The purpose of the study is to investigate the validity and reliability of the Sense of Belongingness Scale (SBS) adapted to Turkish culture. The sample of the study consisted of 472 (295 female, 177 male) undergraduate students enrolled in various faculties of a state university in Turkey. The construct validity of the scale was examined using confirmatory factor analysis. The result of the analysis showed that the SBS was composed of five factors, namely “perceived peer support”, “perceived faculty support”, “perceived empathy”, “perceived classroom comfort” and “perceived isolation”. The reliability analysis also revealed that the Cronbach alpha internal consistency coefficients of the factors were 0.72 for perceived peer support, 0.88 for perceived faculty support, 0.92 for perceived empathy, 0.89 for perceived classroom comfort and 0.66 for isolation. The test-retests reliability coefficients of the factors (after a three week interval) also changed, ranging from 0.64 (perceived isolation) and 0.77 (perceived classroom comfort). As a result, all the findings indicated that the Turkish adapted form of the SBS has similar psychometric features to the original scale.
Cite this article as: Sevinç Tuhanioğlu, S., Gizir, C.A. (2019). Turkish adaptation of the sense of belongingness scale: Validity and reliability studies. HAYEF: Journal of Education, 16(1); 1-18.