Validity testing of classroom community scale in virtual environment learning: A cross sectional study

BACKGROUND: Fostering a Sense of Classroom Community is considered to be associated with the reduction of student's dropout rate in an online environment. Many scales have been developed to measure sense of community in online and traditional learning, and Rovai's Classroom Community Scale has been widely used. This study was designed to examine the psychometric properties and the theoretical structure of the Classroom Community Scale. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 215 postgraduate virtual students responded to the Classroom Community Scale. A measurement model was evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis to determine the adequacy of goodness-of-fit to sample data. RESULTS: The confirmatory factor analysis provided valid data that the Classroom Community Scale with a two-factor structure is a valid scale with adequate model fit. Connectedness and learning subscales were also valid and reliable. Overall, the results supported the high reliability, face and content validity of all items of the scale. CONCLUSIONS: The 20 item Classroom Community Scale provides a valid and reliable scale to measure sense of community among postgraduate medical education students.