Social Representations of Childhood Among Pre-Service Teachers: Development and Preliminary Psychometric Evaluation of an Assessment Instrument (CRSID-17)

Abstract

The Social Representations of Childhood Questionnaire (CRSID) explores how pre-service Early Childhood Education teachers understand childhood and translate these ideas into pedagogical approaches. This study sought to obtain a shorter, reliable version that can be readily used in initial teacher education. The original 31-item instrument was administered to 242 first-year university students (M_age = 18.94; SD = 1.70; 90.5% women). Analyses were conducted in JASP and R (psych, lavaan) using diagonally weighted least squares on a polychoric correlation matrix with oblimin rotation. Items with loadings below 0.40 or high uniquenesses were progressively removed. The final version includes 17 items grouped into three dimensions: Adultcentrism (5 items), Directive Teacher Role (6 items), and Rights and Facilitation (6 items). Sampling adequacy was satisfactory (KMO = 0.765; χ2(136) = 1149.9, p < 0.001), and parallel analysis supported the three-factor solution. Fit indices indicated an acceptable model, explaining 39.5% of the variance. Reliability coefficients were within acceptable ranges (ω = 0.67–0.73; α = 0.65–0.73). Differences emerged in two factors depending on prior experience with children. Overall, the reduced CRSID offers a consistent and workable tool for teacher education, although some refinement remains advisable.