Development and validation of an instrument to assess early child care providers' emotion development content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK)

The purpose of this study was to construct a new scale and attempt to validate an instrument to assess early child care providers’ emotion development content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Emotion development (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) are key components needed for instructional practices to enhance children’s emotional competencies. Reliable and valid measurements are critical to advancing evidence-based teaching practices. This early-stage scale development study discusses the major steps taken in the instrument development process, developed operational definitions, selected the scaling technique, matched items back to the constructs, conducted a content expert review, created a pilot version of instrument, piloted the instrument, and analyzed the data. This initial test construction may provide a first step towards a standardized measurement of emotion development CK and PCK for early childhood caregivers of preschool children.