating item pool one; expert judgment to evaluate the sub-scales; running an interview and think-aloud protocol; running Cronbach’s alpha; running the second pilot; running exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and Cronbach’s alpha; creating item pool two; and expert review. Results yielded a 60-item questionnaire with 6 sub-scales: 1. payment and rewards (10 items); promotion (7 items); supervision and interaction (17 items); job security (7 items); facilities of universities (7 items); and work nature (10 items). The hope is that the present questionnaire can be used for research and educational purposes in the future.

Seyedhadi Hosseini Kasgari, Mahmoud Ahmadpour Borazjani, Alireza Keikha, Mashalla Salarpour,
Volume 0, Issue 0 (1-2024)
Abstract

The Ministry of Agriculture Jihad in Iran implemented contract farming (CF) for wheat in 2021 to address marketing issues. This study compares agricultural sustainability for farmers participating in and not participating in CF. Agricultural sustainability was assessed by applying a combined index approach that considers economic, social, and environmental dimensions. The required data came from 620 wheat farmers in Golestan province, sampled using the multi-stage randomization technique. The data were evaluated using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and clustering methods. The findings indicated a significant difference in the performance of economic and environmental sustainability dimensions between two groups of wheat farmers. For the participants, 14.2% were deemed unsustainable, 47.7% were considered partially sustainable, and 38.1% were classified as sustainable. For non-participants, the figures were 38.7%, 47.7%, and 13.5%, respectively. Therefore, it is suggested to provide more opportunities for participation in this program and expand it to other key crops. Additionally, authorities should provide more information about the benefits of the CF plan.

Volume 12, Issue 5 (12-2021)
Abstract

In order to engage students in higher-level thinking, cognitive activation (CA) strategies have been advanced and utilized in mathematics. CA develops when learners are challenged, confronted with conflicts, asked to think and explain clearly on their learning, and realize connections between new and previous content. Extending the theme to English language teaching (ELT), this study investigated Iranian English language teachers’ knowledge and practice of cognitive activation writing strategies (CAWS). In so doing, a model was proposed based on a questionnaire that was developed and validated in the present study. Through this scale, knowledge and practice of CAWS by 213 English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers were explored. During a pilot phase, the reliability of the questionnaire was calculated to be .78 for the knowledge section and .81 for the practice section. Two items in each section were removed after conducting exploratory factor analysis. Ultimately, the confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the proposed model was fit for the data. Five components were confirmed as constituents of CAWS for the knowledge section, and four components were identified for the practice section. The findings revealed that Iranian EFL teachers were already familiar with the CAWS and purportedly practiced them in their writing classes. Using the scale in the process of writing instruction can provide ELT practitioners with a helpful platform for relating to CA strategies and empowers learners to accomplish tasks such as problem-solving in their writing assignments, similar to what is practiced in mathematics.

Volume 13, Issue 5 (12-2022)
Abstract

In today’s world of education, a successful teacher can be assumed to be the one who benefits from Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT), which demands consideration of teachers’ beliefs about tasks. The present paper takes into account developing a questionnaire regarding teachers’ beliefs about tasks. To this end, 300 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers from Mazandaran province participated in the study. The raw items for the questionnaire were collected by randomly interviewing 15 participant teachers and the related literature on teacher cognition research on TBLT. Then the items were factor-analyzed to develop the final version of the Teachers’ Beliefs on Task Questionnaire (TBTQ). Employing Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) resulted in a six-factor structure including TBLT and teacher education, TBLT and the learners’ expectations, TBLT and challenges with Present-Practice-Produce (PPP) approach, TBLT and teachers' time limitations, TBLT and teachers’ characteristics, and the feasibility of TBLT resources. Findings revealed that although TBLT has been considered as an innovative approach due to its inspiration from Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), teachers’ attitudes towards TBLT implementation appear to have been taken for granted according to the components emerged from the factor analysis. It is suggested that TBTQ can be used in both foreign and second language contexts in order to identify different categories that can shape teachers’ beliefs about tasks and provide further pedagogical insights into designing and implementing tasks more effectively

Volume 22, Issue 3 (9-2022)
Abstract

Regarding the importance of knowledge-based capital in the modern economy, this paper aims to measure this kind of capital in Iran’s manufacturing sector using the exploratory factor analysis method. Data include active firms in Iran’s manufacturing sector at the 2-digit ISIC level over the period 2002-2018. The results indicate the existence of a factor in the manufacturing firms with a positive and increasing trend of knowledge-based capital accumulation. The findings also show that the accumulation of this type of capital in Iran’s manufacturing sector is in the early stages of development and highly depends on the literate labor force.


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