Determining the Validity and Reliability of a Modified Game-Based Testing Instrument to Evaluate Preschoolers’ Connection to Nature

Abstract

Nature exposure is integral for the proper development of a child’s physical and psychological well-being and is an early intervention that is correlated with pro-environmental behaviour and decision-making in adulthood. Assessing and measuring a child’s relationship with nature is, therefore, a critical tool for understanding how they connect with the natural world and to better understand what interventions and/or curricula are effective in influencing a child’s connection to nature. This study psychometrically evaluates an instrument initially constructed to measure Swedish children’s bioaffinity and then modified to be more appropriate for measuring Canadian preschool children’s connection to nature. Validity and reliability assessments determine the trustworthiness of the instrument for future use. For the validity analysis, six subject experts were asked to review the modified instrument and then fill out a questionnaire that focused on whether the instrument’s items were sensible, appropriate, and relevant to the participant audience. The validity results revealed incoherence in the foundational theory and concepts that the modified instrument intended to measure. This led to further modification of the instrument, which was then pilot tested with a cohort of 30 children. Data from the pilot test was used to calculate the internal consistency reliability of the instrument. Findings indicate that the modified 2022 version of the instrument yielded reliable data, and thus it can be used on a broader scale by the scholarly community to measure environmental knowledge, environmental sensitivity and the environmental preferences of children, and their connection to nature.