Development and Validation of the Knowledge of Climate Change Subsystems Instrument (KCCSI) for Teachers

Growing global concerns about climate change have created the need for educational approaches that help learners understand the complexity of this phenomenon. Systems Thinking (ST) offers such an approach by emphasizing the importance of viewing a system as a whole rather than as isolated parts. As climate change is widely included in the science curriculum, ST remains insufficiently integrated among teachers. This gap limits teachers’ ability to guide students in understanding climate change holistically. Therefore, this study established a framework that connects ST and climate change and action. Guided by this framework, the Knowledge of Climate Change Subsystem Instrument (KCCSI) was developed to measure teachers’ knowledge on climate change subsystems informed by systems thinking. An initial item pool of 48 items was generated from existing literature and reviewed through translation, and face and content validation. The KCCSI was administered to science teachers (n = 600) for exploratory factor analysis, which revealed a four-factor structure and resulted in the removal of eight items. Subsequently, confirmatory factor analysis (n = 500) verified the factor structure and demonstrated excellent model fit. The final KCCSI, consisting of 26 items, provides a robust and concise tool for assessing teachers’ knowledge on climate change subsystems.