Developing and Validating the Habits of Mind Scale for Secondary School Students in Kuwait

Abstract Title Developing and Validating the Habits of Mind Scale for Secondary School Students in Kuwait Introduction The purpose of this study is to develop and validate the habits of mind scale (HOMS) in the Kuwaiti context. Methods Survey data from 910 secondary-school students were collected in two phases and examined using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results The results of the second-order EFA revealed a single factor, which accounted for approximately 70% of the total variance. In the second-order confirmatory factor analysis, the statistical fit indices indicated a good fit for the one-factor model. The 97 items comprising this scale produced an alpha coefficient between .82 and .90 for the 16 domains (habits) and .93 for the entire scale. Conclusions The HOMS appeared to be a consistent measure of mind habits. These results demonstrate that the HOMS is a valid and reliable measure, which may be useful in guiding future research aimed at understanding student habits of mind.